The 49ers will interview ESPN analyst Louis Riddick for their opening at general manager, ESPN reported on Tuesday. Riddick is already on record as saying he would take the job.
The interview is reportedly scheduled for next week in New York. Riddick, 47, was on the team's short list of candidates for the position, league sources told CSNBayArea.com on Monday morning.
Green Bay executives Eliot Wolf and Brian Gutekunst are also expected to interview this week to replace general manager Trent Baalke, who was fired over the weekend, a source confirmed to CSNBayArea.com. Other candidates for the job are expected to be New England's Nick Caserio, Minnesota's George Paton, and Trent Kirchner and Scott Fitterer from Seattle.
Riddick entered the NFL scene in 1991 as a safety from Pittsburgh who was a ninth-round draft pick of the 49ers. He never played a down for the 49ers but spent six full seasons in the league with Atlanta, Cleveland and Oakland, where he finished his career in 1998.
He became a pro scout in 2001 with Washington and rose to spend three seasons as director of pro personnel before joining Philadelphia in 2008. He was director of pro personnel in his final three seasons with the Eagles.
Riddick became an on-air analyst with ESPN in 2013.
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On Monday, Riddick described the 49ers as the most appealing opening because of the ability to build from the foundation with a new general manager and coach working together.
When asked on the air whether he would accept the position, Riddick answered, "Sure I would."
Riddick added, "There's not a whole lot of impediments to the success there, provided that he (CEO Jed York) makes good on everything that he says, and why wouldn't you take him at this word?
"I think you see a guy who understands that, ‘Look, I've gotten some things wrong.' I mean, really, what else do you want him to say? You want him to tear his shirt off and say, ‘Hey, what do you want to do? You want to mark me? What do you want to do? I think he is kind of laying it out there, again, to be judged in the future if he doesn't do what he says he's going do. So what more do you want?"
