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San Francisco 49ers News & Rumors

NFC West Notes: 49ers, Mangini, Rams

By | at January 4, 2016 10:23 pm

The 49ers have not interviewed any candidates yet nor scheduled any, GM Trent Baalke told reporters, including Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group (on Twitter). He added that there are no in-house candidates at this time which is interesting given the presence of defensive coordinator Eric Mangini. Geep Chryst, the team’s offensive coordinator, has had head coaching buzz in the past, but his stock isn’t terribly high after a dismal 2015 season in San Francisco.

Here’s more from the NFC West:

  • While keeping option open at the position, Rams head coach Jeff Fisher said that quarterback Case Keenum will enter the 2016 season as the starter at quarterback, Jim Thomas of the Post-Dispatch tweets.
  • Fisher also said that team intends to bring in competition for kicker Greg Zuerlein, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com tweets. Zuerlein is an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
  • Fisher liked the job Rob Boras did as offensive coordinator, but has not made a decision yet on whether Boras will keep the job, Thomas tweets. Fisher indicated that there could be coaching staff changes made this offseason.
  • In addition to offensive coordinator Frank Reich, the Chargers announced that offensive line coach Joe D’Alessandris, wide receiver coach Fred Graves, defensive line coach Don Johnson, and tight end coach Pete Metzelaars have been let go.
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49ers, Dolphins Ask Permission To Interview Hue Jackson

By | at January 4, 2016 9:14 pm

Both the 49ers and the Dolphins have asked permission to interview Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson, according to reports from Mike Silver of NFL Network (on Twitter) and PFT. Jackson has been tagged as a hot coaching candidate all season after turning the Bengals offense into one of the league’s best. Hue Jackson (vertical)

When asked about Jackson’s head coaching candidacy back in November, Bengals owner Mike Brown admitted that he might lose him this offseason:

“Hue is a very qualified coach. We think the world of Hue…We’ve had (Jay) Gruden and (Mike) Zimmer leave, and I’m sure after this year Hue will be a candidate,” Brown said. “It is a compliment to Marvin and maybe some others here as well. I like to see it when they achieve. It’s flattering when that happens. It works against our best interest because we have to regroup and reestablish ourselves but it’s also heartwarming to see your people achieve their ambitions.”

Under Jackson’s guidance, the Bengals finished the year with the No. 1 overall offensive DVOA in the NFL. That feat is extra impressive considering that star quarterback Andy Dalton went down with a fractured thumb in December. Jackson, of course, has experience as a head coach after manning the sidelines for the 2011 season in Oakland. Jackson was fired by the Raiders after only one season, a decision that did not sit well with many Raiders fans. The passionate coach returned to Cincinnati where he worked his way up the coaching staff to the OC position. Now, it appears that Jackson could find himself as someone’s head coach in 2016.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

 

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2016 Home And Away Opponents Named For All 32 NFL Teams

By | at January 4, 2016 6:41 pm

Earlier today, the NFL revealed the complete list of home and away opponents for NFL teams in the 2016 season. Dates for these games will not be revealed until the spring, but these are the teams that will be on each club’s schedule, including home and away designation:

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1 comment Arizona Cardinals Atlanta Falcons Baltimore Ravens Buffalo Bills Carolina Panthers Chicago Bears Cincinnati Bengals Cleveland Browns Dallas Cowboys Denver Broncos Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers Houston Texans Indianapolis Colts Jacksonville Jaguars Kansas City Chiefs Las Vegas Raiders Los Angeles Chargers Los Angeles Rams Miami Dolphins Minnesota Vikings New England Patriots New Orleans Saints New York Giants New York Jets Philadelphia Eagles Pittsburgh Steelers San Francisco 49ers Seattle Seahawks Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tennessee Titans Washington Commanders

49ers Rumors: Baalke, Tomsula, Kaepernick

By | at January 4, 2016 2:50 pm

The latest on the 49ers, who are on the hunt for a new head coach after canning Jim Tomsula:

  • 49ers CEO Jed York says that Trent Baalke will remain as GM and that he will be in charge of finding the team’s next head coach, Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee tweets.
  • Baalke has three years left on his contract, Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com notes (on Twitter). The GM was given an extension to line up with Tomsula’s years.
  • York is making it clear that he’s relying on his uncle, Eddie DeBartolo, to serve as an advisor and mentor in the search, PFT tweets.
  • When asked if he will sell the 49ers, York made it known that he is not interested in giving up the franchise. “My family owned this team before I was born. They’ll own the team after I’m gone,” York said (via Barrows on Twitter).
  • Tomsula is the only member of the coaching staff who has been let go, but it will be up to the new coach to put together his own staff, York says (via Maiocco on Twitter).
  • York says the 49ers will “eat” the remainder of Tomsula’s ~$10.5MM remaining salary, Barrows tweets.
  • Tomsula will be in demand as a defensive line coach, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets. I personally believe that it’s hard to see Tomsula getting looked at as a head coaching candidate right now, but anything is possible.
  • Colin Kaepernick‘s thumb surgery is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday and his full recovery will take three months, Barrows tweets.
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2016 NFL Head Coaching Search Tracker

By | at January 4, 2016 10:35 am

Several NFL teams are currently hunting for a new head coach, and amidst reports about interview requests and potential candidates, it’s easy to lose track of the latest updates in the shuffle. So we’ll use this space – which will be updated until every team has hired a new head coach – to keep track of the most recent news and rumors. It can be found on the right-hand sidebar under “PFR Features.”

Listed below are the head coaching candidates that have been linked to each of the teams with vacancies, along with their current status. If and when other teams decide to make head coaching changes, they’ll be added to this list. Here’s the current breakdown:

Updated 1-18-16 (1:12pm CT)

Cleveland Browns

Miami Dolphins

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

0 comments Cleveland Browns Miami Dolphins New York Giants Newsstand PFR Originals Philadelphia Eagles San Francisco 49ers Tennessee Titans

Coach Rumors: Coughlin, Shula, Shaw, McCoy

By | at January 4, 2016 10:21 am

The Giants have yet to announce a decision one way or the other on head coach Tom Coughlin, but it sounds like we’ll find out shortly whether the club will be in the market for a new coach. According to Dan Graziano of ESPN.com (Twitter link), Coughlin is scheduled to meet with Giants ownership at 1:00 pm eastern time, and it appears a decision has been made.

As we wait to find out Coughlin’s fate, let’s check in on a few other coaching-related notes and rumors….

  • Panthers offensive coordinator Mike Shula figures to draw interest from teams searching for a head coach, but he doesn’t plan to interview while Carolina remains alive in the postseason, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Since the Panthers aren’t scheduled to play until the divisional round, that would mean any potential suitors for Shula would have to wait until at least January 17th, and possibly later, to interview him, which could reduce interest.
  • Rapoport also provides an update on David Shaw, tweeting that the Stanford coach plans to remain in his current role, despite the possibility of garnering interest from the 49ers and/or Colts.
  • Chargers head coach Mike McCoy is scheduled to address the media later today, and as Ben Higgins of 10News in San Diego tweets, that looks like a positive sign for McCoy, since teams don’t typically schedule presser for coaches that are being fired.
  • The Browns‘ unusual approach to their coaching and GM searches could complicate the process for the team, writes Tom Pelissero of USA Today. Since executive VP of football operations Sashi Brown will have final say on the 53-man roster, rival teams will have the option of blocking their own executives from interviewing for Cleveland’s GM job. The Browns also plan to hire a head coach before landing a GM, so while it may be appealing for a head coaching candidate to have the opportunity to bring in his own personnel guy, that guy would have to be unemployed, or employed by a team willing to let him go.
  • Giants offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo is among the candidates the Eagles are expected to consider for their head coaching job, per Alex Marvez of FOX Sports.
2 comments Carolina Panthers Cleveland Browns Indianapolis Colts Los Angeles Chargers New York Giants Philadelphia Eagles San Francisco 49ers

Chip Kelly, Mike Shanahan Interested In 49ers’ Job

By | at January 4, 2016 7:40 am

Former Eagles head coach Chip Kelly has reached out to the 49ers to express interest in San Francisco’s head coaching job, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter), and Kelly is far from the only former NFL head coach interested in the position. Per Michael Silver of NFL.com, former Denver and Washington coach Mike Shanahan has also conveyed interest in the job, after interviewing a year ago for the opening.

While it remains to be seen how strongly Kelly’s and Shanahan’s interest in Jim Tomsula‘s old post is reciprocated by the 49ers, it certainly appears as if the team will have no shortage of candidates interested in the role. Former Packers and Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren has also reportedly reached out to San Francisco to let the club know he has interest in the job.

There may be some concern that Shanahan, 63, and Holmgren, 67, could be past their coaching primes, so Kelly could be the most intriguing name of the bunch for the Niners’ decision-makers. A mobile quarterback like Colin Kaepernick could have bounce-back potential under Kelly, who has a strong relationship with 49ers executive Tom Gamble, as Albert Breer of the NFL Network tweets.

In addition to Kelly, Shanahan, and Holmgren, Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson and Saints head coach Sean Payton have been cited as options for the 49ers, though those two men will be more difficult to interview, with Jackson’s club alive and well in the playoffs, and Payton still under contract with New Orleans.

Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link) hears that the Saints will likely want a second-round pick to part ways with Payton, which may deter potential suitors like San Francisco. However, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link) wouldn’t be surprised if the Saints coach is ultimately dealt for a mid-rounder, since he wouldn’t want his new club to give up much.

So far, it doesn’t appear the 49ers have scheduled any formal interviews as they search for Tomsula’s replacement, but that figures to change very soon.

0 comments New Orleans Saints Newsstand San Francisco 49ers

Top 20 Teams Set For 2016 NFL Draft

By | at January 4, 2016 12:04 am

With the 2015 NFL regular season now complete, the 2016 draft order has been set for the teams that didn’t earn playoff berths this year.

The order for the top 20 is determined first by record — the teams with the worst records get the highest picks. The tiebreaker for teams that finish with identical records is strength of schedules. The easier the team’s schedule, the higher its pick. The thinking there is that if two teams finished with the same record, the team that played the easier schedule is likely the “worst” of the two teams, earning that club the higher pick.

Via NFL.com, here’s how the top 20 breaks down for the 2016 NFL draft, with each team’s record and opponents’ winning percentage noted in parentheses:

  1. Tennessee Titans (3-13, .492)
  2. Cleveland Browns (3-13, .531)
  3. San Diego Chargers (4-12, .527)
  4. Dallas Cowboys (4-12, .531)
  5. Jacksonville Jaguars (5-11, .473)
  6. Baltimore Ravens (5-11, .508)
  7. San Francisco 49ers (5-11, .539)
  8. Miami Dolphins (6-10, .469)
  9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-10, .484)
  10. New York Giants (6-10, .500)
  11. Chicago Bears (6-10, .547)
  12. New Orleans Saints (7-9, .504)
  13. Philadelphia Eagles (7-9, .508)
  14. Oakland Raiders (7-9, .512)
  15. St. Louis Rams (7-9, .527)
  16. Detroit Lions (7-9, .535)
  17. Atlanta Falcons (8-8, .481)
  18. Indianapolis Colts (8-8, .500)
  19. Buffalo Bills (8-8, .508)
  20. New York Jets (10-6, .441)

While teams that played weaker schedules will get the higher draft picks – via tiebreaker – in the first round, that’s not the case for every round. Teams that finished with identical records will rotate order throughout the draft, so the Browns, for instance, will pick ahead of the Titans in round two.

As for the remaining 12 spots, those will be determined based on which teams are eliminated from the playoffs first. The four teams knocked out in the Wild Card round will pick 21st through 24th, for example — the clubs with the weaker records will get the higher picks. The full order will be determined after the Super Bowl, with this year’s champion getting the last pick of the first round — unless, of course, that’s the Patriots, who won’t have a first-rounder in 2016.

2 comments 2016 NFL Draft Atlanta Falcons Baltimore Ravens Buffalo Bills Chicago Bears Cleveland Browns Dallas Cowboys Detroit Lions Indianapolis Colts Jacksonville Jaguars Las Vegas Raiders Los Angeles Chargers Los Angeles Rams Miami Dolphins New Orleans Saints New York Giants New York Jets Newsstand Philadelphia Eagles San Francisco 49ers Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tennessee Titans

49ers Fire Jim Tomsula

By | at January 3, 2016 9:00 pm

The 49ers have fired head coach Jim Tomsula after one year on the job, according to team CEO Jed York, who issued a statement Sunday night (link via the club’s website):

“Jimmy has been a valuable member of the 49ers organization for the last nine years. We all know he is a man of high NFL: St. Louis Rams at San Francisco 49erscharacter, and his contributions on the field and in our community have always been greatly appreciated. This entire organization is proud and grateful to have worked so closely alongside Jimmy. We all wish him and his family great success in the future.”

Last offseason, after interviewing a slew of candidates to replace the departed Jim Harbaugh, San Francisco elected to promote Tomsula – its defensive line coach from 2007-14 – signing him to a four-year, $14MM contract ($10.5MM of which still has to be paid out). However, the Tomsula era didn’t go nearly as well as Harbaugh’s reign, which included a 44-19-1 regular-season record and three playoff appearances in four years. The Tomsula-led Niners finished the 2015-16 campaign 5-11 (the franchise’s worst mark since 2007) and suffered nine losses by double-digit deficits. They defeated the NFC West rival Rams, 19-16, to snap a three-game losing streak on Sunday, but it obviously wasn’t enough to save Tomsula.

As the 49ers begin searching for the 20th head coach in their history, one possibility general manager Trent Baalke could look to is Chip Kelly, according to both CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora (Twitter link) and Fox Sports’ Mike Garafolo (on Twitter). Another is the Saints’ Sean Payton, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Both Kelly and Payton are offensive minds, which the 49ers are seeking, Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com reports. In addition to Kelly and Payton, Maiocco names Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson as someone who could be on the 49ers’ radar. Whether the team’s next head coach is Kelly, Payton, Jackson or someone else, he’ll have the freedom to keep or fire any of its current assistant coaches, per Maiocco (Twitter link).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

5 comments Newsstand San Francisco 49ers

Sunday Roundup: Mularkey, Gase, McDaniels

By | at January 3, 2016 1:13 pm

As we roll into the final week of the regular season, let’s round up some news and notes from around the league:

  • We learned earlier today that Titans interim head coach Mike Mularkey will receive serious consideration to be the team’s permanent head coach, and Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports explains that although there are aspects of the Tennessee top job that make it appealing, questions about ownership could force some big name candidates to steer clear. If Mularkey does get the job, Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com (via Twitter) expects the team to make changes to the rest of its coaching staff.
  • La Canfora was busy on Twitter this afternoon, reporting that the Browns, Dolphins, and Eagles all have serious interest in making Bears OC Adam Gase their next head coach, and that the Titans and Giants head coaching jobs would be the most appealing to Patriots OC Josh McDaniels (Twitter links).
  • La Canfora also tweets that Mike Holmgren‘s reported interest in the 49ers‘ head coaching position should not be discounted, though he also tweets that San Francisco will give strong consideration to Chip Kelly if and when Jim Tomsula is fired. Mike Silver of NFL.com tweets that Kelly himself has reached out to express his interest in the job, along with Mike Shanahan. As Silver notes (via Twitter) the 49ers’ head coaching job is much more appealing than is commonly perceived.
  • Jenna Laine of SportsTalkFlorida.com tweets that Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter has received interest from at least one club looking for a new head coach.
  • Hall-of-Fame executive Ron Wolf had lunch with Browns owner Jimmy Haslam several weeks ago, but per Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com, Wolf denied that Haslam asked him to serve as a consultant for the club. Wolf said he has had no contact with Haslam since that lunch. Wolf’s son, Eliot, currently works as the Packers‘ director of player personnel and is rumored to be Cleveland’s top choice to fill its soon-to-be-vacant GM role.
  • Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Kevin Patra of NFL.com) writes that the Raiders, Chargers, and Rams will all apply for relocation in advance of Monday’s deadline, with the expected relocation fee to be a whopping $550MM per team that relocates. The league will assist whatever club or clubs that get left out of the LA sweepstakes to secure a new home.
3 comments City Of Los Angeles Cleveland Browns Las Vegas Raiders Los Angeles Chargers Los Angeles Rams Miami Dolphins New England Patriots New Orleans Saints New York Giants Philadelphia Eagles San Francisco 49ers Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tennessee Titans
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