The 49ers still have no official comment about the status of general manager Scot McCloughan. In fact, the only person who has gone on the record with anything resembling an update is McCloughan’s agent, Peter Schaffer.
What we know, coming from Schaffer, is that McCloughan will not resign from his position with the team. As for a statement, McCloughan text’d me, “One will be put out. Not from me but the 49ers.”
That leaves us to piece together, through various not-for-attribution sources, what’s going on. And we’ll continue to wait for the 49ers to release that statement . . .
–Files from McCloughan’s office have been removed. It’s clear to people close to the situation that McCloughan will not return to the 49ers. So all that remains is that the 49ers are in the process of constructing the “exit strategy.” As always, it most likely becomes a matter of money.
–If McCloughan resigns, the 49ers wouldn’t owe him anything. (He makes approximately $1.25 million a year, according to a source.) If the 49ers fired him, they’d owe him the remaining money he’s due. So . . . there could be a settlement or the 49ers could be putting together a case to fire him with cause.
–The nature of McCloughan’s so-called personal matters are delicate. From what I understand, there is nothing criminal in nature. As a reporter, I don’t want to engage in speculation and hearsay about an individual. It’s also important to pay particular attention to the motives of the sources before blindly posting what they have to say.
I want to report what’s relevant, and what’s confirmed by people with first-person knowledge of the situation. In this sense, it appears I’m not alone. The reporting, from what I can tell, has been very responsible. If the 49ers attempt to fire McCloughan with cause, then the details become an important part of the story. At what point does “personal” cease to remain personal? It’s a very important question, and it might be a good topic for the comments section.
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