Mike Shanahan received strong consideration from the 49ers as the team was deliberating over its new head coach, with former players like Steve Young and Ronnie Lott talking to the team on Shanahan’s behalf, says Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). However, according to Cole, a key factor in the Niners’ decision to go with Chip Kelly was the club’s belief that Shanahan wanted to move on from Colin Kaepernick, using San Francisco’s first-round pick to draft a quarterback.
It remains to be seen whether Kaepernick will bounce back under Kelly’s system, given his accuracy issues, but 49ers management has some confidence that the quarterback can still have success in San Francisco, and Kelly appears likely to give him a shot.
Here’s more from around the NFC West:
- After battling through another injury-plagued season in 2015, veteran defensive end Chris Long is entering the final year of his contract, and the Rams seem unlikely to keep him around at his current price ($9.75MM base salary, $14.25MM cap hit). Would Long consider a pay cut to remain with the franchise as it moves to Los Angeles? “Of course I’m open to doing something like that,” Long said, per Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com. “It’s not about the money at this point for me.”
- As he prepares to represent himself in free agency, Seahawks tackle Russell Okung tells Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com that he has done his homework and he thinks he’ll make out well.
- Peter King of TheMMQB.com provides some illuminating details about last week’s owners meeting in Houston that resulted in the Rams‘ plan for relocation to Los Angeles being approved. According to King, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie and Seahawks owner Paul Allen were among those in the room who helped shift the momentum from the Carson project to Stan Kroenke‘s Inglewood plan.