The San Francisco 49ers have now increased their total of G.M. candidates not currently employed by NFL teams to three.
Former Broncos G.M. Ted Sundquist, who currently works for the UFL’s Omaha Nighthawks, interviewed for the job on Thursday, according to Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee. Sundquist previously served as G.M. of the Denver Broncos under Mike Shanahan, who eventually made Sundquist the scapegoat (in our opinion) for a series of personnel blunders committed by the head coach.
Other former NFL executives not currently employed by NFL teams who are on the 49ers’ radar include, per Barrows, UFL executive Rick Mueller and former Bills G.M. Tom Donahoe. The 49ers previously interviewed Tony Softli and Michael Lombardi.
This scorched-earth approach to interviewing potential candidates who aren’t necessarily on the “A” list fits with the widespread belief that the Niners plan to hire V.P. of player personnel Trent Baalke, and that the other interviews are aimed at creating the impression that owner Jed York did his due diligence.
It’ll be interesting to see whether York interviews front-office employees from other teams once the 2010 regular season ends on Sunday, and whether he’ll wait for potential candidates from playoff teams.
If he doesn’t, the perception that the Niners settled on Baalke and then started working backward will essentially be confirmed.
What’s that, you say? The Niners can’t wait for the “A” listers who work for playoff teams because they need to move quickly so that they can get ready for the 2011 season? With a lockout looming, the 49ers have plenty of time to make the right decision instead of the expedient one.