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The San Francisco 49ers were set to interview Mike Shanahan sometime this weekend, and based on recent rumors, the interview might be complete. Bleacher Report's Jason Cole is reporting Jed York told a source that Shanahan was high on his list of candidates. Cole also had this to say:
#49ers main focus is deciding if it needs a big hire (Mike Shanahan) or can go w/ younger coach to develop, such as Dan Quinn or Adam Gase
— Jason Cole (@JasonPhilCole) January 3, 2015
When the 49ers first announced the plan to part ways with Jim Harbaugh, Jed York said Trent Baalke would lead the search. While Baalke might be in charge, York gets final say as the CEO and owner. The question is how much influence he exerts in this process. Shanahan is certainly a name candidate, but I do wonder about the potential dynamic between him and Baalke. Can Shanahan be satisfied just coaching and having little say on the 53-man roster?
The other question is the future. Jed York said he wanted a guy for ten years, and I would bet a lot of money that even if the 49ers hired Shanahan, he is not a ten-year guy for them. That brings Kyle Shanahan further into the equation. If the Cleveland Browns were willing to let him out of his contract to come to San Francisco, one option is having Mike hired as head coach, Kyle hired as OC and maybe assistant head coach, and then Kyle having a clause in his contract as the successor to Mike.
Now, whether that is actually a good idea or not remains to be seen. The most immediate change is switching to a zone blocking scheme, as that is what Mike Shanahan has had success with over the years. If the 49ers went with a Shanahan-squared option, would Vic Fangio stick around knowing he has no head coaching future with the 49ers? And what of the word that Fangio had a great interview earlier this week? This all could just be random speculation with Trent Baalke being more sold on Vic Fangio. The coaching search could very well wrap up early in the coming week, so we'll just wait and see, I suppose.