The San Francisco 49ers didn’t give Chip Kelly much of an opportunity as he had one year to show some a glimmer of hope. He didn’t and he’s gone. San Francisco went 2-14 under Kelly’s watch, so it probably shouldn’t have been a surprise when the organization decided to dump him and general manager Trent Baalke – the man who is responsible for the deterioration of the roster. The 49ers have already begun the search for a new GM and the odds are that their pick will likely have the option to choose his own head coach. However, the coaching rumors have already begun. Here is a look at the five best options out there to potentially replace Kelly as the head coach in San Francisco.
Kyle Shanahan
Shanahan has spent the past couple of years significantly boosting his stock as a potential NFL head coach. Shanahan is in charge of a Falcons offense that set records this past season and while some of his success has to do with the immense talent he has in Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Devonta Freeman, etc., the reality is that he has maximized their potential in an offense that has plenty of different looks and schemes. This team had the talent before but they were one-dimensional. Now the offensive line is one of the best in the business and the Falcons have much more to work with than just Ryan-to-Jones.
Shanahan will be among the hottest coaching commodities this offseason and he should be the top priority for the 49ers as they look to head in a new direction with somebody capable of turning things around over the long haul. However, it would be a surprise if he landed in San Francisco instead of a place like Denver, whose team has much more for him to work with.
Josh McDaniels
McDaniels returned to New England following an unsuccessful attempt at being a head coach in Denver, but his stock has climbed back up after a couple of season with the Patriots. A big part of that equation is what he did with Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett when Tom Brady was suspended for the first four games of the season. New England put together a 3-1 record. And with Brady back, he guided the legend to a season where he set an NFL record for touchdown-interception ration.
McDaniels is regarded as an intelligent, capable coordinator that is better prepared for the opportunity to be a head coach the second time around and he should be on the 49ers radar – at least that’s the working theory. The 49ers might be turned off by having a second straight head coach who is an offensive guru, but one that is short on experience and doesn’t command the respect of the locker room.
David Shaw
Should San Francisco decide to take the college route they won’t have to look far to find Shaw, who coaches within the state at Stanford. Shaw wouldn’t be the 49ers’ first head coaching recruit from Stanford and Shaw appears to have both the pedigree and the experience to be a capable option. Shaw hasn’t coached in the NFL for a decade but after a strong run with the Cardinal he could be in line to make a return in the near future.
Dave Toub
There are some that believe Toub would be the dark horse to win the job in San Francisco if they hire Chris Ballard as their director of football operations or GM. Ballard is currently in that role with the Kansas City Chiefs where Toub serves as the special teams coordinator. A special teams coach for 16 years, Toub has interviewed for several head coaching vacancies over the years without success. We’ve seen special teams coaches make the jump before. John Harbaugh is one name that comes to mind. Toub should be on the 49ers’ short list of potential successors for Kelly so it will be interesting to see if things come together.
Anthony Lynn
Lynn is still the favorite to land the head coaching job with the Buffalo Bills but it’s still a bit perplexing that he’s in the mix for head coaching duties anywhere. The Bills running game was excellent this year but their passing game was abysmal. And the Bills look like they’re going to release the quarterback that was under Lynn’s tutelage this season.
At any rate, Lynn is a hot name in NFL circles. He has spent 17 seasons as an assistant in the NFL and he has put together a pretty solid resume as a decent offensive mind. The 49ers would be interested in his experience and offensive savvy, so if he doesn’t stick with the Bills, he could be an option to replace Kelly.
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