Well, after a very very quiet day two in the San Francisco 49ers general manager/head coaching search, we had an active day three. The 49ers have some candidates to meet and we have a few new names to add to the list of interviews. Some of these names are no-brainers, others may make fans shiver in horror. Either way, things are progressing.
The Connections:
We have a couple of new names: the 49ers are set to interview Carolina Panthers assistant general manager Brandon Beane. This comes off the heels of multiple reports they wanted to get an interview with Sean McDermott, the Panthers’ defensive coordinator. McDermott had the 10th best defense in the league for 2016, a year where the offense coughed up several games for them. Injuries/free agency losses didn’t help. Prior to 2016, the Panthers defense was among the best in the league It’s not a splashy hire if it were to happen, but McDermott does have some supporters (Louis Riddick was very vocal in 2015 for him). Both interviews are scheduled for next week and it looks like they would pair both the Carolina candidates together.
49ers headed to Green Bay today (Thursday) and completed interviews with Eliot Wolf and Brian Gutekurst. A possible scenario for interviewing both of them is to give Wolf the GM position and promote Gutekurst as director of player personnel/assistant manager and effectively become Wolf’s right hand man.
The 49ers have also made it official to interview Tom Cable, who was just a name of interest a few days earlier. Along with Cable, the 49ers will interview Seattle Seahawks co-directors of player personnel Trent Kirchner and Scott Fitterer. The front office candidates make sense, Cable however has made a living as an offensive line coach. It could be speculated he’s being “interviewed” as a possible offensive coordinator. Most position coaches flame out at the head coach level, largely from resentment for not paying their dues as a coordinator. Cable’s only stints as a coordinator was in the college ranks for Colorado in 1999 and UCLA in 2004-2005.
Other Candidates:
Anthony Lynn’s interview happened Wednesday. Today it sounds like he’s going to say, “Thanks, but no thanks” according to Ian Rapoport’s KNBR appearance. This shouldn’t be too surprising. Buffalo was rumored to name Lynn the head coach since Monday and now it seems like that may happen after his interview with the team on Thursday.
Jeff Garcia has nominated himself as a coach candidate. The former 49ers quarterback was notable for taking the reigns after Steve Young retired. While he was intended as a stop-gap while 3rd round pick Gio Carmazzi figured things out, it obviously changed dramtically.
Mentioned last night when I went live on Facebook, but Kyle Shanahan so far prefers the Broncos head coaching job. Remember, these things change daily, so don’t be surprised if you hear Shanahan prefers the San Diego job tomorrow.
Coach Tracker:
Washington recently fired defensive coordinator, Joe Barry. Steve Wilks, secondary coach from the Carolina Panthers is interviewing for the gig. This is important since it’s another vacant role that could be filled before the 49ers get their staff/coordinators figured out.
For the four of you thinking the 49ers would play in the Sean Payton sweepstakes, you can stop that now. New Orleans fired several assistants, which, according to Ian Rapoport will indicate Payton won’t be going anywhere.
Mike Smith, former coach of the Atlanta Falcons has met with the San Diego Chargers. Smith has been the defensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2015 after being fired from the Atlanta Falcons in 2014.
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