Lombardi interviews, dismisses chances
After a blizzard of reports, tweets and one more interview, it appears 49ers vice president of player personnel Trent Baalke remains the leading candidate to become the team’s new general manager.
Front office
Paging Eddie D
“Interim” 49ers beat reporter Phil Barber here. As Eric Branch fights fatigue and holiday travelers to get back to the Bay Area, I’ll be covering the haps at 4949 Centennial today. I’ll throw you a longer report later. But before I get to some transcribing, here is a brief rundown on the press conference we just witnessed.
York and Baalke, the full story
The 49ers have decided how much they value Trent Baalke. They like him enough to keep him in charge of drafting and signing talent, but not enough – at least not yet – to let him succeed Scot McCloughan as general manager.
Baalke’s deal is for 4 years
Trent Baalke told reporters via conference call that he signed a four-year deal as the team’s new VP of player personnel. He also acknowledged that he will now relocate from Colorado to the Bay Area – though first he has to wait for his daughter to graduate on Saturday.
Asked whether he had to go through much of an interview process for the new title, Baalke said, “It’s been a 5 ½ to six-month interview, so that’s more than what most people endure.” The message was that he was being intensely evaluated even before Scot McCloughan left the organization in March.
Another McCloughan leaving
Director of college scouting David McCloughan is leaving the organization less than two months after his younger brother, Scot, did the same. The 49ers confirmed the move, saying “We have given David permission to seek employment elsewhere.” Joel Patten is expected to take his place.
