:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71844180/1454112143.0.jpg "Broncos coaching interviews: Team to request interview with Rams DC Raheem Morris")
The Denver Broncos are wasting no time building out a pool of interview candidates. The team has reached out to the San Francisco to request an interview with defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans, per Mike Klis.
Ryans joins a list that includes fellow defensive coordinators Dan Quinn (Cowboys) and Raheem Morris (Rams). The team is also interested in former Saints head coach Sean Payton and Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh.
Ryans has been a coach since 2017 and has been on a rapid rise through the ranks since retiring from the NFL. He was the 49ers defensive quality control coach in 2017, inside linebackers coach from 2018 to 2020 and is in his second year as defensive coordinator under head coach Kyle Shanahan.
Notably, back in August 2016, then new 49ers head coach Chip Kelly said that Ryans was the current or former player he thought would make a great head coach.
The Broncos fired first-year head coach Nathaniel Hackett in Week 16 after a disastrous rookie season. Hackett's team started 4-11 after coming into the year with huge expectations following the acquisition of quarterback Russell Wilson. The Broncos will not be moving on from Wilson anytime soon, so one has to wonder if they'll lean toward another offensive-minded coach.