Coach Mike Singletary said today he plans to remain patient in filling the team’s vacancy at offensive coordinator.
Earlier today, Scott Linehan said he declined the 49ers’ job offer for personal reasons. He said he was not ready to make a decision and thought it was unfair to Singletary and the 49ers for him to drag his feet.
Singletary issued a statement through the team this afternoon.
“I believe and have faith in the process we have set forth in our search for an offensive coordinator,” Singletary said. “While we’d like to fill this position sooner than later, we will remain patient in our approach. The right person for the 49ers is out there.”
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Here are some of my thoughts:
–Sure, the 49ers wanted to have Linehan signed by the time he jumped on his flight back home Friday morning. Although the club thought he would accept the offer, I’m pretty sure Singletary have time to give Plan B a lot of thought.
–What is Plan B? I have no idea.
–Do the 49ers go back to Rob Chudzinski or Clyde Christensen or does Singletary interview more candidates? I don’t know, but I’m sure Singletary will be a busy man at the Senior Bowl this week.
–I could sense it in Linehan’s voice when I spoke with him today that this was a difficult decision. I give him a lot of credit for being a stand-up guy. He did not have to return my call this morning, but he did. He was not hiding from his decision.
–I asked him why he twice visited the 49ers for interviews if he wasn’t sure he’d take the job. He said the interviews were a “two-way street.” He was here on fact-finding missions, as much as the 49ers wanted to find out about him. That said, he felt very comfortable with joining the 49ers on a professional level, but the situation was just a lot more complex on a personal level.
–That said, I would still not be surprised to learn that Linehan accepts a job elsewhere this offseason. He will probably go to the Senior Bowl, and I’m sure he’ll talk to some teams there about job openings.
–By the way, how ’bout those Cardinals?! Quite an impressive showing by the champs of the NFC West. And, once again, it shows what Singletary was talking about after the season. He said the goal for the 49ers next season is to get to the playoffs. Because once the playoffs begin, anything can happen. The Cardinals proved it. They were playing the worst football of any playoff team when the season concluded. Now, they’re going to the Super Bowl.
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