There was a lot of speculation that the San Francisco 49ers might be interested in Julio Jones when the future Hall of Fame wide receiver became available via a trade. The match made a lot of sense. Jones had his best season when Shanahan was the offensive coordinator in Atlanta. The learning curve would have been less severe because Jones was already familiar with the offense. And Jones might have elevated Shanahan's offense.
The Tennessee Titans ended up acquiring Jones. Following news of the trade, a reporter asked Shanahan if the 49ers would have liked to have ended up with the veteran receiver.
"It would have been a hell of a deal, but my second-favorite choice is him being in the AFC," Shanahan responded.
Shanahan joined the Flying Coach podcast, hosted by Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay and NFL Network's Peter Schrager, and admitted that he might have been more aggressive in pursuing Jones had the Rams been one of the finalists to acquire him.
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"That's our biggest fear in Julio, is that Sean's going to go for him," Shanahan admitted to McVay and Schrager. "Like, my first choice is, 'Man, I just wish Julio would go to the AFC, but if he's going to the NFC West, we've got to make sure we get him,' because it almost ends up being an arms race. I know the job Sean does. I know how good of a job (Seahawks coach) Pete (Carroll) does. I know how good of a job (Cardinals coach) Kliff (Kingsbury) does. And everyone's got quarterbacks.
"That's actually the most frustrating thing for me. I always say, 'Let's do it the right way,' which, there's no right way or wrong way, but you don't want to have to risk your future to compete in one year. And that's the hardest thing about being in our division because I know how Sean rolls. That's very similar to me. And I can see that in the two (other) guys in our division.
"Julio would have helped everybody, but you know what it's doing to your organization for that year and the years to come. That's a really risky thing, but man, if Sean's getting him, I'm going to risk that. I know that's how he thinks (too). That's how we all think because you've got to compete with your division first."
McVay, a close friend of Shanahan's, agreed with the 49ers coach.
You can listen to the entire interview below.