With Jim Harbaugh reportedly close to becoming the next head coach of the Dolphins (even though the team currently still has one), the 49ers’ first fall-back option reportedly isn’t interested.
According to Mike Sando of ESPN.com, McDaniels isn’t interested.
It’s a smart move. As we explained in today’s edition of ProFootballTalk Live (Rita Kierson has yet to call), McDaniels’ best bet would be to return to the position of offensive coordinator, applying to that job what he learned in his time as a head coach and gleaning as much as he can about how to improve if (when) he becomes a head coach again. Bill Belichick did just that, working for several years as a defensive coordinator after being fired by the Browns after the 1995 season before becoming one of the greatest coaches in history during a decade-plus with the Patriots.
For McDaniels, the Chiefs would be the best fit. But the thinking is that coach Todd Haley remains too insecure to embrace McDaniels.
So where do the Niners go from here? Maybe they should pick up the phone and see what it would take to get the Titans to release Jeff Fisher from the final year of his contract. (More on that later -- and, yes, teams still can essentially “trade” a head coach.)