The great Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area was busy working his contacts on Monday and got Arizona personnel man Terry McDonough on the phone to discuss what the 49ers were like during the interview process.
Having sat with Jed York, Paraag Marathe and Kyle Shanahan for hours this weekend in Atlanta, McDonough had rave reviews for Shanahan’s demeanor in particular.
“Sitting there talking to him, Kyle reminded me a lot of coach (Bill) Belichick when I interviewed with him back in ’92,” McDonough said. “Same type of look in their eye. The same type of passion. You just know whatever Kyle Shanahan does, he’s going to be successful in life. If he’s given the time there and they bring in the right players, there’s no doubt in my mind, he’s going to have success.
“I’d heard about his attention to detail and his drive, and he was tireless. He’s the first guy in; last guy to leave. Incredibly prepared. A lot of people I know in Atlanta had tremendous respect for him. I like the fact that he had overcome some bad situations in his past and he ended up on top.”
Other details Maiocco was able to unearth:
- McDonough was heavily impressed with Marathe and was completely comfortable working with him and York.
- Shanahan’s brain is half focused on the Patriots and half focused on the 49ers job, McDonough said.
- Colin Kaepernick was never brought up in the meeting.
- McDonough said he was disappointed he lost the job, but because he lost out to a quality person like John Lynch, it doesn’t sting as much.
Lynch will address reporters for the first time at 4:15 p.m. during a conference call.