National Football League

49ers to Offer Head Coaching Job to Falcons Coordinator Kyle Shanahan, per Report

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 1:54 a.m. ET

Fansided, Peter Panacy/FanSided via Niner Noise

ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting the San Francisco 49ers are planning on offering Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan the Niners’ head coaching spot when Atlanta’s season comes to a close.

San Francisco 49ers fans can probably breathe a little easier knowing the Niners are willing to sit and wait for the Atlanta Falcons’ 2016 season to come to a close.

Tuesday afternoon, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the Niners are going to make an offer to Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan to take over as San Francisco’s head coach in 2017. And the Niners are willing to wait it out until Atlanta either wins Super Bowl LI or is eliminated from the postseason.

Additionally, Schefter reported the Niners will request a second interview with Shanahan following the NFC Championship game this weekend.

The Niners had whittled down the head coaching search to two candidates — Shanahan and Seattle Seahawks offensive line coach Tom Cable — after New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels withdrew himself from consideration earlier this week.

Shanahan, a likely favorite, led a top-ranked Falcons offense to a seemingly easy 36-20 victory over San Francisco’s key NFC West rivals, the Seahawks, in the NFC Divisional round.

Surely that caught the attention of 49ers brass, like CEO Jed York and Vice President of Player Personnel Paraag Marathe.

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A lot could still go wrong for this presumed Shanahan-to-San Francisco deal.

It’s possible the Falcons offensive coordinator would like to stay in Atlanta and wait for a better coaching spot to open up in 2018. Or, perhaps, the amount of money and/or power Shanahan would request would be too much for York and Co.

Regardless, this is a good bit of news for Niners fans who haven’t had much of the sort in recent months.