SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- If it wasn't already obvious who the San Francisco 49ers were targeting as their next head coach after New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels withdrew from consideration Monday, it is now.
ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter reported after McDaniels pulled out of the search that Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan was the favorite to land the job. By Tuesday afternoon, Shanahan was not only the favorite, but Schefter reported that the Niners plan to offer him the job as soon as he's available to be hired.
In addition, the only other remaining coach in the Niners' search, Seattle assistant Tom Cable, apparently withdrew his name from consideration Tuesday afternoon via his agent.
Just spoke with my client Tom Cable and he is reaffirming his commitment to the Seahawks. He wishes to thank the 49ers for the consideration
— Doug Hendrickson (@DHendrickson41) January 17, 2017
So with Shanahan the target, the Niners are in a position where they must do what's necessary to land him. Of course, they can't hire him in any official capacity until Atlanta's season is over. That could happen as soon as Sunday if the Falcons lose to the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game. If it doesn't, the Niners are expected to interview Shanahan again during the bye week after the NFC title game, at which point they would likely put parameters in place for a deal, as the Falcons did with coach Dan Quinn two years ago.
As we covered Tuesday, Shanahan is clearly in a position of power, power that only grew when Cable removed himself from the mix. So while the Niners have never committed to hiring a coach then a general manager, or vice versa, it certainly appears the coach will have to come first in this case.
"We need to be open and flexible to structure," CEO Jed York said. "We need to make sure that the head coach and the general manager know each other, have a good understanding for each other. It doesn’t mean that they had to have worked together in the past, but they have to have a good respect for each other and a good understanding and know that they have similar visions and philosophies on building a football team. Whatever structure is the best with the people that we’re interviewing is the structure that we’re going to go with."
That structure has taken shape as other teams have hired some of the coaching candidates the Niners had lined up and two of their interviewees took themselves out of the fray. Which means as the Niners move forward and patiently await an answer from Shanahan, they have some business to take care of, business that could bolster their chances of getting Shanahan ultimately to say yes.
One big step would be to narrow their focus on potential general manager candidates to ones Shanahan might prefer or those they believe he could work best with based on what he might have indicated in his first interview, as well as how those candidates fared in their own discussions with the 49ers. Various reports have linked Shanahan to Green Bay director of college scouting Brian Gutekunst and director of football operations Eliot Wolf, Minnesota assistant general manager George Paton and Arizona vice president of player personnel Terry McDonough.
That quartet could get a second interview at any point since there aren't restrictions on general manager interviews, as there are for head coaches. With Shanahan the clear-cut top coaching candidate, a second round of interviews could focus on how the general manager would work with Shanahan and how his team-building philosophy might mesh with Shanahan's vision for a franchise.
Likewise, if Shanahan does take the job, the Niners could start at least making overtures to potential coaching-staff members Shanahan wants. In fact, Shanahan was once a coach in that position when he went to Atlanta. Although Quinn couldn't be hired until Seattle's 2014 season was done, the Falcons and Quinn had an understanding, and Atlanta actually hired Shanahan as offensive coordinator before Quinn's deal was finalized.
Something similar could begin taking place soon for the Niners, especially if the Falcons advance to the Super Bowl and San Francisco can get a handle on who Shanahan is targeting in a second interview setting next week.
Of course, none of that matters if the Niners can't follow through and actually get Shanahan. To this point, there's nothing indicating he will say no, but until a deal is agreed upon and signed, it's up to the Niners to do whatever possible to make things easier when their wait is over.