Latest On 49ers’ Head Coach/GM Search

The 49ers will bring in current Falcons’ OC Kyle Shanahan for a second interview either tomorrow or Tuesday if Atlanta should lose the NFC Championship Game today, according to Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com (via Twitter). If the Falcons should win, Shanahan’s second interview will take place on Friday. The 37-year-0ld is, of course, considered the runaway favorite to land the team’s head coaching job, and the second interview appears to be more of a formality than anything else.

Kyle Shanahan (vertical)

In the meantime, San Francisco is continuing to plug away with its GM search, but Michael Silver of NFL.com tweets that long-time NFL coach Mike Shanahan (Kyle Shanahan’s father) will not be joining the team in a formal role. Vikings assistant GM George Paton and Cardinals vice president of player personnel Terry McDonough are currently viewed as the leading candidates for the 49ers’ GM position, though Kyle Shanahan has no obvious connection with either man. Per Silver (Twitter link), if team CEO Jed York does not sense a fit between Shanahan and Paton or McDonough, he may reopen the GM search.

Silver adds (Twitter links) that York has not decided whether Shanahan or the new GM will have formal control of the 53-man roster, and that York does not view roster control as a “major issue.” He is putting a larger emphasis on creating a strong partnership between coach and GM.

Silver views Paton as the top choice at the moment, with McDonough running second (Twitter link). Had Mike Shanahan returned to the team as a head coach, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that McDonough would have been his choice.

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