San Francisco 49ers: 5 Potential Replacements If Jim Harbaugh Leaves
Let’s be honest: The most likely coach for the San Francisco 49ers in 2015 is the man currently under contract, Jim Harbaugh.
Jed York has publicly backed his head coach, according to Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com. Harbaugh's players are coming out in public support of him, and Harbaugh himself has said that his destiny lies with the 49ers. The team is giving out a unified show of support for Harbaugh.
There’s also the little matter of Harbaugh being the only coach in NFL history to reach the conference championship in his first three seasons as head coach. He has a 39-13-1 record in the regular season and was the first 49ers coach to reach the playoffs since Steve Mariucci back in 2002. Harbaugh’s been the best coach the franchise has had since George Seifert in the mid-90s.
That being said, we can’t entirely ignore all the talk and rumors that have been circling about Harbaugh leaving after this season. Fox’s Jay Glazer says there is no way Harbaugh returns in 2015, even if the 49ers win the Super Bowl. There are rumors that the Michigan coaching job might interest Harbaugh, as that’s his alma mater. The noise won’t die down one way or another until Harbaugh signs an extension or leaves.
So, while I think the most likely scenario is for Harbaugh to stick around, there’s no reason to be unprepared. Let’s take a quick look around the league and identify some top candidates for what would be a very enticing position were Harbaugh to leave in 2015.
Adam Gase, Offensive Coordinator, Denver
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Adam Gase is bound for bigger and better things. Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports says that Gase will almost assuredly be a head coach in 2015, having deferred the position by a year to concentrate on Denver’s Super Bowl run—he turned down the Cleveland Browns and Minnesota Vikings, for example.
The 49ers job would certainly be more enticing than either Cleveland or Minnesota, and Gase does have a connection with the franchise. Gase spent 2008 as an offensive assistant to Mike Martz, the offensive coordinator for the 49ers at the time.
Gase helped the Denver Broncos put together the top-ranked offense in the league last season, and while a lot of that is “let Peyton Manning do Peyton Manning things," that’s not the end-all, be-all of Gase’s ability.
Gase was the Broncos’ quarterback coach in 2011 and 2012, surviving the coaching change from Josh McDaniels to John Fox. That means before working with Manning, Gase was stuck trying to turn Tim Tebow into a competent NFL quarterback, and Tebow responded with the best season of his career: a 7-4 record as a starter, throwing for 1,729 yards, 12 touchdowns and six interceptions. It’s not the most spectacular line a quarterback has ever posted, but considering Tebow’s lack of NFL-quality talent, it’s still an impressive performance. Credit can go to Gase for that.
Pairing Gase with a still-developing Colin Kaepernick is an intriguing possibility. He’d be my first choice for head coach if Harbaugh left.
David Shaw, Head Coach, Stanford
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The last time the 49ers needed a new head coach, they went down to Stanford and brought Harbaugh up. Might they do the same with David Shaw?
Shaw is 37-9 as Stanford’s head coach, leading them to the Pac-12 championship in each of the last two seasons. He was named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year in both 2011 and 2012, beating out then-Oregon coach Chip Kelly twice.
Shaw spent almost a decade in the NFL as an assistant, notably working with quarterback Rich Gannon in Oakland and then under head coach Brian Billick in Baltimore. As a receivers coach in Baltimore, he helped the likes of Derrick Mason and Mark Clayton have career-best seasons. With the 49ers’ receiving corps filled with young developing players like Bruce Ellington and Quinton Patton, it’s intriguing to wonder what Shaw could do with them.
Shaw is also the opposite of Harbaugh personality-wise, which would be the logical choice if Harbaugh’s personality drove him out of town. Shaw is quiet and unassuming, posed and in control on the sideline. It would be a change from Harbaugh’s histrionics. The one thing that wouldn’t change is the team’s success—both coaches know how to win.
Shaw has said in the past he has no interest in the NFL, but if he could stay in the Bay Area, perhaps a new challenge would change his mind.
Darrell Bevell, Offensive Coordinator, Seattle Seahawks
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If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.
Watching the Seahawks on Monday night, I was impressed by the improvement their offense has made the past couple seasons. While the defense rightfully gets most of the credit for the Seahawks' recent success, Bevell has found ways to incorporate Percy Harvin and some dynamic looks into Seattle’s offense. That’s a far cry from Greg Roman’s more conservative philosophy, and it’s an enticing difference.
Bevell has been an offensive coordinator, first for Minnesota and then for Seattle, since 2006. That’s more experience at a high level than most of the other candidates on this list, and experience matters in the NFL. He’s responsible for helping Russell Wilson become a top NFL quarterback and would do wonders for Colin Kaepernick’s continued development as well.
He’s made Seattle one of the most efficient offenses in the NFL and is now adding flash to that package. He’s also achieved just about all he can as a coordinator and is ready to take that next step towards running his own team.
Would he come to division rival San Francisco? I could see him being hesitant to face his old team twice a year, but it’s not unheard of in the NFL. His offensive philosophy fits in very well with how the 49ers are built, and he’d be an intriguing candidate.
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Frank Reich, Offensive Coordinator, San Diego Chargers
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It might be premature to put Reich on the list of head coaching candidates. After all, this is his first season as an offensive coordinator in San Diego. The previous three seasons, he was just a position coach—first receivers for Indianapolis and Arizona, and then quarterbacks for San Diego.
That means, of course, that Reich has worked with some great players. Reich was the coach when Reggie Wayne and Pierre Garcon each got 900-yard receiving seasons out of a combination of QBs Curtis Painter, Dan Orlovsky and Kerry Collins in Indianapolis in 2011. He helped guide Andre Roberts and a rookie Michael Floyd toward becoming starters for Arizona in 2012. And last season, he helped rejuvenate Philip Rivers’ career in San Diego.
This season, Reich’s offense is eighth in the league in terms of total yards and sixth in terms of points. He’s been able to cope with injuries to Ryan Mathews and Danny Woodhead and keep the offense ticking. He’s quickly become one of the more notable names out there.
It might be too early in 2015 to name him head coach, but he could be a very strong candidate if Harbaugh leaves after next season when his contract naturally expires.
Sean McDermott, Defensive Coordinator, Carolina Panthers
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All the previous coordinators on the list have been offensive-minded people, but that’s not the 49ers’ key identity. Wouldn’t it make sense to bring in a defensive-minded coach to work with the 49ers’ ferocious defense? In that case, McDermott might be your man.
McDermott has spent the past three seasons as the defensive coordinator in Carolina, and the defense has improved each year he’s been there to this point. He’s worked under Jim Johnson in Philadelphia, so he has the credentials to back up his recent success, too.
McDermott was a candidate for the Washington job this past offseason, according to The Charlotte Observer, and he’ll be among the most notable candidates this offseason, too. If the 49ers wanted to go with a defensive head coach, they could do far worse than going with McDermott.
Bryan Knowles is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report, covering the San Francisco 49ers. Follow him @BryKno on twitter.
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