Did Josh McDaniels And Nick Caserio Almost Leave The Patriots For The 49ers?
BOSTON (CBS) -- Josh McDaniels surprised some people when he decided to stay with the Patriots, despite being one of the more in-demand candidates for an NFL head coaching job. But a new report suggests that McDaniels' departure actually did almost happen.
As reported by CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora on Sunday, the 49ers "intently pursued" and nearly hired McDaniels as their new head coach. Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio also nearly joined McDaniels to become their new general manager and complete the "package deal" in San Francisco. The team ended up hiring former Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan as head coach and former NFL safety John Lynch as GM.
98.5 The Sports Hub's Zolak & Bertrand discussed the report during the show on Monday, wondering what led to McDaniels and Caserio ultimately deciding to stay in New England. Scott Zolak didn't doubt that the interest between McDaniels and the 49ers was real, harkening back to prior debates about where he could have landed.
"I said, 'There's only one gig I think that Josh would intently pursue - and I think it would be San Francisco," said Zolak. "Because it's away from the AFC, you don't have to go up against Bill [Belichick] ... I think Bill would give him the blessing to go there."
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