The San Francisco 49ers interview schedule is set to get a little busier. The team initially scheduled out 11 interviews between now and next week, and they have added in three more for next week. USA Today NFL reporter Tom Pelissero tweeted that the 49ers are expected to interview three members of the Seattle Seahawks next week. They include Trent Kirchner and Scott Fitterer for the general manager role, and assistant head coach and offensive line coach Tom Cable for the head coach position.
Matt Maiocco reported earlier this week that all three would be on the 49ers radar in this process. The team can interview the two executives at any point, but cannot interview Cable until next week because the Seahawks are playing in the wild card round this weekend. Given they are interviewing all three, it is no surprise they will do them all together next week up in Seattle.
Kirchner and Fitterer hold co-director of player personnel roles. John Schneider is Seattle’s general manager, and Pete Carroll has extensive say in personnel matters. Kirchner worked as assistant director of pro personnel prior to this role, dating back to 2010. He got his start as college scouting coordinator for Washington from 2001 to 2002, and then worked until 2010 as a scout with the Carolina Panthers. Fitterer joined the Seahawks as an area scout in 2001. He served five seasons as western region director of college scouting before being named to overall director of college scouting, and then his current co-director role.
Cable has an extensive coaching career, dating back to his days as a grad assistant at Idaho in 1987. He coached in college through 2005, working primarily on the offensive line, but also serving as head coach at Idaho from 2000 to 2003, and working as an offensive coordinator for one year at Colorado and two years at UCLA. He joined the Atlanta Falcons in 2006 as offensive line coach. He moved on to the same position with the Raiders from 2007 to 2008, and then became head coach from 2008 to 2010. He has been with the Seahawks since 2011 in his assistant head coach and offensive line coach roles.
Cable is notoriously known for punching assistant coach Randy Hanson in 2009 and breaking his jaw. More importantly, he also was accused of physical abuse by two ex-wives and an ex-girlfriend. He reportedly settled a civil lawsuit with one of the women.