Exodus of Smith in San Diego would help 49ers

In pure speculation on ProFootballTalk.com’s part, they seem to predict that San Diego Chargers general manager A.J. Smith may be sent out the door during this offseason. Their reasoning on why this has not happened already? They can’t cut Smith lose with the NFL combine and free agency just around the corner. They feel that the Chargers organization will likely use Smith during these important offseason events, making him feel that a good showing will save his job.

From ProFootballTalk:
Make no mistake about it. The Monday decision from [team president Dean Spanos] was his effort to re-assert control over the franchise, and Smith has been part of the problem. He won't be, in our view, part of the solution.

While this is yet another guessing game on the part of ProFootballTalk.com, a site made popular by this type of speculation, it would benefit the 49ers if this were true.

San Francisco offensive coordinator Norv Turner, a candidate for the head coach job in San Diego, has ties with Smith. If Smith were no longer in San Diego or not part of the hiring process, Norv’s chances of being hired would be greatly hurt.

Another benefit would be that this may open the door for someone like USC’s Pete Carroll. Carroll will only return to the NFL if he has most of the control over team decisions concerning players and personnel. The departure of Smith would certainly give Carroll that opportunity. Add to this the fact that the Chargers are rumored (by many sources) to be interested in Carroll. This likely clouds Smith’s future with the organization.

While interesting, please note that this is all based on pure speculation on the part of ProFootballTalk.com.

Update:
NFL Network's Adam Schefter also seems to feel that general manager A.J. Smith's days with San Diego may come to an end after the NFL Draft in April.