Trent Baalke leaves Denver without Adam Gase, according to report

There are still several hours left in the evening, but it would appear odds are pretty slim that the 49ers will be announcing Adam Gase as the team's next head coach, or even leaking it out. According to Matt Barrows, general manager Trent Baalke is expected to fly back to the Bay Area this evening without Adam Gase. The 49ers GM spent all day with Gase, but now Gase apparently is getting his time with John Elway and the Denver Broncos.

Barrows was quick to point out that this does not mean the 49ers will not offer the job to Adam Gase, just that it was not expected to wrap up tonight. The reports indicated it was just Trent Baalke in Denver, but we do not know for certain. If it was just Baalke, I suppose I could see him heading back to the Bay Area to meet with Jed York and Paraag Marathe to try and hammer out a decision.

Matt Maiocco previously reported Jim Tomsula was tops among internal candidates, but did not say where Tomsula ranked compared to Gase or any other external candidate. There has been chatter about Tomsula's candidacy, even without a known formal interview having taken place. Of course, given that Tomsula is right there in the Bay Area, it is not exactly difficult to schedule some time. And considering how long he has been around this team, he likely has conveyed some thoughts on what he might do if placed in charge.

Earlier this week, I suggested that the longer this goes without a hire, the more likely it would be that an external candidate would get the job. What if the whole thing is just a process to bring us right back to Jim Tomsula? There are some rumblings of that, but again, we don't know where Tomsula ranks compared to external candidates.

But given how all this has gone, would you be shocked if Tomsula ended up getting the job? Adam Gase seemed to emerge as a favorite with the news of the second interview, but with Trent Baalke headed back to Santa Clara, who really knows what to make of it.

As you look at Gase and Tomsula as potentially the two leading candidates, is the future of Vic Fangio the major determining factor in which you would prefer? Or would it depend on who Gase appoints to run the defense, and who Tomsula appoints to run the offense?