The San Francisco 49ers are traveling to Atlanta and will meet with Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan and Minnesota Vikings assistant general manager George Paton tonight, per multiple reports.
#49ers expected to meet with Kyle Shanahan in Atlanta later this afternoon, George Paton this evening, Terry McDonough tomorrow.
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) January 27, 2017
Shanahan and the 49ers will then meet with Arizona Cardinals vice president of player personnel Terry McDonough on Saturday. It was originally reported that Friday's meeting would just be between the 49ers and Shanahan in order to prepare to meet with both general manager candidates on Saturday, but it appears that plans have changed.
Paton has been reported as the frontrunner for the general manager job with the 49ers, but it is unknown how the Indianapolis Colts' general manager search has impacted that. Indianapolis fired general manager Ryan Grigson after five seasons with the team. The Colts met with Paton, who is one of six known candidates for their opening, on Wednesday, but it is believed that Kansas City Chiefs director of football operations Chris Ballard is the favorite to land that job.
Paton completed his 10th season with Minnesota, working under general manager Rick Spielman. He was a finalist for the general manager job with the St. Louis Rams in 2012. Since then, he has turned down multiple interviews from teams like the Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, and Chicago Bears for their general manager positions. Paton also rejected proposed meetings with the Tennessee Titans and Detroit Lions last winter
Paton's primary focus with Minnesota was to coordinate scouting and personnel functions within the Vikings pro scouting department and lend his expertise to the college scouting department as they prepared for drafts.
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 was overseeing 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. Interestingly enough, McDonough was an intern with the 49ers in 1989. That's where his NFL career started.
