Teams' Interest In 49ers' Staff Surprises Shanahan
Another former Panthers assistant will land a job on the Bills‘ coaching staff. Buffalo hired Ken Dorsey to be its quarterbacks coach. A former Miami Hurricane standout, prior to his days with the 49ers and Browns, Dorsey spent five seasons as the Panthers’ QBs coach. In 2018, the 37-year-old coach was on Appalachian State’s staff. Dorsey will take over for David Culley, who is now on Baltimore’s staff. The Bills also promoted Chad Hall to wide receivers coach. The 32-year-old former NFLer spent his first two seasons in coaching as a Bills offensive assistant. Another hire the Bills announced this week: bringing in Terry Heffernan to be their assistant offensive line coach. Heffernan has NFL coaching experience, being a Lions staffer earlier this decade, but spent the past three years at Division I-FCS Eastern Kentucky. Heffernan coached under new Bills offensive line coach Bobby Johnson in Detroit.
- Kyle Shanahan was a bit surprised teams aggressively pursued members of his coaching staff, considering the 49ers went 4-12 this season. “It was a little unexpected,” Shanahan said during an interview with KNBR (via NBC Sports Bay Area). “I didn’t think our staff was going to get raided after a 4-12 year, so that caught me off a little bit.” The Broncos did the main raiding, hiring Rich Scangarello and T.C. McCartney. The Packers also hired Adam Stenavich to become their offensive line coach. Shanahan also denied permission for the Vikings and Packers to interview Mike LaFleur and did not allow Mike McDaniel to speak with the Cardinals, citing neither offensive assistant being up for a play-calling role with one of those teams.
49ers Want To Re-Sign K Robbie Gould
The 49ers sound like they want to retain kicker Robbie Gould‘s services, but it might not be easy. Matt Barrows of The Athletic writes that the two sides aren’t close to a deal, and a new contract isn’t imminent.
In fact, Gould might be content to test free agency. The 36-year-old recently talked to Dan Pompei of The Athletic, and the veteran strongly hinted that he’d be interested in returning to his former team, the Bears. Chicago could be seeking a new kicker following Cody Parkey‘s underwhelming performance this past season, and Gould has a natural connection to the organization after having spent the first 11 years of his career with the team.
Of course, the 49ers still have plenty of leverage. The team could choose to franchise the kicker, and that decision wouldn’t break the bank; last year’s kicker value was around $4.9MM. The team could also choose to sign Gould to a longer-term deal, and general manager John Lynch indicated that they’d be willing to spend for the veteran.
“He’s been incredibly clutch for us,” Lynch told Barrows. “And we’d like to reward him for that.”
After one season with the Giants, Gould signed a two-year deal with San Francisco back in 2017. In his two seasons with the team, the kicker has connected on 72 of his 75 field goal attempts in 32 games. Gould has also converted 55 of his 59 extra point attempts.
49ers Likely To Decline Garcpn's Option
- The 49ers already made one option decision last week, declining their 2019 year for defensive tackle Earl Mitchell, and they may be leaning in a similar direction for another veteran player. San Francisco is not expected to exercise its option on wideout Pierre Garcon, reports Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area. Garcon, 32, would earn $6MM in 2019 if the 49ers change their mind, but if the club follows through on declining the option, it will take on $7.2MM in dead money while saving roughly $1MM. After five years of relative durability in Washington, Garcon hasn’t been able to stay healthy in the Bay Area, playing in just 16 total games over the past two seasons.
49ers Lose Another Staffer To Broncos
A few pipelines have led to the Broncos this offseason. Following’s Ed Donatell Chicago-to-Denver move alongside Vic Fangio, another 49ers staffer will take a key job on the Broncos’ staff, joining new OC Rich Scangarello. T.C. McCartney, an offensive assistant with San Francisco, will become Denver’s new quarterbacks coach, Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic tweets. McCartney interviewed on Tuesday, per Mike Klis of 9News (Twitter link), and represents a unique addition to the Broncos’ staff. The 29-year-old assistant is the grandson of former Colorado Buffaloes head coach Bill McCartney. It will be T.C. McCartney’s first NFL time as an NFL position coach.
- Although Jim Tomsula‘s Redskins contract had expired, the parties look to have worked out another agreement. Tomsula will return as Washington’s defensive line coach, the team announced Tuesday. This will be the former 49ers HC’s third season instructing Redskins defensive linemen.
49ers, Packers Interview Wes Welker
Wes Welker spent the past two seasons working as a Texans offensive assistant, but other teams are interested in the former All-Pro wide receiver.
Both the 49ers and Packers met with Welker, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle.
It is unclear if Welker’s contract is up, because the Texans recently blocked the young assistant from an interview. Last year, the Texans didn’t allow Welker to interview for the Broncos’ wide receivers coach position. But Welker met with the 49ers and Packers this year, indicating he could be on the move soon.
The 49ers employ a wide receivers coach, Mike LaFleur, but the Matt LaFleur-led Packers do not. The Packers were interested in Shawn Jefferson for that role, but he since accepted a job with the Jets.
Welker, 37, played 12 NFL seasons before retiring as a member of the St. Louis Rams after the 2015 campaign. He spent 2018 assisting Texans wideouts coach John Perry, working with the likes of DeAndre Hopkins, former teammate Demaryius Thomas and rookie Keke Coutee.
49ers To Hire Shane Day As QBs Coach
The 49ers have identified Rich Scangarello‘s replacement as quarterbacks coach, with NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco reporting (on Twitter) they will hire Shane Day to oversee the Jimmy Garoppolo-led group.
Day began his career in San Francisco as a quality control coach and was most recently the Dolphins’ tight ends coach, serving in that role during each of Adam Gase‘s three years.
Day’s most recent experience as a quarterbacks coach came with the 2010-11 Bears, where he worked under Mike Martz. Day also coached quarterbacks with the University of Connecticut for two seasons.
Kyle Shanahan continues to serve as the 49ers’ de facto offensive coordinator. He allowed Scangarello to leave for the Broncos’ OC post because it offered play-calling responsibilities. The 49ers appear to have their four key offensive coaches now, with Mike McDaniel and Mike LaFleur serving as run and pass game coordinators and Day set to work with Garoppolo and Co. LaFleur worked with QBs at the Senior Bowl, but Maiocco tweets he will have broader responsibilities next season while Day will be tasked only with quarterback work.
Jimmy Garoppolo Goal Is OTAs Return
- The 2018 season marked the first NFL campaign without DeAngelo Hall‘s involvement since 2003. The recently retired Redskins safety may be eyeing a return to the league as a coach. Hall said (via Grant Paulsen of 106.7 The Fan, on Twitter) he interviewed for a position as Redskins secondary coach on Tuesday. The team, though, went with Ray Horton to oversee its defensive backs. Hall, 35, also could begin his coaching career at the college level, indicating he interviewed for a job on Maryland’s staff as well. After Hall passed on the Terrapins’ offer, in hopes of pursuing the Redskins’ position, the Big Ten program went in another direction (Twitter link via Brendan Darr of 106.7 The Fan). So, Hall remains an interesting coaching free agent.
- The 49ers may see their quarterback on the field by OTAs. That is the goal for a Jimmy Garoppolo re-emergence, John Lynch said on the RapSheet and Friends Podcast (via NFL.com). Lynch confirmed Garoppolo has not endured any setbacks on his recovery from a September ACL tear. This is the latest update indicating Garoppolo participating in OTAs was a realistic possibility.
49ers Promote Martin Mayhew
- The 49ers have promoted Martin Mayhew to vice president of of player personnel, tweets Matt Barrows of The Athletic. Mayhew, whose previous title was “senior personnel executive,” will now share the VP role with Adam Peters. After serving as Detroit’s general manager from 2008-15, Mayhew was the Giants’ director of football operations/special projects in 2016 before he joined San Francisco the following year. He interviewed for the Panthers’ GM gig last February, but lost out to interim Marty Hurney.
49ers’ Weston Richburg, D.J. Reed Undergo Surgery
49ers center Weston Richburg and cornerback D.J. Reed both recently underwent surgery, leaving their availability for the start of training camp in question, San Francisco announced today. Richburg’s operation addressed an ongoing knee issue, while Reed went under the knife to correct a shoulder injury.
Richburg inked a five-year, $47.5MM contract with the 49ers last offseason, and proceeded to play in 15 games despite dealing with his knee injury. His production wasn’t great, as Pro Football Focus assigned Richburg the lowest grade (51.9) of his five-year career, but it’s fair to assume his health questions factored into his reduced level of play.
Although Richburg could return for training camp, knee injuries can often last longer than initially expected. The 49ers don’t have a ton of depth along the interior of their offensive line, so they could potentially be in trouble if Richburg is forced to miss any regular season action. Erik Magnuson would presumably take over at center, but San Francisco could look to free agency and/or the draft to shore up their line in case Richburg isn’t ready for the 2019 campaign.
Reed, a fifth-round pick last year, appeared in 15 games (two starts) for the Niners. At 5’9″, 188 pounds, he’s mostly suited for the slot, and that’s where he primarily played in 2018. All told, Reed saw action on roughly a third of San Francisco’s defensive snaps and 43.2% of the club’s special teams plays.
49ers Open To Earl Mitchell Return
The Niners will not exercise Earl Mitchell‘s option for 2019, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s off the team. GM John Lynch has not closed the door on bringing the defensive tackle back at a lower price, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com tweets. 
Mitchell probably would have liked to play out the final two years of his four-year contract, but on the plus side, his release gives him an opportunity to explore the open market sooner. There should be a healthy market for his services as well – Mitchell offers plenty of experience and he won’t turn 32 until September.
Still, Mitchell may have to wait until after the first wave of free agency in March to find his next landing spot. Typically, teams are focused on higher-ticket items when free agency first gets underway and players of Mitchell’s caliber usually don’t get real attention until the end of the month.
Mitchell finished out the 2018 season with 28 tackles across 14 games (12 starts). Had he been retained by the Niners, he would have counted for a $4.45MM cap figure in 2019.