The San Francisco 49ers have a handful of interviews still to come in their search for a general manager, but we are getting more word on one interview that did not happen. Pro Football Talk is reporting that the Kansas City Chiefs actually blocked Chris Ballard’s interview with the San Francisco 49ers. PFT reported that one source said Ballard was the 49ers “first choice, second choice, and third choice” for the GM job.
Previously, it was reported that he decided not to interview with the team. Ian Rapoport was the first on it, and he said it was a great situation in Kansas City, and Ballard in fact would not have interviewed anywhere if there had been more openings. Now, PFT is saying that is not necessarily the case. The interview rules allow a team in the playoffs to block a GM interview as long as the team remains alive in the playoffs. Once eliminated, they cannot block the interview.
That does open the possibility that the 49ers could wait and see if the Chiefs are eliminated next weekend coming out of their bye week. If the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Miami Dolphins, Kansas City will host Pittsburgh. If Miami wins, Kansas City will face the Houston Texans, who beat the Oakland Raiders on Saturday. It is going to take some more time to hire a general manager, but would you expect to see the hiring process last into next weekend and beyond? That seems unlikely, but anything could happen with this process.