The 49ers don’t have a general manager or head coach yet, which would seem to put them behind other teams evaluating college and pro free-agent prospects this offseason.
Niners CEO Jed York doesn’t believe he’ll have either position filled until after the Super Bowl on Feb. 5.
But according to Matt Barrows, who covers the 49ers for the Sacramento Bee, the executives and scouts still with the team are forging ahead with scouting at workouts for the Senior Bowl set for Saturday in Mobile, Ala. Trent Baalke, fired as general manager after the recent 2-14 season, is gone, but Barrows says assistant GM Tom Gable and director of college scouting Matt Malaspina are in Mobile to conduct interviews with prospects and watch workouts.
Plus, the two candidates remaining for the GM position – the Vikings’ George Paton and Cardinals’ Terry McDonough – reportedly will be in Mobile, too, so either would come on board up to speed. Barrows reports Paton and McDonough will interview a second time with York Saturday in Atlanta.
Among the top-ranked prospects at the Senior Bowl are Alabama tight end O.J. Howard, Alabama edge rusher Ryan Anderson, LSU cornerback Tre’Davious White and edge rusher Dawuane Smoot of Illinois. Each would fill an obvious need for the 49ers, who have the No. 2 overall pick in the draft and are expected to have as many as 11 selections over seven rounds.
Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com reports Paton also is being interviewed by the Colts this week to fill their vacant GM position. Paton has been labeled by some sources as the favorite for the San Francisco job, but McDonough has had an impressive run as Arizona’s vice president for player personnel the past three seasons. He’s been in the NFL since 1989, when he started with the 49ers as an intern.
In a recent interview with KNBR, former 49ers head coach Mike Nolan, now an NFL Network analyst, said he believes McDonough is the best man for the job and has a great resume, having worked with respected Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome.
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“Let me tell you, Terry McDonough is an excellent candidate,” Nolan said. “He worked under Ozzie Newsome for a number of years. … He knows how to pick players, which is No. 1 first and foremost and right now he’s currently down at Arizona and they’ve done an outstanding job for the last four years.”
