Minnesota Vikings assistant general manager George Paton was thought to be the frontrunner for the general manager job with the San Francisco 49ers. However, after the Indianapolis Colts fired general manager Ryan Grigson, the 49ers got some competition for Paton. The Colts have requested an interview with the Vikings executive and will sit down with him on Wednesday or Thursday.
Per source, Cardinals VP Terry McDonough expected to have 2nd interview w/49ers Saturday. most likely in Atlanta
— Kent Somers (@kentsomers) January 24, 2017
The other top candidate for the 49ers' general manager job is Arizona Cardinals vice president of player personnel Terry McDonough. Both Paton and McDonough will meet with San Francisco on Saturday, which is the same day that the team plans to meet again with Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, who is expected to become the 49ers' newest head coach. The team hopes to have Shanahan sit down with both candidates to determine which pairing would be a good fit for the future.
"I'm told that Jed York has not yet decreed whether Shanahan or the yet to be hired general manager will have official control over the 53-man roster," Mike Silver of NFL Media reported on Sunday. Being the last remaining candidate for the head coach job, Shanahan holds a lot of leverage.
McDonough has scouted in the NFL for 25 years and has been with the Cardinals for four years. He was promoted to vice president of player personnel in January of 2014 and currently oversees both the college and pro personnel departments while assisting with player contract negotiations. Prior to that, McDonough was the director of player personnel for the Jacksonville Jaguars and was part of the Cleveland Browns front office that relocated to Baltimore and became the Ravens. Interestingly enough, McDonough was an intern with the 49ers in 1989 – where his NFL career started.