The head coach and general manager positions may not be vacant much longer with the San Francisco 49ers. According to a report from Jason Cole of Bleacher Report, New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and ESPN analyst Louis Riddick may be filling the vacancies.
Increasing talk that Josh McDaniels and Louis Riddick are actually tied to each other for a coach/GM pairing with #49ers being the spot.
— Jason Cole (@JasonCole62) January 7, 2017
McDaniels has been a head coach before. He had a relatively unsuccessful run for the Denver Broncos, going 11-17 in less than two full seasons in 2009 and 2010. He worked as an assistant with the New England Patriots from 2001-2008 and again from 2012 to the present. As such, he’s been a part of all four New England Super Bowl victories.
Riddick has worked with ESPN since 2013 but has extensive talent evaluation experience with the Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles. He worked with the Redskins as a Pro scout (2001-2004) and Director of pro personnel (2005-2007). In Philadelphia, Riddick was a Pro scout (2008), Assistant director of pro personnel (2009), and Director of pro personnel (2010-2013).
Based on a series of tweets shared at various points throughout 2016, it also seems as though Riddick is a fan of McDaniel’s.
The 49ers do have a decorated past and have enjoyed great success as recently as 2013. With that said, the current team has almost no resemblance to the ones that Jim Harbaugh took to three straight NFC Championship Games.
The roster definitely lacks quality talent and even if Colin Kaepernick returns, has serious questions at the quarterback position. Additionally, working for San Francisco means working for Jed York. That has not proven to be an easy task for past employees.
So, whatever coach/general manager combo makes its way to Santa Clara will definitely have a lot of work to do.