After years where the relationship between head coach and general manager was tenuous, at best, it’s not surprising that the San Francisco 49ers want continuity going forward. With that in mind, a new report suggests the next head coach of the franchise will “essentially” pick which general manager he will work with.
Jason Cole of Bleacher had the scoop on this, and he noted (as has been reported before by others) that New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has the inside track to become the next head coach. This is something that Ian Rapoport of NFL Media touched on as well in an interview with Joe Fann on the team’s official website.
The relationship McDaniels has with ESPN analyst Louis Riddick could mean the two of them are going to be joined at the hip for the 2017 season and beyond (more on that here).
But perhaps even more interesting is the notion that, if McDaniels is hired, the 49ers could make a deal with the Patriots to acquire quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, per Cole.
Garoppolo has been brought up in McDaniels’ offensive system since joining New England as a rookie out of Eastern Illinois in 2014, so that makes perfect sense. The 49ers also need a quarterback and might not be interested in going through the process of developing a rookie, and the franchise has the draft capital stored up to make such a move and still have currency to fill the roster with talent via the draft this year.
With the Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars and San Diego Chargers having already filled their head coaching vacancies, the 49ers need to get on the stick soon and figure out their plan of action. That said, if McDaniels isn’t the man for the job, the likes of Kyle Shanahan and Tom Cable are still out there as potential coaches, and there are plenty of personnel men to choose from as well.
It’s going to be interesting to see how this all unfolds for the 49ers, a team that has had high standards since the Bill Walsh era but which hasn’t been able to live up to them much since the mid 2000s.