49ers seek turnaround in the right places
Owner Jed York is looking for duo with history
The pattern was obvious as soon as candidates began to emerge for the San Francisco 49ers’ head coach and general manager vacancies.
Josh McDaniels and Nick Caserio ... from the New England Patriots. Eliot Wolf and Brian Gutekunst ... from the Green Bay Packers. Tom Cable, Trent Kirchner and Scott Fitterer ... from the Seattle Seahawks.
49ers CEO Jed York repeatedly mentioned his desire to “re-establish a championship culture” during a media conference after last weekend’s dismissals of coach Chip Kelly and GM Trent Baalke. And looking at the team’s targets, that message sure seems deliberate — even if it did nothing immediately to stem criticism of a proud franchise that has spent two years in upheaval.
Culture is a real thing in professional sports, and particularly the NFL. It starts with the coach and GM, who need to share a vision and accountability, and flows from there.
There were times the 49ers had it with Baalke and Jim Harbaugh, who took them to three consecutive NFC Championship Games and a Super Bowl in four seasons, before the sides parted ways two years ago.
From there, the 49ers went one-and-done with Jim Tomsula and Kelly, whose marriage with Baalke “didn’t work,” York said, “and I should have probably seen it.”
So if you’re rooting for York to hire his new brain trust and then get out of the way, which you can bet is his preference, you should at least take it as a good sign the 49ers’ search is focused on people who have been around cultures that work and know what it’s all supposed to look like.
It’s also apparent the 49ers’ preference is to find a tandem with a pre-existing relationship (though not necessarily with one team) who respect one another and are confident they can work together.
You won’t find three more con- sistent programs in the NFL than New England, Seattle and Green Bay, where the 49ers’ interview tour continued Thursday with Packers executives Wolf and Gutekunst. They’ll speak to McDaniels, the Patriots’ offensive coordinator, and perhaps Caserio, the personnel director, on Saturday. They’re expected to interview Cable, the Seahawks’ assistant head coach/offensive line, and executives Kirchner and Fitterer next week.
Other respected coaches (Kyle Shanahan of the Atlanta Falcons, Anthony Lynn of the Buffalo Bills, Sean McDermott of the Carolina Panthers) and executives (George Paton of the Minnesota Vikings, Jimmy Raye III of the Indianapolis Colts) are on the list as well. In all, the 49ers are known to have requested or planned interviews with roughly eight coaches and 10 execs — an extensive process that makes sense when you remember they’re not really seeking two people but a team.
There’s a ton of work to be done with the roster, starting with the quarterback position, where Colin Kaepernick can opt out of his contract and might not be in the team’s plans regardless. Though there’s some intriguing young talent (see: rookie end DeForest Buckner), this isn’t a team that’s likely to be a Super Bowl contender again in the near term.
It’s notable that people such as Wolf, a rising star who’d never interviewed for a GM job before, and Paton, who has turned down at least six requests since he was a finalist for the then- St. Louis Rams GM job in 2012, are intrigued enough to speak to the 49ers. But it’s one thing to talk about a job and another thing to take it.
The point isn’t that the 49ers have it all figured out. For the first time in years, though, at least they seem to have an idea what they’re looking for.