National Football League

49ers General Manager Search: Fans Should Curb Enthusiasm on Louis Riddick

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 12:02 p.m. ET

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Fansided, Peter Panacy/FanSided via Niner Noise

The San Francisco 49ers met with ESPN NFL analyst Louis Riddick on Tuesday for the team’s open general manager spot. And while Riddick would likely be a solid choice, fans should temper their expectations to a large degree.

First, let me preface this by saying the San Francisco 49ers hiring current ESPN analyst Louis Riddick as general manager would not be, in of ifself, a bad thing.

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Riddick met with the Niners’ top brass on Tuesday, as reported by the team’s website. And the interview, of course, is to fill the void left by former GM Trent Baalke.

And while Riddick is widely regarded as a bright and well-respected football mind, one shouldn’t get his or her hopes up he’d be the perfect choice to immediately turn around all of San Francisco’s problems.

True, Riddick is widely viewed as a bright and competent NFL analyst. And he does have a background in pro-level scouting. But there doesn’t appear to be any collegiate-level scouting, at least according to David Fucillo of Niners Nation.

But here are the concerns.

His last work within the NFL framework was in 2013 when he was the director of pro personnel with the Philadelphia Eagles. He had been within the Eagles front office in various roles dating back to 2008.

Those Eagles teams were OK at best, but the fact Riddick doesn’t appear to have a lot of college scouting under his belt is a bit concerning.

And his previous work with a bad Washington Redskins team between 2001 and 2007 isn’t exactly a major endorsement either.

Plus, there’s this:

Granted, both 49ers draftees Marcus Martin and Brandon Thomas were highly regarded at the time. So we can’t totally fault Riddick’s 2014 assessment here. Still, considering how both these players panned out at the pro level, it’s not exactly a good look.

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But the biggest concern is why Riddick hasn’t been involved with any NFL front office since 2013.

True, he’s stayed parallel with the game. And his type of work at ESPN surely commands a hefty salary.

Still, if hired as the next Niners GM, fans need to be aware of some of the concerns surrounding Riddick’s career before a full endorsement. Nothing more, nothing less.

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