The San Francisco 49ers will be holding an additional round of interviews with general manager candidates, and expected names are emerging. USA Today NFL reporter Tom Pelissero tweeted that Eliot Wolf would be invited to Atlanta to interview with the 49ers and Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweeted that Wolf, Brian Gutekunst, and George Paton are all expected to get a second interview.
There was no mention of Terry McDonough, who reportedly has interest in working with Shanahan. Matt Maiocco is reporting another candidate or two could be brought in for a second interview, but did not have specifics on whom.
There has been much discussion about the 49ers decision to effectively hire a coach before a general manager. The meetings next week will look to see how Shanahan and the GM candidates interact and what kind of relationship they can build. Jed York made it clear he wants two guys who can work together and not be competing for their own individual turf.
That raises the question of who would hold what power with Kyle Shanahan as head coach. You can have equal power, but at the end of the day, somebody has to be making the final decision. Will it be Shanahan or the GM who has final say? They could conceivably want a more committee approach between the coach and GM, but that would seemingly only create trouble when they have distinct opinions on a situation.
Back in the Mike Nolan era, there was a lot of talk about “the trigger” with his head of personnel, Scot McCloughan. One of the first questions when the 49ers introduce the next head coach and general manager will likely be, who has final say on the 53-man roster.