49ers down to Chip Kelly or Mike Shanahan

The other still-available candidates the 49ers have interviewed are ex Eagles head coach Chip Kelly, Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter and Bills running backs coach Anthony Lynn. “Since then, interest has ramped up considerably”, Rapoport tweeted.

Coughlin had a second interview with the Eagles on Thursday.

The 49ers have interviewed offensive-minded coaches thus far, and Kelly and Shanahan are offensive-minded to quite the degree. ESPN also reported that Shanahan is “strongly in the mix”.

It appears the old guy could become the 49ers’ new head coach.

“If I get back into coaching, it would have to be in a situation where there was a realistic opportunity to win a Super Bowl”, Shanahan told USA Today back in July of 2014.

Shanahan is no stranger to the 49ers, as he was the team’s offensive coordinator from 1992 to 1994, in between his stints with the Raiders and Broncos. He began last season knowing he had to turn things around to keep his job, and the Giants lost six games either in the final 1:14 of regulation or in overtime. Washington fired him after he went 3-13 in 2013 to cap his four-year term there.

One plus for Shanahan, according to several analysts, might be Shanahan’s experience developing quarterbacks. The Niners, of course, still have Colin Kaepernick on the roster. A decision is expected by Friday. Would he work well under York and Baalke? Shanahan in the past has had far more power than most head coaches. Kelly, whom the Philadelphia Eagles fired on December 30, interviewed with the 49ers last Thursday.