Where to go from here…

Scott Linehan has been offered the offensive coordinators position with the 49ers after having his second interview with Coach Singletary last Thursday. As anyone who has read the comments section of my last article I am not at all disappointed with this move and in fact welcome it. Having gone through six men for the position in six years I see this as an endeavor based on an idea of continuity, something that has been lacking within the inner workings of this franchise for far to long.

Linehan was relieved of his duties in St. Louis for making some lackluster moves (see benching Marc Bulger) and what some alluded to as a losing of the locker room. In my talks with 49er fans in and around the Northern California area there is a feeling that this could lead to issues within the coaching hierarchy as well as among the players. In my opinion nothing could be further from the truth,

Linehan is not going to be asked to keep the players on board in this position; he is simply going to be tasked with compiling a game plan that is directly in line with Singletary’s team philosophy. Having said that and looking at Lineman’s track record as an OC in Minnesota I feel that if the man does decide to take the job he has been offered, it will not be without its trials and tribulations but in the end will be a good decision for both sides.

At this point one has to wonder why Linehan has not accepted the position which Singletary has offered him. Is there something wrong with the 49ers coaching structure or front office that we are not aware of?

So as of now Linehan has declined the offer of offensive coordinator for the 49ers, the job that he interviewed two times for. Linehan has cited family issues as his reason for not accepting the position that was so graciously offered to him from head coach Mike Singletary.

Linehan has three sons who attend school in St. Louis and as he said, “One issue my family is going to be 2,000 miles away for at least part of the time.” The issue I have with this is, wouldn’t he have known that being that far away from his family was an issue before even coming to San Francisco to interview in the first place. Why even entertain the idea of being the 49ers next coordinator if he had no idea of taking the job?

It can’t be that he thought being offered the position would garner him more notoriety in the league, after all it’s the 49ers. The team who has had six different offensive coordinators in the last six seasons. This is a team who would be happy to gain the employment of someone such as Linehan, as evidenced by the fact that they offered him the job at all.

So now what?

Linehan declines and the 49ers move on to their second or perhaps even third choice. How does that make the person who ultimately accepts this job feel?

“Hey I wasn’t the team’s initial choice but at least I got the job”?

That could cause problems in itself especially if it ends up being a man who has already served as an OC in this league. At this point I really have no idea what the 49ers next move is but only this team can make a job offer to a man and have that man decline the position altogether. As I sit here, attempting to conjure up a manner in which the 49ers can make a hire for offensive coordinator and at the same time save face…

I am at a complete loss.

They have of course interviewed other men for the job including Rob Chudzinski and Clyde Christensen however I feel that they will bring others as potentials and make a decision sometime in the next two weeks.

I have to congratulate the Arizona Cardinals on their win today and the advancement to the Super Bowl. Having lived in the state of Arizona for the last almost five years I have a few close friends who are avid Cards fans and there is a small part of me that is actually happy for them. The 49er fan in me of course is disgusted and feels that Armageddon is upon us, but in the end I say good for them. As one of my esteemed Niner fan friends said today, if anything it gives the NFC West a bit more respect and I can live with that.

The Senior Bowl is coming soon and as is customary it might lend a bit more insight into some of the men the 49ers could be looking at this April. Even though San Francisco is not coaching a team this year they will still be on hand, which should payoff come draft time. Moving forward though the most important issue is for the team to find an offensive coordinator and get ready for free agency