Both the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons won on Saturday, which means that the San Francisco 49ers may have to continue to wait to hire a new head coach. Both teams' offensive coordinators, Josh McDaniels (Patriots) and Kyle Shanahan (Falcons), are ineligible to be hired until their respective teams are eliminated from playoff contention.
The 49ers remain as the only team with a head coach vacancy, which will allow them to be patient and wait for their favorite candidate. The only problem with waiting too long is that the five other teams that once had vacancies are starting to assemble their staffs, leaving the 49ers' eventual head coach stuck with the leftovers.
On Sunday, the 49ers will be interviewing Seattle Seahawks assistant head coach and offensive line coach Tom Cable. He is the last reported head coach interview for the team. A potential hiring of Cable 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.
The #49ers are currently interviewing Seattle assistant Tom Cable for the head-coaching position, the team announces.
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoCSN) January 15, 2017
"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 in 2010. 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.
"If that seems like an odd choice, it's actually not," Ian Rapoport of NFL Media said of the decision to interview Cable. "Marshawn Lynch, this is the guy that Beast Mode swears by. This is the one that many Seahawks players consider to be the real leader on the team. He is the one that stands up and talks to the offense. The Niners will consider him pretty strongly."
The 49ers are still searching for a general manager and will meet a pair of Seahawks executives on Monday. Co-directors of player personnel Trent Kirchner and Scott Fitterer are highly regarded and will look to impress Jed York when they finally sit down and talk. At this point, it's anyone's guess who the next general manager might be. Some hold the belief that Green Bay Packers director of football operations Eliot Wolf and Packers director of player personnel Brian Gutekunst to be the favorites for the job, but the 49ers have interviewed a number of candidates since then. The Packers will play the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
You can keep track of the entire search using our up-to-date head coach and general manager tracker. It is the first time that the organization is trying to fill both spots since 2005 when the 49ers hired Mike Nolan and then Scot McCloughan. The search and interview process is being led by Jed York and Chief Strategy Officer & Executive Vice President of Football Operations Paraag Marathe.
Below is a list of the upcoming interview schedule and the meetings that have already occurred.
Upcoming Interviews
Sunday, January 15
Seattle Seahawks assistant head coach and offensive line coach Tom Cable (HC)
Seattle Seahawks co-director of player personnel Trent Kirchner (GM)
Seattle Seahawks co-director of player personnel Scott Fitterer (GM)
Completed Interviews
Wednesday, January 4
Buffalo Bills interim head coach Anthony Lynn (HC)
HIRED BY LOS ANGELES CHARGERS
Thursday, January 5
Green Bay Packers director of football operations Eliot Wolf (GM)
Green Bay Packers director of player personnel Brian Gutekunst (GM)
Friday, January 6
Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan (HC)
Minnesota Vikings assistant general manager George Paton (GM)
Saturday, January 7
New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels (HC)
Indianapolis Colts vice president of football operations Jimmy Raye III (GM)
Monday, January 9
Washington Redskins offensive coordinator Sean McVay (HC)
HIRED BY LOS ANGELES RAMS
Carolina Panthers assistant general manager Brandon Beane (GM)
Tuesday, January 10
Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott (HC)
HIRED BY BUFFALO BILLS
ESPN analyst, former director of pro personnel Louis Riddick (GM)
Friday, January 13
Arizona Cardinals vice president of player personnel Terry McDonough (GM)
Cancelled Interviews
Thursday, January 12
Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Vance Joseph (HC)
HIRED BY DENVER BRONCOS
