Report: Peters not among the top-3 finalists for the Panthers GM job

Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports—he’s been covering the Carolina Panthers for years— reported that the Panthers are down to three candidates, and 49ers VP of player personnel Adam Peters is not among them.

For San Francisco, that’s great news. Peters is a lifetime west-coaster, and rumors were floating around that he and his family were comfortable staying in the Bay Area. Who knows if those rumors were true, but where there is smoke, there is fire. The Broncos named George Paton as their general manager on Wednesday, which means Peters isn’t going anywhere.

That’s a bigger deal than it seems, as you don’t want to lose your top scouting guy in your front office just as you’re about to rev up your process and start to make impactful decisions for your franchise. This is a win for the 49ers, though they’re not out of the woods yet as Martin Mayhew, who holds the same title as Peters, is interviewing for Washington’s general manager position on Friday.

Conversely, the Rams lost their Director of College Scouting, Brad Holmes, as Detroit hired Holmes to be their new general manager. Seahawks VP of Football Operations Scott Fitterer is one of the finalists for the Panthers GM job so that the Niners divisional rivals could lose two key personnel men.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that 49ers DC Robert Saleh will have a second interview for the Chargers head coaching vacancy. Saleh has racked up his frequent flyer miles in the last week as he has made the interview rounds. As Brian Daboll and Brandon Staley, two coordinators whose teams are still in the playoffs, are hot commodities, I’m curious if a team waits until they are available.

Cameron Wolfe of ESPN released the Miami Dolphins candidates for their vacancy at offensive coordinator, and 49ers run game coordinator Mike McDaniels was on the list. That would be a blow to San Francisco’s offense as McDaniels has added innovative wrinkles over the past couple of seasons. If you’re Saleh, Staley, or even the Seahawks—who have a vacancy for their OC position, McDaniels should be an option considering each three have seen what McDaniels has done first-hand for the 49ers.

We’re still waiting on that one domino to fall. That domino, Urban Meyer, has been linked to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Once he’s hired, I imagine other coaching decisions will be made, and we’ll have a better idea of which coaches San Francisco will retain.