Sean McVay was announced as the Los Angeles Rams’ new head coach Thursday morning, making him the youngest NFL head coach in the Super Bowl era. The 49ers also interviewed McVay for their head coaching vacancy on Monday, and according to Mike Silver of NFL.com, the 30-year-old crushed the interview.
Silver went into further detail on McVay’s interview with the 49ers on NFL Network Thursday, and what he reported is quite interesting. As transcribed by Chris Biderman of Niners Wire, Silver said McVay was so impressive in his interview with San Francisco, that York and Co. began to consider him a top candidate, along with Josh McDaniels and Kyle Shanahan.
The 49ers also apparently asked him to call two of their top GM candidates after the meeting, in hopes they would establish a connection.
Here are Silver’s comments via Niners Wire:
“Sean McVay was so impressive in that (49ers) interview that he was told, ‘We’ve got a couple of GM candidates in Green Bay that we interviewed in Eliot Wolf and Brian Gutekunst. We are serious about them. You don’t know them, here are their phone numbers, go ahead and reach out and see what connection you can form with them because we’re considering you that seriously.’ So obviously this is someone who was being considered at a high level by both of those California teams.”
This report is interesting for a number of reasons. Firstly, it seems highly unusual and awkward for York to ask McVay to call two people he doesn’t know and “see what connection” he can form, especially considering neither Wolf nor Gutenkunst have yet to be hired as the 49ers’ GM.
Secondly, it solidifies an earlier report by Silver that both Wolf and Gutekunst are San Francisco’s top two candidates for the vacant GM position. The 49ers interviewed both last Thursday.
Lastly, if McVay was indeed a top candidate for the head coaching job, it would seem that the 49ers waited too long to make a decision on him. As it stands, San Francisco is the only NFL team without a head coach. Shanahan and McDaniels are still reportedly the two candidates at the top of the 49ers’ list. Jason Cole of Bleacher Report reported last night that both are comfortable with the direction that York plans to take the team.
