With the emergence of Mike Shanahan as the front runner for the San Francisco 49ers head coaching vacancy, the timeline of the coaching search becomes somewhat of a mystery. There were a flurry of announcements over the weekend, most interviews taking place on the East Coast between the 7th and 9th. Tom Coughlin, however had a later interview that happened on the 12th.
What is interesting, as well as a clue that both sides are quite interested, is that a source told me that on Monday the 11th, the day before his interview, Coughlin had a chance to vet current members of the 49ers coaching staff. Although this is not groundbreaking news, it does indicate that the interview was not just a formality but a serious consideration by both sides.
Now with Hue Jackson out of the mix, Ian Rapoport has reported that the 49ers have recently reached out to Shanahan.
It appears Mike Shanahan has reentered the picture for #49ers, as they wait to figure out the Coughlin situation. They reached out to him.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 13, 2016
Shanahan's name was mentioned at the very beginning of the coaching search but not since then. There have been no reports of an interview with Shanahan in person this year, however the 49ers did conduct an interview with him last year before they chose Tomsula as their head coach. They already have a good idea of the direction he'd want to take and any new wrinkles could probably be discussed over the phone.