On Monday morning, it was reported that New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was taking his name out of contention for the final head coaching vacancy in the league – with the San Francisco 49ers. The favorite for the job obviously defaulted to Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan.
Adam Schefter of ESPN is reporting that the 49ers are clearly focused on Shanahan to be their next head coach and have been for some time now. Shanahan's Falcons offense looked very impressive on Saturday in their 36-20 defeat of the Seattle Seahawks, allowing Atlanta to advance to the NFL Championship Game where they will play the Green Bay Packers.
49ers are - and have been - honing in on hiring Falcons OC Kyle Shanahan as their HC, per sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 16, 2017
The 49ers cannot hire Shanahan, if he is indeed their top target, until after Atlanta is done with postseason play. Their earliest opportunity would be if the Packers defeated the Falcons this weekend.
The 49ers also interviewed Seattle Seahawks assistant head coach and offensive line coach Tom Cable for the head coach job this past weekend. The 49ers will also interview a pair of general manager candidates from the Seahawks – co-directors of player personnel Trent Kirchner and Scott Fitterer.
Kyle Shanahan is the son of former Los Angeles Raiders, Denver Broncos, and Washington Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan. Mike Shanahan also served as the 49ers' offensive coordinator under head coach George Seifert in the 90's.
Kyle Shanahan has been the offensive coordinator with Atlanta since 2015. Prior to that, he held the same position with the Cleveland Browns, Washington Redskins, and Houston Texans. Shanahan was the offensive coordinator in Washington at the same time that his father was the head coach.
Under Shanahan, the Falcons offense was ranked first in scoring, second in total yards, third in passing yards, and fifth in rushing yards this season.