NFC Notes: 49ers, Eagles, Vikings
In their drawn-out quest to find a general manager, the 49ers are down to two finalists – Vikings assistant GM George Paton and Cardinals Terry McDonough – but “it’s not a lock” either will end up with the job, a source close to the team told Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. While there’s a “good chance” one of them will land the role, per the source, the previously reported Mark Dominik “could become involved” if the Niners go in another direction, writes Maiocco.
More from a couple other NFC cities:
- The Eagles are poised to clear “significant” cap space, which could end center Jason Kelce‘s six-year tenure in Philadelphia. When asked about Kelce on Wednesday, executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman didn’t shoot down any rumors regarding the 29-year-old. “We’re talking about a guy who just made the Pro Bowl. Those are good situations for the Philadelphia Eagles to have Pro Bowl players,” Roseman told Zach Berman of Philly.com. “But it’s hard to go into each player, and I’m not saying as it relates to Kelce, but if I start answering the question to Jason Kelce, that opens the door to five or six other guys.” By cutting Kelce, the Eagles would open up $3.8MM in cap space for 2017.
- Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer missed the team’s Week 13 loss to the Cowboys after undergoing emergency surgery on his right eye. Over a month later, Zimmer still can’t see out of that eye and will undergo another procedure in April, tweets Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News. “Hopefully that will fix it,” said Zimmer.
- One of Zimmer’s players, wide receiver/kick returner Cordarrelle Patterson, is open to leaving the Vikings as a free agent if they don’t promise him an increased offensive role. “I need to know if I’m going to play or not. If not, I’ll take my talents elsewhere,” Patterson told Conor Orr of NFL.com. Patterson’s relevance in the Vikings’ offense increased significantly after coordinator Pat Shurmur took over for Norv Turner at the outset of November. Shurmur guaranteed Patterson more targets after grabbing the reins, and the 25-year-old then racked up 46 in the final nine games of the season. He had only 24 in Turner’s seven games atop the offense. All told, the first-team All-Pro return man amassed a career-high 52 catches, though he only averaged 8.7 yards per reception. On whether he’d return to Minnesota for a fifth season in 2017, Patterson said, “If they want me back, they’ll (make a deal) and get me back.”
- The Eagles and player personnel executive Rick Mueller are parting ways, sources told Jeff McLane of Philly.com. Mueller was in his second stint with the Eagles, who fired him during the Chip Kelly era and brought him back when it ended.
Cardinals’ Terry McDonough Set For Second 49ers Meeting
Cardinals vice president of player personnel Terry McDonough will meet with the 49ers about their GM vacancy for a second time, doing so this weekend, Kent Somers of AZCentral.com tweets. The interview will occur on Saturday, likely in Atlanta, per Somers.
Vikings assistant GM George Paton, the only other known finalist, will also conduct his interview for the 49ers’ job on Saturday, Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (on Twitter). While McDonough previously resided as a finalist along with Paton, this confirms the two-man race. The team has not set up any additional follow-up meetings.
McDonough has not been connected with the Colts’ GM opening, while Paton is now in the running for both jobs. Paton is expected to meet with the Colts on Wednesday or Thursday, Alex Marvez of the Sporting News tweets. Falcons OC Kyle Shanahan, the runaway leader in the race to become the 49ers’ next HC, is scheduled to be at Paton’s meeting. Presumably, the Super Bowl-bound play-caller will be at McDonough’s as well.
McDonough’s official summons for a second sitdown with the 49ers comes after previous confirmed finalists Eliot Wolf and Brian Gutekunst chose to sign extensions to stay with the Packers.
Colts To Interview 49ers GM Finalist George Paton
The Colts’ list of candidates for their GM role thus far consists entirely of executives who interviewed with the 49ers as well, and one may have a choice to make. George Paton will interview with the Colts, Ben Goessling of ESPN.com reports.
Indianapolis requested an interview with Paton, along with Seahawks co-player personnel directors Scott Fitterer and Trent Kirchner, earlier today. Paton is scheduled to meet with the 49ers again on Friday or Saturday, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter), where he’s slated to join Falcons’ OC Kyle Shanahan, Tom Pelissero of USA Today reports (via Twitter). Pelissero adds the Colts hope to meet with GM candidates in the next few days. They are also scheduled to meet with internal candidate Jimmy Raye III.
While each of the Colts’ candidates has interviewed with the 49ers, Paton is unique because he is a finalist for the San Francisco job. He’s “very much” the leader in that race, Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star tweets. Complicating matters, the Colts have proven to feature a more stable environment, Ryan Grigson‘s ouster notwithstanding, in recent years. The 49ers became the first team in nearly 40 years to fire first-year coaches in back-to-back years, and the Colts obviously have a long-term quarterback in Andrew Luck. Despite underwhelming at 8-8, the Colts won more games in 2016 than the 49ers did in the past two seasons combined.
A 10-year Vikings exec, Paton rejected opportunities to leave Minnesota in recent years. But this time Rick Spielman‘s top staffer appears serious about becoming a GM elsewhere.
Colts Request Interviews With Trent Kirchner, Scott Fitterer, George Paton
The Colts are invading the 49ers’ turf after establishing a GM search party nearly three weeks later. The team has requested interviews with three candidates on the 49ers’ initial list, including one that’s believed to be a finalist for the San Francisco job.
Indianapolis has requested interviews with Vikings assistant GM George Paton and the Seahawks’ co-directors of player personnel — Trent Kirchner and Scott Fitterer — according to USA Today’s Tom Pelissero (Twitter links).
Fitterer will interview for the position, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets, and the summit with the Colts is scheduled for Thursday.
This makes four known candidates for Indianapolis’ newly available GM job, with internal candidate Jimmy Raye III believed to be holding an early lead. However, the Colts are planning to interview four or five candidates, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets, expecting some of these summits to occur in Mobile, Ala., at the Senior Bowl. Rapoport expects plenty of overlap in the two teams’ GM searches.
Paton remains in the running for the 49ers’ job after advancing through the first round of interviews. He joins Cardinals exec Terry McDonough as those considered to be finalists for the Bay Area vacancy. Kirchner bowed out of the 49ers’ GM race shortly after Tom Cable withdrew from the head coaching search, while Fitterer did not advance to the finalist stage, joining Raye in that regard. Fitterer dropped out of the running for an Eagles executive position last year.
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.
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.
Brian Gutekunst Withdraws From 49ers’ GM Search
Another Packers executive won’t be finishing out the GM interview process with the 49ers. The Packers will retain player personnel director Brian Gutekunst after he withdrew his name from the San Francisco GM search, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
One of the finalists for the NFL’s lone vacant GM job, Gutekunst instead signed a new deal to stay in Green Bay, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter).
The Packers reached an agreement earlier this week to retain director of football operations Eliot Wolf, so the 49ers’ effort to pry one of Ted Thompson‘s top staffers won’t come to fruition. The Packers execs’ decisions to stay in Green Bay come after Seahawks co-director of player personnel Trent Kirchner announced he was withdrawing from the pursuit.
This could leave Vikings assistant GM George Paton in the driver’s seat for the job as the one known finalist still in the running. He’s set to meet with the 49ers next week. Although the team is keeping an eye on Cardinals’ vice president of player personnel Terry McDonough, Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com reports, Paton is expected to meet with 49ers brass — and possibly leading HC candidate Kyle Shanahan — on Tuesday. Michael Silver of NFL.com also tabs Paton (Twitter link) as the favorite to become the 49ers’ next GM and win what’s become a complex race not unlike what’s transpired in the derby to become their next coach.
Another name to monitor, per Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee, is Jaguars director of player personnel Chris Polian. The son of Hall of Famer Bill Polian did not meet with with the 49ers this month as the organization conducted a thorough search featuring nine interviews.
NFC Notes: 49ers, Panthers, Cardinals
Packers director of football operations Eliot Wolf is among the general manager candidates the 49ers and soon-to-be head coach Kyle Shanahan will invite to Atlanta for an interview next week, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today (Twitter link). The team will also conduct second meetings with one of Wolf’s Packers colleagues, Brian Gutekunst, and Vikings assistant GM George Paton, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
More from San Francisco and a couple other NFC cities:
- Falcons secondary coach Marquand Manuel could become the 49ers’ defensive coordinator under Shanahan, Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com hears (Twitter link). The two are on the same staff now, of course, and Manuel garnered prior coaching experience in Seattle from 2012-15. The 37-year-old was an NFL safety from 2002-09.
- The Panthers worked out free agent quarterback Aaron Murray on Tuesday, reports Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer. Murray spent 2016 on the Eagles’ practice squad, but he has been available since they elected against signing him to a reserve/futures deal earlier this month. The 26-year-old was a star at Georgia, where he became the SEC’s all-time leader in passing yards, completions and touchdowns, but he hasn’t recorded an NFL statistic since the Chiefs took him in Round 5 of the 2014 draft. With Panthers QBs Cam Newton, Derek Anderson and Joe Webb under contract next year, there’s no clear fit for Murray in Carolina.
- Cardinals defensive lineman Josh Mauro‘s recently signed two-year contract is worth just over $2MM total, per Mike Jurecki of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Mauro will make $750K next season and $1.3MM in 2018.
Kyle Shanahan Likely To Become 49ers’ HC
As of Tuesday evening, Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan wasn’t a lock to accept the 49ers’ forthcoming offer to become their head coach. However, Shanahan’s now “almost certain” to take the job, reports Mike Silver of NFL.com.
With Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and Seahawks offensive line coach Tom Cable having withdrawn from the race this week, Shanahan is the last man standing among the eight candidates the 49ers have interviewed. The rest have accepted head coaching positions elsewhere. Thus, in the unlikely event Shanahan turns San Francisco down, it would send CEO Jed York and executive vice president of football operations Paraag Marathe scrambling to hit the reset button on their search to replace Chip Kelly.
The 49ers are also on the hunt for a new general manager, of course, and lost one candidate when Cable’s Seattle colleague, co-director of player personnel Trent Kirchner, took himself out of consideration Tuesday. Of the GM possibilities the Niners have considered, Kirchner, fellow Seahawks executive Scott Fitterer and Chiefs director of player personnel Chris Ballard would have preferred to work with Cable, according to Silver. The Chiefs prevented Ballard from talking to the 49ers, though, and awarded him a pay raise as compensation, Silver writes.
Cable has another fan in defensive coordinator-to-be Gus Bradley, who would have gone to San Francisco had it hired Cable. Instead, after Cable dropped out of contention Tuesday, Bradley spurned the 49ers when they asked if he’d be interested in teaming with Shanahan. It appears, then, that Bradley will become the Chargers’ D-coordinator.
Shanahan is currently preparing for Sunday’s NFC championship game between the Falcons and Packers. If Atlanta advances to Super Bowl LI, the 49ers wouldn’t be able to hire him until after Feb. 5. Regardless, he’ll have a second interview with the Niners next week and will discuss GM choices with team brass. Packers director of player personnel Brian Gutekunst remains the favorite, relays Silver, who adds that Green Bay director of football operations Eliot Wolf and Vikings assistant GM George Paton are also strong contenders.
No Guarantee Shanahan Accepts 49ers Job?
Now that Tom Cable and Josh McDaniels have each dropped out of the 49ers’ head coaching search, Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan is the last man standing and is fully expected to be offered the position. However, Shanahan is not a lock to accept the job, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter links), who notes that an upcoming meeting between the two parties could play a key role in Shanahan’s decision.
[RELATED: 2017 Head Coaching Search Tracker]
Shanahan will reportedly discuss potential general manager candidates with San Francisco management during his second interview, and the 49ers are now narrowing down their list of executives, tweets Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. Seahawks co-director of player personnel Trent Kirchner withdrew his name from the search earlier today, but four other candidates — Brian Gutekunst (Packers), Terry McDonough (Cardinals), George Paton (Vikings) and Eliot Wolf (Packers) — all had “strong” initial interviews, reports Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee.
According to Barrows, Kirchner believed that he and Cable were being used as something of pawns in order to drive Shanahan’s contract demands down. Shanahan does have tremendous leverage, as La Canfora adds (Twitter link), and would certainly be in high demand as a head coach in 2018. But the 49ers job is his last chance to land a head coaching gig during this hiring cycle, as every other vacancy has been filled.
If Shanahan does turn down the 49ers, San Francisco would truly return to square one. Outside of Cable and McDaniels, every other coaching candidate the club interviewed (or had planned to interview), including Doug Marrone, Vance Joseph, Sean McVay, Sean McDermott, and Anthony Lynn, has been hired elsewhere.
Latest On 49ers’ GM Search
San Francisco’s head coaching vacancy is garnering the bulk of media attention, but the club also has an opening at general manager after dismissing Trent Baalke last Sunday. The 49ers already lined up interviews with a pair of GM candidates from the Packers, and they’ll also meet with ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, Colts vice president of football operations Jimmy Raye III and Vikings assistant GM George Paton, via reports from Adam Schefter of ESPN, Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee and Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com (Twitter links here).
Riddick began his NFL career in 1991 as a safety with the Niners, but the ninth-round pick never played a game with the team. After his playing career ended in 2001 (with an XFL team, in fact), Riddick worked his way up the front offices in Washington and Philadelphia, topping out as the Eagles’ director of pro personnel from 2010-13. Speaking Monday on ESPN, Riddick raved about the appeal of the 49ers’ GM gig, notes Maiocco.
Like Riddick, Raye has a connection with the 49ers. His father, Jimmy Raye II, worked as San Francisco’s wide receivers coach in 1977 and then served as its offensive coordinator from 2009-10. The younger Raye, 48, has been in the Colts’ front office since 2013. His extensive duties in Indianapolis include overseeing the undrafted free agent process, according to the team’s website. Raye was on the Titans’ radar last year before they tabbed Jon Robinson as their GM.
Paton, who just finished his 10th season with the Vikings, previously held prominent positions with the Dolphins and Bears. Those same Bears (along with the Jets) wanted him as their GM prior to the 2015 campaign, but he refused interviews with each club. Paton also rejected proposed meetings with the Titans and Lions last winter, but it now seems he’s open to leaving Minnesota.