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The 49ers are going to have some turnover on the coaching staff. If one of Mike McDaniels or Mike LaFleur were to leave, I wonder if we see Rich Scangarello back in the Bay Area after he recently left the Eagles.
Scangarello spent time with Kyle Shanahan in 2015 when he was an offensive quality control coach and Shanahan was the offensive coordinator. He reunited with Shanahan as the 49ers’ quarterbacks coach in 2017, but left the club after the 2018 season to be the Denver Broncos offensive coordinator. Scangarello held his position in Denver for only one year before making his way to Philadelphia.
When Scangarello left for Denver, Shanahan told reporters it was tough to lose his quarterbacks coach, but also noted he brought him to San Francisco because of his work with quarterbacks.
“I started with Rich in Atlanta, where he worked mainly in the run (game) and helping out our offensive line coach,” Shanahan said via the Denver Post. “But he was always a quarterback guy and that’s why I wanted to bring him to San Francisco.”
Back in September, a social media post by Sowers’ sister, Liz, claimed that the 49ers’ coach was being disrespected by the team. Liz indicated this was evident by her seat assignment on the team’s chartered flight returning back to Santa Clara after the team’s Week 3 win over the New York Giants.
Liz claimed that her sister was seated in economy, while every other full-time coach was in first class. Neither the 49ers nor Katie confirmed the statement and the post was deleted shortly thereafter.
There is a possibility that a lack of upward mobility within the organization is a reason that Sowers time with the 49ers came to an end. If that is the case, she will now have an opportunity to explore options throughout the league.
- 2021: $10.54 million
- 2022: $35 million
- 2023: $37 million
- 2024: $29.3 million
- 2025: $32 million
That’s actually a shockingly reasonable deal. His cap hits would only be guaranteed through 2023. That doesn’t matter all that much because no team will cut him, but it is an easy avenue for later restructures and cap savings.
This is all to say, not only is Watson one of the league’s best quarterbacks, but his deal is surprisingly team-friendly to whoever acquires him.
What would it actually cost to acquire him? NFL reporter Benjamin Allbright seemed to suggest that he’d talked to someone within the Texans organization and that three first-rounders and three second-rounders with a player attached “might start the conversation.” It’s an entirely vague report, but that starting price sounds reasonable.
Wentz to the Colts? Stafford at the 49ers? A look at the NFL quarterback carousel
This year still feels like the final Stafford-Lions run – he gave everything, and it wasn’t enough. A new regime in Detroit will most likely hit the reset button, and that’s good news for Stafford and quarterback-needy franchises. At 32, Stafford is still slap-bang in his prime. Remember: Peyton Manning joined the Broncos at 35 before going on to shatter every record in the books.
If he is available for a bottom-end first-round or a second-round draft pick, Stafford should be at the top of every quarterback-needy team’s list.
Best fit: New England Patriots
Prediction: San Francisco 49ers
Five steps to fixing the 49ers in 2021: Keep Jimmy Garoppolo, but draft his possible successor
1. Keep Jimmy G
The 49ers’ brass have stated they have their starting quarterback in Garoppolo, who will still be on the south side of 30 years old at the start of the 2021 season. He has two years remaining on the five-year, $135.5 million contract he signed in 2018. And while his $26.2 million cap hit is significant, Garoppolo’s current contract makes him the NFL’s 13th highest-paid quarterback, according to Over The Cap.
He’s not Mahomes, but Garoppolo has proven that he is capable of leading a team to the Super Bowl. He made several timely completions at critical moments during the 2019 regular season. He is also extremely familiar with Kyle Shanahan’s system, and does not mind handing the ball off 50 times to his running backs if that’s what it takes to win.
Staying healthy is Garoppolo’s greatest challenge after missing 23 games during his first three full seasons in San Francisco. He recently said that improving his durability is his biggest focus this offseason. If healthy, Garoppolo is a quality quarterback whose best seasons may still be ahead of him.