Trent Kirchner - Pro Football Rumors

Kyle Shanahan Likely To Become 49ers’ HC

January 18th, 2017 at 8:10am CST by Connor J. Byrne

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With Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and Seahawks offensive line coach Tom Cable having withdrawn from the race this week, Shanahan is the last man standing among the eight candidates the 49ers have interviewed.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?

January 17th, 2017 at 6:49pm CST by Dallas Robinson

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.

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.

Kirchner Withdraws From 49ers’ GM Search

January 17th, 2017 at 4:05pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

A day after Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels took himself out of the running for the 49ers’ head coaching vacancy, Seahawks co-director of player personnel Trent Kirchner has withdrawn from their general manager search, reports Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (Twitter link). Kirchner interviewed with the Niners on Monday, but he’s content to remain with NFC West rival Seattle and continue working under GM John Schneider.

Kirchner is one of nine candidates the 49ers have spoken with regarding their GM position. Scott Fitterer, Kirchner’s fellow director of player personnel with the Seahawks, has also met with San Francisco brass. Packers director of player personnel Brian Gutekunst is reportedly the front-runner for the position, however, so it appears Seattle will keep its front office intact. That could bode poorly for Seahawks offensive line coach Tom Cable‘s chances of landing the Niners’ head coaching job, for which he and Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan are the finalists.

Niners CEO Jed York and executive vice president of football operations Paraag Marathe have admitted during head coaching interviews that their roster is “in shambles,” but both that gig and the franchise’s GM role carry appeal. York and Marathe have promised to exercise patience and spend money to improve the roster, and the 49ers are set to enter the offseason with an NFC-high $77MM-plus in cap space. They’re also armed with the second overall pick in the draft. We now know that Kirchner won’t be the one making that selection.

West Notes: 49ers, Rams, Joseph, Raiders

January 8th, 2017 at 9:22pm CST by Sam Robinson

The only team with GM and head coaching vacancies, the 49ers have several interviews on the east coast forthcoming in the next few days. On Monday, San Francisco’s brass will meet with Redskins OC Sean McVay for the HC job and conduct an interview with Panthers assistant general manager Brandon Beane for the GM position, Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com reports.

Panthers DC Sean McDermott will follow Beane by meeting with the 49ers about their HC gig on Tuesday, and ESPN analyst Louis Riddick will interview for the GM position during the day as well. The 49ers may not be in a rush, being scheduled to interview Seahawks offensive line coach Tom Cable next Sunday. The following Monday, the team will meet with more GM candidates. Both of the Seahawks’ co-directors of player personnel, Scott Fitterer and Trent Kirchner, will interview then in what’s become quite the expansive search.

CEO Jed York and fellow high-ranking 49ers staffer Paraag Marathe are leading this search, one that may come down to whether or not the team is willing to wait on Patriots OC Josh McDaniels to conclude his 2016-season responsibilities. The 49ers have already interviewed three for the HC position and four execs for the GM job.

Here’s more from some of the Western-division franchises.

Vance Joseph‘s long-rumored Broncos interview will be on Tuesday, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). Joseph will follow Chiefs ST coordinator Dave Toub and Falcons OC Kyle Shanahan in interviewing for this position. The Colorado alum and current Miami DC has been most connected with the Denver job and was viewed as the favorite going into the weekend.
Despite deploying defensive player of the year candidate Khalil Mack and signing Bruce Irvin in free agency, the Raiders finished with a league-low 25 sacks. Jack Del Rio singled out the team’s inside pass-rushers as a culprit for this shortcoming. “Interior pass rush, it’s critical for us to get that going,” Del Rio said, via Jerry McDonald of the San Jose Mercury News. “I think Stacy McGee had 2.5 sacks, we got Mario Edwards Jr. back and he wasn’t a huge factor, and (Jihad Ward) wasn’t a huge factor. I didn’t feel we got that inside push.” The Raiders have several young players under contract here, including Denico Autry and full-time defensive tackles Dan Williams and Justin Ellis, but Mack and Irvin combined to record 18 of the team’s sacks.
Derek Carr, who said he would have played in the Super Bowl had the Raiders miraculously qualified without him, said he will be ready for the beginning of offseason workouts in April, Scott Bair of CSN Bay Area reports.
Teryl Austin has set up an interview time with the Chargers, with a Tuesday summit on tap. But the Rams‘ meeting the sides have been attached to remains in the to-be-determined category, ESPN.com’s Josina Anderson tweets. A Rams-Kyle Shanahan interview hasn’t been officially rescheduled, per Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports (Twitter link), after weather interrupted the team’s contingent after a McDaniels meeting in New England.

Coaching/FO Rumors: 1/8/17

January 8th, 2017 at 10:23am CST by Rory Parks

We’ve already heard a few coaching and front office rumors today, including news on an extension for Andy Reid, the future of John Dorsey, and the Bills’ continued search for a new head coach. We will round up a few more rumors on that front right here. Revisit this post for updates throughout the day, and also check out our NFL Head Coaching Search Tracker.

In addition to Anthony Lynn, the Rams are also interviewing Doug Marrone for their vacant head coaching position today, according to Peter Schrager of FoxSports.com (via Twitter). Schrager tweets, however, that Marrone is still “very much in contention” for the Jaguars‘ head coaching job.
The 49ers will interview Seahawks co-directors of player personnel Trent Kirchner and Scott Fitterer for their vacant GM job next Monday, and they will interview Seattle’s assistant head coach Tom Cable for their vacant head coaching job next Sunday, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter). The 49ers are interviewing the Colts‘ vice president of football operations Jimmy Raye III for their GM job today, as Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com tweets.

49ers Targeting Tom Cable, Others For HC Job

January 2nd, 2017 at 9:56am CST by Zachary Links

Josh McDaniels isn’t the only candidate on the 49ers’ list. The team is also looking to bring in Seahawks offensive line coach Tom Cable, Bills interim head coach Anthony Lynn, Jaguars interim coach Doug Marrone, and Dolphins defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, according to CSNBayArea.com’s Matt Maiocco.

The Jets interviewed Cable for their head coaching vacancy before the 2015 season, but he did not receive any interviews last offseason. Cable, of course, offers head coaching experience after nearly three years at the helm in Oakland. From 2008-2010, the Raiders went 17-27 under Cable and never finished higher than third in the AFC West.

Meanwhile, the top GM candidates right now are Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio, Chiefs director of player personnel Chris Ballard, ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, Vikings assistant GM George Paton, and Seahawks co-player personnel directors Trent Kirchner and Scott Fitterer.

CEO Jed York and executive vice president of football operations Paraag Marathe are leading the search to fill both vacancies. After witnessing years of discord between former coach Jim Harbaugh and former GM Trent Baalke (and perhaps some disagreement between Baalke and recent ex-coach Chip Kelly), the 49ers may opt for a ready-made GM/coach combo like McDaniels and Caserio. McDaniels appears to be one of the hottest coaching candidates on the market this offseason and Caserio has been viewed as a rising front office star for the last couple of years.

Breer On GM Search, Harbaugh, Draft

December 17th, 2016 at 3:08pm CST by Zachary Links

When it comes to being a GM, is it more about who you know than what you know? In his latest column, Albert Breer of The MMQB spoke with one league official who suggested that the NFL’s career development advisory panel has something of a fraternity-vibe.

“It’s all full of nepotism. It’s a joke. And it starts with Charley Casserly,” the personnel man said.

Casserly rejected the idea that he, Ron Wolf, Bill Polian, Ernie Accorsi, John Madden, Tony Dungy and Carl Peterson are aiming to line up their friends with jobs, but he did acknowledge that connections help.

“It’s so different than it is with coaches,” Casserly said. “Coaches are so clearly defined. You know who calls the plays, you see them on TV, coordinators have press conferences. It’s just not like that in scouting. Are they pro? College? None of them are making big decisions. What you need is networking. It’s not politicking.”

Casserly was directly involved with the Jets’ coach and GM search process in 2015. Gang Green wound up hiring Todd Bowles and Mike Maccagnan – two former co-workers of Casserly’s.

Here’s more from Breer:

Breer identified the following executives as people who could immediately jump into a GM job somewhere: Chiefs VP of player personnel Chris Ballard, Patriots VP of player personnel Nick Caserio, Ravens assistant GM Eric DeCosta, Seahawks co-director of player personnel Scott Fitterer, Texans director of player personnel Brian Gaine, Packers director of player personnel Brian Gutekunst, Seahawks co-director of player personnel Trent Kirchner, Cowboys assistant director of player personnel Will McClay, Cardinals VP of player personnel Terry McDonough, Vikings assistant GM George Paton, Falcons assistant GM Scott Pioli, Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin, Packers director of football operations Eliot Wolf.
The widespread feeling in NFL circles is that Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh will be back in pro football eventually, even if it’s not happening right now. For his part, Harbaugh says that he is incredibly happy as the Wolverines’ coach.
Is Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen the next under-the-radar quarterback prospect a la Carson Wentz? It was Craig Bohl who recruited Carson Wentz to North Dakota State and he is now Allen’s coach at Wyoming. It’s hard to say whether the 6’5″, 222-pound signal caller has the same kind of talent, but his stock is rising. “He’s a big ol’ kid with a big arm, and he’s pretty athletic too,” said one AFC exec. “We gotta learn more about him, but the tools are there.” Allen, a redshirt sophomore, has plenty of time to develop.
Western Michigan coach P.J. Fleck recently predicted that Central Michigan quarterback Cooper Rush will be an “incredibly high draft pick” this year. Apparently, talent evaluators do not agree. “He may get drafted late because of the [lack of] quality at the position,” said one area scout assigned to CMU. “He’s an accurate thrower with deceptive athletic ability to extend plays with his feet. Not a dynamic or explosive athlete, but good enough to avoid the rush and create at times. Average arm at best, but he’s got solid touch on intermediate and deep balls. He just lacks elite velocity.”

Lions Rumors: GM Search, Polian, Megatron

January 4th, 2016 at 11:25am CST by Zachary Links

The latest from Detroit:

Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press identifies Texans executive Brian Gaine and Jaguars exec Chris Polian as two names to watch for the Lions’ general manager job, along with interim GM Sheldon White. Gaine has been mentioned as a candidate for a promotion in Houston as well.
The Lions are scheduling a GM interview with Seahawks co-director of player personnel Trent Kirchner, league sources tell Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Kirchner interviewed with the Jets last year.
Calvin Johnson faces some uncertainty this offseason with the Lions, ESPN.com’s Michael Rothstein writes. Johnson will have a $24MM cap hit with a $15.95MM cash value in 2016 and the team could save $11.1MM on the cap by letting him go.
The Lions have requested to interview Cowboys assistant director of player personnel Will McClay for their GM job, but he decided to stay put, a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). McClay said he recently re-did his contract in Dallas and didn’t want to leave, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press tweets.
Vikings exec George Paton will be declining GM interviews, as well, Birkett tweets. The Lions haven’t formally requested an interview, but he is well respected and seemed like a probable candidate for the job.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

La Canfora’s Latest: Dalton, Falcons, Manning

December 20th, 2015 at 4:05pm CST by Dallas Robinson

As the second slate of games near halftime, lets’s take a look at the latest from Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com…

Andy Dalton‘s recent thumb injury could end up costing the Bengals quarterback millions of dollars in escalators, according to La Canfora. Per clauses in Dalton’s six-year, $96MM extension, he can earn extra cash by playing in 80% of Cincinnati’s snaps during the regular season, while separate escalators are tied to his playing (and winning) in each successive round of the postseason. All told, writes La Canfora, Dalton could add $15MM to his current deal, but those plateaus are obviously at risk now.
Falcons ownership is growing frustrated with the club’s lack of success and is considering firing general manager Thomas Dimitroff, writes La Canfora, who adds that Seahawks director of pro personnel Trent Kirchner and Vikings assistant GM George Paton could each be strong candidates to fill the position (each has a professional history with Atlanta head coach Dan Quinn). It sounds like current AGM Scott Pioli (a Dimitroff friend) could also be on the chopping block.
Major changes could also be coming to the Titans staff, and rumors persist that Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning could land in Tennessee as something of a football czar, with former NFL exec Bill Polian (who drafted Manning) as team president. In such a scenario, Polian’s son Chris could act as general manager, while Jaguars assistant Doug Marrone or Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase would be candidates to serve as head coach.

NFC South Notes: D. Allen, Falcons, Martin

December 15th, 2015 at 8:45am CST by Luke Adams

As Christopher Dabe of NOLA.com details, new Saints defensive coordinator Dennis Allen received plenty of praise from head coach Sean Payton this week after the team’s win over the Buccaneers, in which New Orleans held Tampa Bay to just 17 points.

Since Payton’s future remains uncertain, it’s hard to say for sure that Allen’s job as Saints DC is safe next season — a new head coach may want to bring his own assistants. Still, if Allen finishes the season strong after taking over the NFL’s worst defense, he shouldn’t have any trouble finding work for 2016.

Here’s more from around the NFC South:

With the Falcons in the midst of a six-game losing streak, it’s looking more and more like owner Arthur Blank will make changes to the front office in the offseason, writes Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. According to La Canfora, there have been rumblings since before training camp that Seahawks executive Trent Kirchner could end up in Atlanta, working with ex-Seahawk Dan Quinn, and it wouldn’t be surprising if Kirchner replaces Thomas Dimitroff as the Falcons’ general manager.
Buccaneers running back Doug Martin only got 11 carries on Sunday against the Saints’ league-worst rushing defense, despite racking up 81 yards on those 11 attempts. While the Bucs’ usage of Martin was questionable, the conspiracy theory that the team is trying to limit his yardage totals to make him easier to re-sign doesn’t make sense, as Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times writes.
Rookie Panthers linebacker David Mayo will miss at least the next two weeks with a hamstring issue, tweets Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer. Mayo hasn’t played much for Carolina this season, so we’ll see if the club decides to place him on injured reserve or keep him on its roster for the playoffs.