No Huddle: 49ers Stay Undefeated Behind Their Offensive Stars →

An Early Guess as to Who the 49ers Next GM Could Be

Jan 7, 2017 at 9:21 AM


The San Francisco 49ers general manager and head coaching searches are off and running. It might be a while before we figure out the identity of the new head coach. The most intriguing candidates are Josh McDaniels and Kyle Shanahan, offensive coordinators who are coaching in the playoffs next weekend and require immediate interviews. If the 49ers were to land one of them, the hiring might not be officially announced for several more weeks, depending on how deep New England and Atlanta play in the post season. Meanwhile, the pursuit of a general manager is also taking place and there's a chance a GM could be in place somewhat sooner.

Last year there were three new GM's hired in the NFL. Miami gave head coaching and personnel duties to Adam Gase on January 9th, Detroit hired Bob Quinn as GM on January 8th and Tennessee hired Jon Robinson on January 14th. Theoretically, the 49ers could follow a similar time frame and hire a new GM shortly. The initial round of interviews taking place this weekend consists of the most highly regarded candidates available. If the 49ers feel as strongly as the rest of the league does about one of the interviewees and a candidate is, in fact, interested in the position, the franchise could possibly name their man sometime next week.

Candidates so good they aren't likely to leave their current situation


Nick Caserio: There isn't even concrete evidence out there that an interview has been confirmed. Most people are connecting the dots when it comes to Jed York interviewing Caserio while he is in Foxboro interviewing McDaniels for the head coach position. Articles such as this and this illustrate just how much influence Caserio has over the Patriots without actually being the official GM, from pointing out individual players he's acquired to the fact that he "takes the lead on negotiations with contracts and trades". He would be an absolute home run of a hire, especially paired with McDaniels. However, having a voice in personnel decisions alongside the best coach in the NFL, while working for the NFL's most successful organization, would be hard to walk away from. Also, Caserio has been offered and turned down GM jobs before.

Eliot Wolf: Wolf is so highly regarded that the current Packers GM Ted Thompson might be politely asked to step aside so Wolf can take over. Wolf has spent most of his life in Green Bay, including his entire 13-year professional career. The son of legendary former Packers GM Ron Wolf, Eliot could follow in his father's footsteps as the man calling the shots in Green Bay, which from the outside, sounds like a dream job. Another candidate who would be an amazing hire, but would have to be pried away from a very advantageous situation.

The Best and Most Realistic Candidates


Brian Gutekunst: The other candidate from Green Bay. While Wolf is getting all the attention from the national and local media, Gutekunst was interviewed directly after Wolf on Thursday. While he might not be as flashy of a hire, Gutekunst has been with the Packers for 18 years and is also part of the ultra successful Ron Wolf tree, though obviously not as much a part of the tree as Eliot Wolf. If the rumor mill is correct and Wolf steps in to take over as Green Bay's GM, then Gutekunst would effectively be blocked from advancing any higher in the Packers organization. This could make the job in San Francisco very appealing.

George Paton: Paton has turned down at least six interviews in the last four years. So the fact that he even met with the 49ers on Friday is an accomplishment in itself. Paton's currently the assistant general manager in Minnesota and has been part of an outstanding Vikings front office for a decade. He would be a very well-regarded choice for the 49ers GM position.

Louis Riddick: Riddick will meet with the 49ers next week. Another candidate who draws nothing but praise from NFL people, 49ers fans have a unique perspective on Riddick due to his three years on ESPN. Riddick has been able to articulate his philosophies on team building and his opinion on individual players, giving the public a good idea of what they'd be getting if he was hired, as opposed to the rest of the candidates who are very much behind the scenes.

The 49ers seemingly picked out the best and the brightest prospects to begin their GM search. While it's fairly impossible to tell from the outside of an organization what exact role a GM candidate had in building the roster of the franchise he currently works for, it's easy to know who the hottest and most sought after candidates are. Candidate lists start coming out in mid-December, so 49ers fans were well versed by the time Trent Baalke was officially let go. The names that topped most every list were Kansas City's Chris Ballard (who will remain in KC) along with Wolf, Gutekunst, Paton, and Caserio. The 49ers reached out to these five candidates first for a reason. While landing Wolf or Caserio would be a major coup for the organization, Gutekunst, Paton and Riddick are in more of a position to leave their current employers and would be excellent choices to be the next general manager.
The opinions within this article are those of the writer and, while just as important, are not necessarily those of the site as a whole.


3 Comments

  • Rickey
    Louis Riddick.....GM
    Jan 12, 2017 at 3:29 AM
    0
  • Bob
    Anyone not named Baalke -- or Trent for that matter!!
    Jan 7, 2017 at 11:43 AM
    2
  • Niner
    Shanahan father and son best combo. Young with experience and respect together to groom next qb. McDaniel was a disaster in Denver as players and fo disliked him. Another harbaugh that intimidates Jed? Sean McVay is young, needs old time gm.Wolfe and pat guys too smart to work with York. Riddick is a rookie and is too full of himself like balke. I say the Seattle guys, they found Wilson the legion of doom, earl thomas etc.. and it takes from the Seahawks. The rest ate just the yorks dumpster diving again.
    Jan 7, 2017 at 11:17 AM
    1

Facebook Comments



More San Francisco 49ers News



Deebo Samuel trusts 49ers' next-man-up mentality if he can't play vs. Cardinals

By David Bonilla
Sep 29

Deebo Samuel hopes to be on the field with his San Francisco 49ers teammates on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals. However, speaking with reporters after Friday's practice, the wide receiver didn't sound overly optimistic about his chances of playing this weekend. The 49ers officially listed Samuel as "questionable" for Sunday. His wide receiver teammate, Jauan Jennings, was listed as "doubtful," making him unlikely to play. While Samuel was listed as a limited practice participant on Friday, most of his work was done on a side field with trainers. "I feel pretty good," Samuel said after practice. "We'll just see how I continue to progress for the next



Florio explains 'Turdy' comment, why 49ers' Purdy could earn serious MVP consideration

By David Bonilla
Sep 27

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk recently attracted criticism for bizarrely questioning San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy's worthiness of the "franchise quarterback" label because his name resembled "Turdy." "I think people have a hard time looking at that name and saying that's a franchise quarterback," Florio noted. The Pro Football Talk writer joined 95.7 The Game on Wednesday morning and explained the comments, noting that they were part of a broader conversation about why some are reluctant to embrace the 49ers' second-year player as a franchise quarterback. RELATED:



49ers HC Kyle Shanahan could break major franchise record with new contract

By Rohan Chakravarthi
Sep 29

In the midst of the 2023 season, the San Francisco 49ers took some attention away from their 3-0 start and rewarded head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch with multi-year extensions, tying them to the franchise for the foreseeable future. With the extension, Shanahan is signed with the 49ers through at least the 2027 season, putting him in line to potentially break a major franchise record. Currently, legendary coach Bill Walsh holds the franchise record for longest-tenured coach at 10 years, but Shanahan could break that, should he remain with the 49ers throughout the remainder of his newly-signed extension. Does that hold any sentiment for the current head



QB Brock Purdy part of another historic record for the 49ers

By Rohan Chakravarthi
Sep 24

The San Francisco 49ers comfortably improved to 3-0 on the season with a 30-12 Thursday Night Football win over the New York Giants, dominating on the ground once again, while quarterback Brock Purdy threw for a season-high 310 yards in the victory. In the win, Purdy and the 49ers broke another unique record, becoming the first team in NFL history to both rush and pass for at least 140 yards in 8 consecutive regular season games, according to Opta Stats. The @49ers are the first team in NFL history to both rush and pass for at least 140 yards in


Featured

More by Jason Bertolucci

More Articles

Share 49ersWebzone