Mike Shanahan rumors: One time 49ers assistant to interview for head coach job

The San Francisco 49ers will be in Denver on Friday to interview Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase for their vacant head coaching position, and they will use the trip to get more work done. According to Broncos beat writer Mike Klis, the 49ers are also going to interview Mike Shanahan.

Trent Baalke spoke with Shanahan earlier this week, following a Jason Cole report that guys like Joe Montana and Steve Young were pushing the 49ers to consider Shanahan. There has been a report that Jed York wants a big name with head coaching experience, and Shanahan would certainly fit the bill for that. He had ups and downs with Washington, but won two Super Bowls prior to that with Denver. He briefly coached the Oakland Raiders, and also spent extensive time as an assistant coach with the 49ers.

I'm not entirely sure what to make of Shanahan given the issues of power. I suppose Shanahan might be willing to cede that power for one last run at a Super Bowl. Of course, Jed York had said he wanted somebody for the next ten years, and it is safe to say Shanahan would not be that guy. I could see a Shanahan-Baalke relationship working for maaaaaybe two or three years. Maybe Shanahan never makes that power play, but consider me a little skeptical. If it got Lombardi No. 6, fine, but you wonder if we would see a repeat of the end of the Jim Harbaugh era.