Frank Gore is preparing himself for a potential NFL job after he retires

We joke about Frank Gore playing forever, but at some point the future Hall of Famer is going to hang up his cleats. He keeps chugging along, but I’m guessing he calls it quits after either this season or next season. The clock will start for his induction into Canton, but before then, he likely will have an option for extending his NFL career.

Virtually every current or former teammate or coach asked about Gore talks about how smart he is. We know about his ability to find holes where they don’t seem to be any, but his football knowledge extends beyond that in many ways. His level of football knowledge seems like something that should be tapped into after his playing days are done.

Stephen Holder, a senior writer for The Athletic recently put together an interesting feature on Gore. According to Holder, Gore has returned to Indianapolis each of the last two offseasons to take in the NFL Combine. Gore has made these visits to learn more about how scouts evaluate players and understand the business of football.

Holder’s piece is a good one, even if we already know about what he brings to the table. It will be something to watch in a year or two (or more) when Gore does retire. Holder wrote about Colts GM Chris Ballard’s interest in bringing Gore into the front office once his playing days are done. I have to think virtually every team would want to at least reach out to Gore about some kind of role. Maybe it’s a scouting job, maybe it’s a coaching job. My guess is the former, but either way, a team that does not at least reach out to Gore about a job is foolish.

Gore has extensive history with the San Francisco 49ers, so my fingers remain crossed that he ends up with a role in the organization. If Jim Harbaugh ever returns to the NFL, he would likely push hard to bring in Gore. And of course Ballard has shown his interest. Wherever it is, that organization would be getting an all-time great football mind.

If you get some time, give Holder’s article a read.