San Francisco 49ers Rumors: Mike Shanahan Is Back In Mix For Head Coaching Vacancy

Since firing head coach Jim Tomsula shortly after the end of the regular season, essentially every available NFL coaching candidate has been linked to the San Francisco 49ers.

The 49ers on Sunday interviewed Hue Jackson, and many expected him to land the job until this morning when Jackson unexpectedly accepted an offer to become the next Cleveland Browns head coach instead.

Now, there’s a new rumor circulating that seems to be gaining an incredible amount of steam. According to whispers that are vociferous in nature, the 49ers are once again strongly considering making Mike Shanahan their next head coach.

Mike Shanahan is strongly back in the mix for the 49ers’ head coaching job. (via @diannaESPN) pic.twitter.com/6fsQ7VLMAA

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 13, 2016

Shanahan, 63, last coached in the NFL for the Washington Redskins between 2010-2013. He went 24-40 in four seasons, and made the playoffs just once.

However, he was able to get the best out of Robert Griffin III in his 2012 rookie season, and if the 49ers elect to keep Colin Kaepernick, Shanahan’s system can be conducive to success for a dual-threat quarterback.

It appears both Joe Montana and Steve Young along with a plethora of other 49ers alumni are behind the hiring of Shanahan, who served as San Francisco’s offensive coordinator between 1992-94, during which he coached Young to a victory in Super Bowl XXIX.

Accepting this position seems like it would be an odd move for Shanahan. Over the past few years when asked if he would ever coach again, Shanahan claimed he would only do so under ideal circumstances.

“If I get back into coaching, it would have to be in a situation where there was a realistic opportunity to win a Super Bowl,” Shanahan told USA Today back in July of 2014.

The 49ers don’t not have a realistic opportunity to win a Super Bowl over the next few seasons. However, the way some franchises have been able to go from worst to first within a year in this modern-day NFL, it’s fair to assume they could at least be competitive by year two of a Shanahan administration.