The San Francisco 49ers search process is showing no signs of ending soon, and in some ways, it would appear the 49ers have backed themselves into a corner. The team had three candidates available in Josh McDaniels, Kyle Shanahan, and Tom Cable. However, on Monday, McDaniels removed himself from consideration, leaving Shanahan and Cable. There are reports the team has focused on Shanahan, but reports suggest we should not entirely dismiss Cable. Ian Rapoport had the latest.
As #49ers opening lingers, #Seahawks OL coach Tom Cable is still in the mix. Kyle Shanahan is the favorite, but Cable is not to be dismissed
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 17, 2017
The prospects of DC Gus Bradley and Tom Cable for the #49ers is interesting. Would explain why Gus hasn’t taken a job yet.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 17, 2017
The Bradley stuff is not breaking news, as Mike Silver reported on Monday that Bradley was holding off on a new job in case Cable got the 49ers job.
The 49ers have interviewed some strong candidates, and headed into the weekend in a good position with Shanahan and McDaniels as options. However, with McDaniels out of the picture, things get a little dicey. The 49ers would likely meet with Shanahan next week to negotiate a contract. What if there is a problem on money or personnel control terms? If the 49ers are unable to make it work with Kyle Shanahan, the only candidate left is Tom Cable.
Right now, the 49ers and Kyle Shanahan both have to recognize he has almost all the leverage right now. The only leverage the 49ers have is that their head coach position is the only one left available. If Shanahan wants a job in 2017, the 49ers are his only one option. However, given that he is only 37, it is hard to see this as particularly significant leverage. I suppose we could say the history of the 49ers and Mike Shanahan’s time there is some leverage as well, but it strikes me as limited at best.
I don’t think Kyle Shanahan is going to try and pillage the 49ers for every penny he can, but he is in a position to call a lot of the shots in this negotiation. And with that in mind, it would make sense for the 49ers to put this out there to try and take back at least some of the leverage. It is foolish because there is no reason Tom Cable should be coaching the 49ers next year, but I suppose that is how things are going to work in business, fans be damned.
The 49ers should be willing to do whatever it takes to make Shanahan their next head coach. There are always business issues, but if this is more than a business, and really about trying to win football games (even, dare I say it, winning games “with class”), then quit dicking around with this Tom Cable nonsense and get the deal done next week with Kyle Shanahan.
And if Jed York and the 49ers can’t get something done with Kyle Shanahan, and end up with Tom Cable as head coach? They’ll have nobody to blame but themselves.