When Fred Warner entered the NFL from BYU as a third-round draft pick of the San Francisco 49ers in 2018, NFL.com rated his football future as “good backup with potential to develop into a starter,” perhaps contributing in a hybrid linebacker/safety role.

In two of the past three seasons, Warner has been the first-team All-Pro middle linebacker. He credits his development to DeMeco Ryans, his position coach for his first three seasons and his defensive coordinator for his past two.

MORE NFL:

· JOSEPH GOODMAN: JALEN HURTS IS AMERICA’S QUARTERBACK

· ALABAMA ROOTS: SUPER BOWL LVII CONNECTIONS

· WHAT DEVONTA SMITH, JIMMIE WARD SAID ABOUT THE ‘CATCH’

Warner figures he played his last game with Ryans as his coach on Sunday in the 49ers’ 31-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game.

When the regular season ended, the Arizona Cardinals, Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos, Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts requested permission from the 49ers to interview Ryans for the head-coach job.

“I hadn’t thought about it up to this point because, obviously, you think you’re going to win it all,” Warner said of losing Ryans from the San Francisco coaching staff. “But seeing him (after the game) was emotional. It was. It was the first time it kind of hit me this was the last one with him.

“We came in this thing together. I owe everything to him. He’s the reason I’m the player I am today. He’s fully deserving to go on and be a head coach. It hit hard today, for sure.”

Ryans is in his second season as the 49ers’ defensive coordinator. In the 2022 regular season, San Francisco gave up 16.3 points and 300.6 yards per game, with both figures the best in the NFL. In Ryans’ first season in the position, the 49ers finished ninth in points allowed and third in yards allowed.

On Sunday, the 49ers yielded 269 yards to Philadelphia. But San Francisco’s offense managed only 164 yards as both quarterbacks got hurt and left the 49ers without the ability to throw the football down the field.

Ryans has won the Pro Football Writers of America’s NFL Assistant Coach of the Year Award for the 2022 season, and he’s a finalist for The Associated Press’ version of that honor.

After making All-State as a linebacker at Jess Lanier High School in Bessemer in 2001, Ryans earned unanimous All-American recognition, won the SEC Defensive Player of the Year Award and received the Lott IMPACT Trophy for the 2005 season as a senior at Alabama. (IMPACT stands for integrity, maturity, performance, academics, community and tenacity.) He capped his college career as the Defensive MVP of the 2006 Cotton Bowl in Alabama’s 13-10 victory over Texas Tech.

A second-round selection of the Texans in the 2006 NFL Draft, Ryans won the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, received two Pro Bowl invitations and played 10 NFL seasons.

Ryans began his coaching career as a defensive quality-control assistant with San Francisco in 2017, then coached the 49ers’ inside linebackers for three seasons. Ryans became defensive coordinator when Robert Saleh left the position to become the head coach of the New York Jets.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.