The San Francisco 49ers are officially beginning their search for former head coach Jim Harbaugh's replacement, and there are plenty of intriguing names to discuss as the team looks to return to championship glory in 2015 and beyond. Who're the favorite right now? We'll handicap the field in this 49ers Rumors Roundup.
Looking inside the NFC West
The San Francisco 49ers have targeted two of the more coveted defensive coordinators in all of football in their search for Harbaugh's replacement.
It just so happens that they're both on the staffs of NFC West rivals currently getting ready for the playoffs.
Per ESPN's Josina Anderson:
Source: The #49ers have requested interviews with Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles and Seahawks DC Dan Quinn.
— Josina Anderson (@JosinaAnderson) December 29, 2014
Both Bowles and Quinn have been targeted for NFL head coaching gigs before, so it'll be interesting to see what their responses will be in the coming days.
A little bit of defense, a little bit of offense
49ers CEO Jed York and GM Trent Baalke are balancing their list of potential head coaching options with a couple of young offensive minds to complement the defensive focus of the aforementioned names.
Firstly, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that both the 49ers and Falcons have requested an interview with former Denver Broncos head coach and current New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels:
Falcons and 49ers requested permission to interview Patriots OC Josh McDaniels, per league source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 30, 2014
It appears the 49ers will be battling the also-searching Falcons for several head coaching candidates, as both teams are also interested in Denver Broncos OC Adam Gase:
Courtesy of NFL Network's Ian Rapoport:
The #49ers have also asked permission to speak with #Broncos OC Adam Gase, source says. They join the #Falcons
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 29, 2014
Other candidates
* As expected, the 49ers will interview defensive line coach (and reported top in-house option) Jim Tomsula for the opening, per Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports.
* While it's unclear if the team has officially requested an interview as of yet, Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that the 49ers are interested in Browns OC Kyle Shanahan as well.
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