Be patient San Francisco 49ers fans. Be patient Jed York. Good things will come to those who wait. You can bet that York was paying attention to Saturday's NFL playoff matchups. The two offensive coordinators – Josh McDaniels of the New England Patriots and Kyle Shanahan of the Atlanta Falcons – that are assumed to be the favorites for the 49ers vacant head coaching job moved on with victories in the Divisional round. So the 49ers will have to wait at least one more week.
One coaching candidate was eliminated. Assistant head coach and offensive line coach Tom Cable saw his Seattle Seahawks bounced from the postseason at the hands of Shanahan and his Falcons offense. Cable will meet with the 49ers on Sunday but has to be seen as a dark horse candidate for the job. That hire might not sit well among the 49ers Faithful. Allegations of domestic abuse continue to cloud his reputation. Then there is the incident of punching assistant coach Randy Hanson in the face and fracturing his jaw while Cable was the head coach of the Oakland Raiders. That's a tough situation to put yourself in of you're a team trying to rebuild both your roster and reputation.
"It's kind of the label that I've had to live with, and once the media got it and ran with it, you really can't protect yourself then," Cable said last year. Although, former players and coaches that he has worked with have praised the Seahawks coach which is probably why he will meet with San Francisco.
After firing three head coaches in as many years, it would appear that York has learned to be patient and that may help his franchise in the long run. Six teams exited the 2016 season in search of a new head coach. They were the 49ers, Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars, Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Rams, and Los Angeles Chargers. Of course, the Chargers exited the 2016 season belonging to San Diego but somehow emerged belonging to Los Angeles.
Now, there is just one head coach vacancy remaining among those original six teams – the 49ers. Right now, there is no competition for what were probably the two best candidates to start with. As other teams made their hires and started assembling their respective coaching staffs, the 49ers' hire might be stuck with whatever is left over. However, getting the right head coach is far more important. York will have to apply his newfound patience over the next few years because the 49ers rebuild will take time.
The 49ers and their fans continue to watch and wait while hoping that their team doesn't make an impulsive move, but instead makes the right move.
