Former San Francisco 49ers running back Frank Gore is on hand at the 2016 NFL Combine, and it's not just because it's in the city where he now plays. Gore spends the offseason in Miami, but he is in Indianapolis this week to do some scouting. Matt Barrows and Cam Inman are both reporting he is expected to scout running backs at the Combine, potentially watching with former 49ers GM Scot McLoughan, and current 49ers running backs coach Tom Rathman.
We've heard plenty over the years about Gore's football smarts, and his talent evaluation ability. As Barrows pointed out in the link above, McLoughan sometimes would consult with Gore about players. It would be no surprise then that Gore might consider a post-playing career that involves either scouting or coaching. I could very well see him ending up a running backs coach in the vein of Tom Rathman, spending much of his post-playing career as a position coach.
Gore will be back on the field this fall with the Indianapolis Colts. It will be interesting to see if the Colts add another running back to further prepare for Gore's eventual retirement and/or release. Gore put together a decent enough year considering the state of the Colts offensive line. He is currently 34 yards back of Thurman Thomas for No. 14 on the all-time rushing leaderboard, and 80 back of Franco Harris for No. 13. Adrian Peterson is currently 365 yards back of Gore.