The 49ers 2015 Coaching Search Thread(All Rumors Here)

Updated the last thread, added a couple new choices that came up, eliminated some of the least popular ones, so here we go. Please put all coaching rumors and debate in this thread rather than creating new ones.


My quick thoughts on each candidate.


Mike Holmgren-A coaching great, a Super Bowl winner, great with QB's and a local guy. The downside is that he's 67, has been out of coaching for awhile and I don't know how strong the motivation is to put in the ridiculous hours that being a head coach requires. He seems interested according to various reports, but guys with that lengthy of a layoff from coaching don't often tend to do well.

Pep Hamilton-The Colts offense has been explosive, Hamilton has done a very good job in utilizing the various pieces of his offense. However it has not been a very balanced offense, they obviously lacking talent at RB but it leaves one to wonder whether Luck is more responsible for the success that Indy has had than Hamilton.


Adam Gase-Definitely a favorite of mine, has had some highly successful people vouching for him, is seeing as one of the top head coaching candidates going into 2015, could have had a job as a head coach in 2014 but turned it down in favor of more seasoning. Has shown he's very flexible in his approach, having coached Tebow and helped adjust the offense for him as well as having earned the respect of Manning for his offensive creativity. Young coach and just as with Hamilton, there's questions about whether his success has more to do with the quarterback running the offense than him.


Gary Kubiak-All in all this this might be the best, most balanced candidate IMO. Was the QB coach on the 1994 49ers Superbowl team, recognized as having a tremendous offensive mind, his work with Baltimore as their OC has been outstanding. Their offense is ranked in the Top 10 of the NFL for the first time since 1997. A Ravens OL that was one of the worst in the NFL last season now all of a sudden is among the best in yards rushing before contact(3.1) and a low amount of sacks. Flacco is thriving and Justin Forsett has looked beastly in Kubiak's zone blocking scheme. Has head coaching experience, but isn't super old, only a few years older than Harbaugh was. Well experienced guy who has won Superbowl's as a QB coach and an OC. In the event that the 49ers were to lose Fangio, Kubiak could have Wade Phillips on deck to be the defensive coordinator. Issues to look at would be what changes he would make since things fell apart with the Texans and especially to look at health related concerns. But all in all, Kubiak presents the fewest concerns in my mind and from top to bottom would be dealing with a better roster than he ever had with the Texans.





Vic Fangio-Seemingly the most popular internal candidate from these forums. A tremendous DC with a lot of coaching experience. Respected by the players and could probably keep most of the defensive staff intact. The familiarity would still remain as Fangio has been here for the entire Harbaugh era making for perhaps a much smoother transition. The downside is now that you need to find a quality OC and be at that person's mercy essentially the same way Nolan was.




Jim Mora-He was brought up in a few places as a guy that would be interested perhaps in the 49ers making him an offer. Was a DC with the 49ers for quite a few years, also has head coaching experience in the NFL. Not a guy I'm real thrilled about but someone that has been brought up enough times to warrant consideration here.





David Shaw-Seen as a popular choice, local guy, much more affable and media-friendly than Harbaugh is. Experienced coach that has been around a bit but the downside is that he's been criticized for similar struggles as this offense has had, scoring in the red zone....etc. I think his hiring would largely depend on who he brings to the table as an OC.

Mike Holmgren is probably too old.

Pep Hamilton and David Shaw, not sure whether we would prefer a clean cut from all Jim Harbaugh Standford ties.

Adam Gase could be interesting.

The rest I am not keen on.

How about Josh McDaniels ? That's a name that has been brought up too.

No Hue Jackson? Not saying I'd pick him, but he got the Raiders Offense to look good.

i wouldn't mind Kubiak. He did a GREAT JOB with the Texans, but I do worry about his health of handling the stress since his heart attack. He puts his QB in the best position to win.


I think Pep and Gase are interesting, are they the products of their great QB or do they deserve alot of the credit? I'm thinking it's the former.

I think Vic deserves the job but who will he bring in as the OC? That decision alone will make him or break him. But from what I heard, he wasn't interested in coaching so that's why he stayed in SF. But if he wants it, the job should be his. He has done wonders with a less than talented defense. (due to injury)

My question to any coaching candidate would be if they're leaders of men? The strength of harbaugh is that he certainly was. That trait alone is going to be very hard to find.

BRIAN BILLICK

Originally posted by Rascal:
Mike Holmgren is probably too old.

Pep Hamilton and David Shaw, not sure whether we would prefer a clean cut from all Jim Harbaugh Standford ties.

Adam Gase could be interesting.

The rest I am not keen on.

How about Josh McDaniels ? That's a name that has been brought up too.

I eliminated McDaniels since the votes for him were so low in that last thread and it seems that every Belichick assistant ends up flopping as a head coach. Its not just that McDaniels struggled in Denver, its that the locker room pretty much turned completely against him, repeating what was seen with Mangini as well.


I think its more that Belichick is an outstanding head coach but he's not really developing these assistants the way that you may expect. Considering how successful he's been, he might have the lowest ratio of successful assistants of any multiple Superbowl winning head coach. Mangini, McDaniels and Crennel have all fallen flat on their faces as coaches. Weis has been awful in college and the book is still out on O'Brien in Houston.

Hue Jackson: Brings a strong running game and the last coach that made the Raiders look decent.

Josh McDaniels: I know STL and DEN, maybe he's matured and the Hoodie would not have a guy on his staff that didn't know what he was doing

Bill Lazor: Chip Kellys old Qb coach and current Dolphins OC.Tannehill has looked way better this season and he also made Lamar Miller a threat

Frank Reich: San Diego's OC ex QB and creative offense that went into Seattle and manhandled the Seahawks

If anyone from within this current staff gets the job if has to be Fangio.He is always prepared has a great gameplan and I don't want to see him go

Originally posted by pdizo916:
i wouldn't mind Kubiak. He did a GREAT JOB with the Texans, but I do worry about his health of handling the stress since his heart attack. He puts his QB in the best position to win.


I think Pep and Gase are interesting, are they the products of their great QB or do they deserve alot of the credit? I'm thinking it's the former.

I think Vic deserves the job but who will he bring in as the OC? That decision alone will make him or break him. But from what I heard, he wasn't interested in coaching so that's why he stayed in SF. But if he wants it, the job should be his. He has done wonders with a less than talented defense. (due to injury)

My question to any coaching candidate would be if they're leaders of men? The strength of harbaugh is that he certainly was. That trait alone is going to be very hard to find.

How good of a leader is he really? It seemed like a red flag to me when I read that he wanted everyone to stay in the old locker room during the week, but that all the young players, including Kap, and WRs relocated to the Levi's locker room. It seems like that shouldn't happen.

Originally posted by pdizo916:
i wouldn't mind Kubiak. He did a GREAT JOB with the Texans, but I do worry about his health of handling the stress since his heart attack. He puts his QB in the best position to win.


I think Pep and Gase are interesting, are they the products of their great QB or do they deserve alot of the credit? I'm thinking it's the former.

I think Vic deserves the job but who will he bring in as the OC? That decision alone will make him or break him. But from what I heard, he wasn't interested in coaching so that's why he stayed in SF. But if he wants it, the job should be his. He has done wonders with a less than talented defense. (due to injury)

My question to any coaching candidate would be if they're leaders of men? The strength of harbaugh is that he certainly was. That trait alone is going to be very hard to find.

Kubiak didn't have a heart attack, he had a mini stroke. A mini stroke itself is fairly serious, but its more of a warning that something bigger is coming soon so I'm assuming he has been receiving the necessary treatment and indicated in an interview a few months back that his health concerns had pretty much cleared up. That of course would be the concern for any team looking to hire him but the success he's had with the Ravens is pretty outstanding, very dramatic for a one year turn around and that's without Ray Rice and with a kind of journeyman RB in Forsett.


I think most importantly, Kubiak could help this team's ailing OL and I think Hyde, Hunter, even Gore would look pretty good in his zone blocking scheme.

Originally posted by 9er2k:

Josh McDaniels: I know STL and DEN, maybe he's matured and the Hoodie would not have a guy on his staff that didn't know what he was doing

Like Crennel and Mangini. I'm starting to think that Belichick is equally reclusive with his own staff as he is with the media because these guys leave New England and just fall apart. It's like he's giving them a Men In Black style mind-wipe before they leave.

Originally posted by WRATHman44:
How good of a leader is he really? It seemed like a red flag to me when I read that he wanted everyone to stay in the old locker room during the week, but that all the young players, including Kap, and WRs relocated to the Levi's locker room. It seems like that shouldn't happen.

people make mistakes over the course of 3 years. If you don't mind, please lists other times in which you didn't think Harbaugh wasn't a good leader.

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:
Kubiak didn't have a heart attack, he had a mini stroke. A mini stroke itself is fairly serious, but its more of a warning that something bigger is coming soon so I'm assuming he has been receiving the necessary treatment and indicated in an interview a few months back that his health concerns had pretty much cleared up. That of course would be the concern for any team looking to hire him but the success he's had with the Ravens is pretty outstanding, very dramatic for a one year turn around and that's without Ray Rice and with a kind of journeyman RB in Forsett.


I think most importantly, Kubiak could help this team's ailing OL and I think Hyde, Hunter, even Gore would look pretty good in his zone blocking scheme.

Heart attack, stroke. It's all relevant in the grand scheme of things that he may not be physically fit to be a head coach. Plus, i can remember when I use to watch the texans used some forms of the WCO, got the ball out quickly, and used alot of screens.

Pat Shurmur should be on the list

Looking at Kubiak, I can even pretty much see a staff start to form as well.


HC-Kubiak
OC-Rick Dennison-QB coach in Baltimore, former OC in Houston
OL Coach-Frank Pollack(former 49ers OL, was on the 1994 roster), contract expires with Dallas at the end of the year, was assistant OL coach in Houston
TE Coach-Brian Pariani-Was an offensive assistant on 1994 49ers
WR Coach-Larry Kirksey-Was WR coach on the 1994 49ers
OL Consultant-Alex Gibbs-Longtime OL coach in Denver, friend of Kubiak's



It connects the franchise's past to the present, also allows the 49ers to maintain their run-first philosophy as Kubiak runs a very run heavy variant of the WCO.

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:
Looking at Kubiak, I can even pretty much see a staff start to form as well.


HC-Kubiak
OC-Rick Dennison-QB coach in Baltimore, former OC in Houston
OL Coach-Frank Pollack(former 49ers OL, was on the 1994 roster), contract expires with Dallas at the end of the year, was assistant OL coach in Houston
TE Coach-Brian Pariani-Was an offensive assistant on 1994 49ers
WR Coach-Larry Kirksey-Was WR coach on the 1994 49ers
OL Consultant-Alex Gibbs-Longtime OL coach in Denver, friend of Kubiak's



It connects the franchise's past to the present, also allows the 49ers to maintain their run-first philosophy as Kubiak runs a very run heavy variant of the WCO.

We need to get another running back to compliment Hyde. I think Gore is done in SF or MAYBE he'll take the Jerome Bettis role circa 2003-2005. However, we still need another RB. Also our o line sucks, but something tells me that it's more scheme and blown assignments are to blame than talent. If only Kubiak didn't have that health scare....

Originally posted by pdizo916:
We need to get another running back to compliment Hyde. I think Gore is done in SF or MAYBE he'll take the Jerome Bettis role circa 2003-2005. However, we still need another RB. Also our o line sucks, but something tells me that it's more scheme and blown assignments are to blame than talent. If only Kubiak didn't have that health scare....

Like I said, its something that would have to be looked into, but a mini-stroke or TIA doesn't cause any permanent damage. If the medical staff of the Texans, Ravens and now the 49ers had all given him a go-ahead, I'd be content that he is good to go.




As far as the RB situation, considering how Forsett has looked in Baltimore, considering that they have some big, hefty guys on their line as well, I think the same scheme could work here with the 49ers. Davis has experience in a zone blocking scheme in college, as well as a few others. Staley wouldn't have a problem with it, I think the only odd man out might be Iupati who is expected to be gone anyways. I think that Hyde, Hunter and yes, even Gore could thrive in such a system where guys actually had some daylight to head towards regularly. Baltimore currently leads the NFL in runs of 20 yards or longer and I believe their OL is near the top when it comes to how many yards the RB's average before contact.