Nick Caserio Declines 49ers GM Interview
The Patriots look set to retain player personnel director Nick Caserio despite earlier reports of 49ers interest. The longtime New England staffer turned down an interview request from the 49ers, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports.
San Francisco representatives interviewed Patriots OC Josh McDaniels earlier today, and a report emerged previously the 40-year-old play-caller viewed the 49ers’ job as his top option compared to the Rams’ or Jaguars’ positions. But Caserio declining this opportunity could throw some cold water on that. The 40-year-old McDaniels and 41-year-old Caserio are close, going back to their days playing football at John Carroll University.
Florio, though, notes Caserio turning down an interview could lead to the 49ers offering McDaniels more power. The reporter adds that Caserio, who interviewed with the Dolphins in 2014, hasn’t shown serious interest in leaving New England despite not having final say over the Patriots’ 53-man roster — a responsibility Bill Belichick has long since possessed.
The 49ers remain connected to several candidates for their GM vacancy, but the Caserio road appears to have hit a dead end.
ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, Colts VP of football operations Jimmy Raye III, Panthers assistant GM Brandon Beane, Packers director of football operations Eliot Wolf and Vikings assistant GM George Paton represent the other candiates for the 49ers’ GM position. Raye will interview with the team on Sunday.
Nick Caserio/49ers Summit On Tap?
The 49ers‘ summit with Josh McDaniels occurred today, but the team did not meet with Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio, whom it was curious about pairing with the 40-year-old coach. A Caserio/49ers summit — one the team requested — did not appear on the San Francisco brass’ docket, either because the Patriots denied an interview request or Caserio turned down the offer, Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee notes.
A Patriots staffer since 2001, Caserio was a college teammate of McDaniels’ at John Carroll University. The longtime Patriots employee is signed through 2020 and interviewed for the Dolphins’ GM job in 2014. He makes approximately $2MM per year, Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald reports, adding that a 49ers job could interest the 41-year-old personnel man.
Howe notes the 49ers are hoping to bring Caserio aboard as their GM, writing interview requests will continue to come his way due to the Patriots’ success and his current job title permitting those requests. ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, Colts VP of football operations Jimmy Raye III, Panthers assistant GM Brandon Beane, Packers director of football operations Elliot Wolf and Vikings assistant GM George Paton represent the other candiates for the 49ers’ GM position. Raye will interview with the team on Sunday.
Josh McDaniels Prefers 49ers’ HC Job
Contingents from the 49ers, Jaguars and Rams will travel to Massachusetts on Saturday to interview Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels regarding their head coaching vacancies. Of the teams courting McDaniels, the 49ers interest him the most, a source told Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle.
The Niners are enticing to McDaniels for several reasons, including CEO Jed York’s willingness to patiently rebuild, according to Branch. The club is also looking for a general manager, and it could land one who’s already on good terms with McDaniels if it tabs ESPN analyst Louis Riddick or Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio. The 49ers will meet with Riddick next week, though it’s unclear whether they’ll speak with Caserio.
McDaniels, who will spend the next month vying for his fifth Super Bowl ring as an assistant, already has prior head coaching experience. That stint, which lasted from 2009-10 with the Broncos, included a mere 11 wins in 28 games. However, the 40-year-old offensive guru has rebuilt his stock since returning to the Patriots in 2012.
If McDaniels does depart New England again for a head coaching job, the 49ers would ostensibly be a logical choice. While the franchise has plummeted to the league’s cellar since parting with Jim Harbaugh after the 2014 season, it’s in position to rebound with 11 picks – including No. 2 overall – in this year’s draft and the most cap space in the NFC. San Francisco probably doesn’t have an answer at quarterback on its roster, especially if Colin Kaepernick opts out of his contract, but the new GM and McDaniels could perhaps find one in the draft or even swing a trade for Pats backup Jimmy Garoppolo.
49ers Interview Kyle Shanahan
- Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan‘s head coaching interviews with the Jaguars and 49ers took place Friday, tweets Jason Cole of Bleacher Report. Shanahan will meet Saturday with the Broncos, relays Cameron Wolfe of the Denver Post (Twitter link). The 37-year-old reportedly prefers the Broncos’ job to the other openings around the league.
Latest On 49ers' GM, HC Searches
- 49ers: With vacancies at general manager and head coach, the Niners are set to to interview a couple members of the Carolina organization. Panthers assistant general manager Brandon Beane and defensive coordinator Sean McDermott will meet with the 49ers next week, per FOX Sports’ Peter Schrager (Twitter links). Seahawks offensive line coach Tom Cable will also discuss the 49ers’ head coaching opening with the team next week, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today (Twitter link).
Coaching Rumors: Lynn, 49ers, McDaniels
The latest news on the league’s coaching vacancies:
- For a complete rundown of every interview scheduled for the teams in search of a new coach, check out PFR’s 2017 NFL Head Coaching Tracker.
- Anthony Lynn‘s interview with the 49ers will take place today (Wednesday), according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).
- Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels will interview with the Rams, Jaguars, and 49ers all on the same day, Ben Volin of The Boston Globe writes. McDaniels will huddle up with all three teams on Saturday in separate rooms at a hotel near Gilette Stadium. Those three teams will be permitted to interview McDaniels again in the week after the AFC title game, if the Pats make it to the Super Bowl.
- The Chargers won’t force assistants on a new head coach, but they value their offensive staff, Rapoport tweets. There’s a good chance offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt and his fellow offensive coaches stay put.
- The Broncos are expected to talk to Lynn at some point and will interview Dolphins defensive coordinator Vance Joseph as soon as the rules allow, Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com tweets.
- Cardinals offensive coordinator Harold Goodwin is scheduled to meet with the Rams on Thursday and the Bills on Saturday, Josina Anderson of ESPN.com tweets.
- Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub will interview with the Broncos on Friday and then he has the Chargers on Sunday, Rapoport tweets.
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.
49ers To Interview Sean McVay, Vance Joseph
Redskins offensive coordinator Sean McVay and Dolphins defensive coordinator Vance Joseph are the latest serious candidates to fill the 49ers’ head coaching vacancy. McVay will interview next Monday, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, and Joseph will also meet with the team sometime in the near future, tweets Rand Getlin.
If McVay were to land the job, the soon-to-be 31-year-old wunderkind would become the youngest head coach in the modern era. McVay, who has three years’ experience as a coordinator, teamed with head coach Jay Gruden to guide the Redskins to the NFL’s third-best total offense and a fifth-place DVOA ranking this season. The Rams are also targeting him as a result, though going to San Francisco – where his grandfather, John McVay, once thrived as an executive – would perhaps make for a more interesting story.
Unlike McVay, Joseph’s season isn’t over – the playoff-bound Dolphins will take on the Steelers in the wild-card round this weekend. Thus, it’s unclear when he’ll meet with the Niners. The Broncos will also interview Joseph, according to Getlin, while the Rams, Bills and Chargers have expressed interest in sitting down with him. Joseph, 44, is amid his first year as a defensive coordinator, one in which the Dolphins finished the regular season with unspectacular rankings in scoring (18th), DVOA (19th) and total defense (29th).
Latest On HC Candidate Anthony Lynn
Bills interim head coach Anthony Lynn was reportedly a “virtual lock” as of this past Sunday to earn the job on a full-time basis, but that’s not necessarily the case anymore. There’s now buzz that Lynn might not even want to take over for his former boss, the fired Rex Ryan, according to Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News.
The 48-year-old Lynn has options outside of Buffalo, as it’s now official that he’ll interview with the Rams and 49ers, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). It’s also conceivable that any of the other teams with head coaching vacancies – the Broncos, Jaguars and Chargers – could court Lynn. Notably, the former running back played in Denver with then-quarterback and now-general manager John Elway. He also began his coaching career there as a special teams assistant in 2000.
Lynn drew some interest in head coaching searches last winter, but he was merely a running backs coach at the time. Then, after the Bills fired offensive coordinator Greg Roman in mid-September, Lynn took over and guided the unit to impressive results. Thanks largely to the NFL’s best rushing attack, the Bills’ offense finished the 2016 campaign 10th in both scoring and DVOA.
On the heels of Ryan’s late-December dismissal, Lynn earned the interim title for Week 17, though the Bills lost in embarrassing fashion, 30-10, to the Jets. In defense of Lynn, the Bills benched starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor for business reasons, leaving the coach with EJ Manuel and Cardale Jones as his only options under center. It now seems possible that could go down as Lynn’s only game as the embattled organization’s head coach.
Chip Kelly Eyeing Offensive Coordinator Job
Chip Kelly is out in San Francisco and he already knows what he wants to do next. The former 49ers head coach says that he would like to be an offensive coordinator, according to Jay Glazer of FOX Sports (Twitter link). Glazer did not specify whether Kelly was referring to an NFL or college opportunity, but our educated guess is that Kelly is looking to stay in the professional ranks. 
[RELATED: Trent Baalke Blocked 49ers From Drafting Dak Prescott]
Kelly also says that former GM Trent Baalke was working to get him fired for several weeks. Ultimately, Baalke got his way, but both men were shown out the door together. This isn’t the first time that Baalke has swayed ownership to make a coaching change. Glazer says that Baalke was the reason the 49ers elected not to hire Adam Gase in 2015, and instead went with Jim Tomsula. Apparenty, the Niners were set to announce Gase as their new coach before Baalke went to Jed York and undercut the decision. Gase’s Dolphins are getting ready for Wild Card weekend while the 49ers are blowing things up (again) after a two-win season.
This has been a bad week of PR for Baalke. On Monday, it was reported that Kelly and others in the organization were pushing for the team to draft Dak Prescott but Baalke did not pull the trigger on taking him.
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