Last year, former 49ers assistant and San Francisco native Mike Holmgren wanted to become the next head coach of the team. The team told him it would be going with a younger guy.
A year later, Holmgren (along with the rest of us) is a year older. And yet he still wants to coach the 49ers.
Robert Klemko of TheMMQB.com recently tweeted that Holmgren has expressed interest in the job. Dave “Softy” Mahler of KJR radio responded by pointing out that Holmgren has expressed his lingering interest on the air, on multiple occasions.
On one hand, it’s considered in the coaching community to be a bad look to politick for a job that’s currently filled. On the other hand, plenty of 49ers fans would believe that Holmgren would do a better job than the current head coach, Jim Tomsula.
Regardless, the 49ers would have to choose to fire Tomsula and then choose to hire Holmgren. And before assuming that the 49ers engaged in age discrimination by shunning the man known as The Big Show last year, keep this in mind: In 2011, the 49ers reportedly wanted to hire Bill Parcells, then 69, to coach the team. Holmgren is currently 67.
The interest in a pushing-70 Parcells came from the connection between Parcells and G.M. Trent Baalke. Regardless, Baalke was comfortable with Parcells; Baalke apparently wasn’t -- and isn’t -- comfortable with Holmgren.
So maybe that’s the broader message Holmgren is sending to the organization. In pushing for the job, he’s essentially hoping to push both Tomsula and Baalke out.