After correctly predicting the hirings of two head coaches on Wednesday, Albert Breer from MMQB also said that New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is likely to be the 49ers next head coach.
McDaniels has been rumored to be at the top of San Francisco’s list, and Breer believes the 49ers are also his top choice, based on the fact that they don’t have a general manager or quarterback that he’d be tied to.
“I think Josh has got a fantastic shot (at the 49ers’ job),” Breer told CSNNE. “And I’ve said this before, I think that’s Josh’s pick, too . . . Of the (three teams he interviewed with), I think that was the one he preferred, because you don’t have a sitting GM, like you have in L.A., and like you have in Jacksonville. It doesn’t matter what you think of the quarterback, you’re going to be able to go and pick your own. Whereas if you go to Jacksonville, you got to live with Blake Bortles. If you go to L.A., you got to live with Jared Goff.
“I think Josh can look at that San Francisco situation and say, ‘I’m coming in with my own GM, I get to pick my own quarterback, and this is a situation where there aren’t bad contracts that I can’t get out of.’ In essence, San Francisco’s like an expansion team. So that’s why I think Josh preferred the San Francisco job over the Jacksonville job, over the Los Angeles job, from the start.
“That’s why I think the likelihood is that he winds up there.”
Early Wednesday morning, Breer said “there’s a pretty decent possibility the Bills hire Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott today, there’s a good possibility the Broncos hire Dolphins defensive coordinator Vance Joseph today, and I think there’s a good chance the Rams hire Redskins offensive coordinator Sean McVay today.” The hirings of McDermott and Joseph were announced shortly after. The hiring of McVay, who the 49ers interviewed on Thursday, has not been announced.
The 49ers interviewed McDaniels on Saturday. McDaniels has 28 games of head coaching experience with the Denver Broncos in 2009-10, going 11-17 before being fired 12 games into his second season.