Today represents a pivotal spot on the calendar regarding the 49ers’ near-month-long search to replace Trent Baalke. Vikings assistant GM George Paton and Cardinals vice president of player personnel Terry McDonough will conduct second interviews in Atlanta, but one of the candidates is not considered a lock to accept the job.
While news emerged Friday the 49ers may not be ready to commit to Paton or McDonough, and thus reopen their search, Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com reports Paton is not a lock to accept the job if offered. Rick Spielman‘s second-in-command staffer remained an integral component of this process throughout, staying in the finalist picture even before Packers execs Brian Gutekunst and Eliot Wolf withdrew. But Paton turned down opportunities in the past to interview with the Jets and Dolphins, and the longtime Vikings exec interviewed on Wednesday to become the Colts’ GM. Jed York met with Kyle Shanahan and Paton over dinner on Friday night before the expected meetings with both candidates today.
Maiocco confirms Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports’ report about the 49ers not being ready to commit even at this juncture and adds Shanahan wants to ensure during this search the team finds a GM with whom he can share responsibilities. Maiocco reiterates Shanahan will not demand complete roster control. Only a handful of coaches in the league have that responsibility, and the 37-year-old OC looks amenable to working alongside the 49ers’ GM hire.
Paton is believed to have more experience on the financial side of matters, whereas McDonough has dealt mostly with scouting, per Maiocco. The Cardinals high-ranking personnel man played a key role in Arizona landing David Johnson, John Brown and Rodney Gunter during a successful run for the Cardinals in the middle of recent drafts. One source told Maiocco McDonough’s draft acumen is “his No. 1 asset.” Paton isn’t a common fixture on the scouting circuit, working mostly out of the office on the pro personnel side of the spectrum, Maiocco notes.
Former execs Mark Domenik and Mike Shanahan have also been linked with potential front-office responsibilities with the 49ers, who will have gone without a GM for four weeks on Sunday if no one is hired today.
Not being a fan (or hater) of the 49ers, I was hoping to see Louis Riddick from ESPN get the job. He always comes off like he’d be a good GM, and I’d like to see how he would do. Might be interesting to see if he can back it up.
Riddick was not qualified. He was never even an Asst Gm. Just has a high profile because of espn. Most espn guys that return in Any sport suck.
Google Mr. Riddick Sir, shall you?
Thanks
Riddick was Director of pro personnel for 5 seasons. Director pro personnel is largely in charge of evaluating player talent. While he likely does not have a depth of knowledge on cap management, it would be easy for him to hire a “cap-ologist”. Someone such as John Idzik (previously the Jets GM).
Speaking of Idzik, when he was hired, many people complained he had no player evaluation experience. It would seem to me that player evaluation would be the most important skill to have, which is a skill Riddick has a tremendous amount of.
If I was a head coach I’d much rather have a cap specialist for a GM so that I could evaluate the players that I wanted on my team and not have someone else override my input and preferences
Would rather have a GM with a strong background in scouting than in finance. It’s talent that wins championships not business acumen.
I concur
Louis Riddick Résumé:
1. NFL safety
2. Pro Scout
3. Director of Pro Personnel
Rest my case