As the 49ers continue to look for a G.M. who, as a practical matter, will be working for coach Kyle Shanahan, the 49ers could be facing a different set of challenges.
If control over the roster was promised to Shanahan in order to get him to take the job at a time when everyone else had bailed, the current employers of the candidates for the G.M. job could block the move, since it wouldn’t entail the typical powers of a G.M.
Throw in the perception/reality that Paraag Marathe will be involved in football operations (and possibly negotiating contracts), and more of the finalists for the G.M. job could decide to pass, in the same way that Packers executive Eliot Wolf has done.
For Wolf, why swap the opportunity to eventually (if not sooner) run the Packers’ football operation for being a third spoke in the wheel at best, a glorified scout at worst?
The other candidates will need to ask themselves those same questions, before, during, and/or after their upcoming interviews with the presumed next coach of the team. And it will be important to know whether the G.M. will indeed have final say, since that aspect of the job could be the thing that ultimately keeps the 49ers from getting the guy they want.