San Francisco 49ers: Could Adam Gase and Vic Fangio Work Together?

The San Francisco 49ers’ head coaching situation is currently in a state of flux.  By the time you read this, general manager Trent Baalke will have finished an approximately eight-hour interview with Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase, as first reported by the Washington Post.  It’s entirely possible that Gase could be the name, with Baalke returning to report great things to Jed York.  It’s equally possible that they’ll decide he’s not the man for the job and go with an internal candidate like Jim Tomsula or Vic Fangio.  One way or another, it feels like the search should end within the next 48 to 72 hours.

I am on record as saying that Vic Fangio should be the 49ers’ head coach in 2015, and I stand by that.  At the same time, however, there’s certainly something very enticing about bringing Gase to San Francisco.  Assuming—and it’s a big if at this point—that Gase could convince Fangio to stay on board as defensive coordinator (and possibly assistant head coach, as well), then the 49ers would be joining an offensive coordinator who has produced top-four offenses in every season in Denver with a defensive coordinator who has produced top-five defenses in every season in San Francisco.

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

I say it’s a big “if” at this point, because reporting by Mike Silver of NFL.com suggests that Fangio would at least consider asking for his release if neither he nor Mike Shanahan is named head coach.  Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle clarified, stating that Fangio believes that “the 49ers’ next head coach needs plenty of coaching and life experience to lead a veteran, ready-to-contend team coming off a turmoil-filled 8-8 season.”

Gase is only 36 years old, compared to Fangio’s 56.  Gase was born in 1978, and Fangio started his coaching career in 1979, so you can see where Fangio is coming from.  Gase does have 15 years of experience, starting out on the scouting side of the ball before moving to the coaching side in 2005, so it’s not like he’s a fresh-faced kid with no history, but he would definitely be on the low-end, age-wise, of modern NFL coaches.

I find it hard to believe Fangio would have straight-up given an ultimatum to management, and I have an unsupported gut feeling that Gase would at least get a chance to pitch Fangio.  Hopefully, Fangio would go into such a meeting with an open mind, because some coaches younger than Gase have had major success at the NFL level.  Here’s the youngest coaches to get hired in the Super Bowl era, along with how they did for their first team:

Coach	Age	Team	Year	G	W	L	T	%	Postseason
Lane Kiffin	31	OAK	2007	20	5	15	0	.250	None
Raheem Morris	32	TB	2009	48	17	31	0	.354	None
David Shula	32	CIN	1992	71	19	52	0	.268	None
Josh McDaniels	32	DEN	2009	28	11	17	0	.393	None
John Madden	32	OAK	1969	142	103	32	7	.759	8 times
Jon Gruden	34	OAK	1998	64	28	26	0	.594	2 times
Bill Cowher	34	PIT	1992	240	149	90	1	.623	10 times
Mike Tomlin	34	PIT	2007	128	82	46	0	.641	4 times
Eric Mangini	34	NYJ	2006	48	23	35	0	.479	1 time
Mike Shanahan	35	LARD	1998	20	8	12	0	.400	None

You can see that three of the youngest hires in recent NFL history won Super Bowls with their first teams.  Two more, in Gruden and Shanahan, eventually developed into Super Bowl winners.  It’s somewhat fair to count Gruden in that group, as he was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where he won the Super Bowl, whereas Shanahan’s Super Bowls came after going back to being an offensive coordinator for a spell.

Still, it’s proof that young coaches can, in fact, take over veteran teams and have success.  The best example might be Mike Tomlin, taking over from Bill Cowher in 2007.  That Steelers squad had plenty of veterans on it—Alan Faneca, Casey Hampton, James Farrior, Clark Haggans, Hines Ward, Deshea Townsend and Aaron Smith were all over 30 and still major contributors at that point.  Almost every news story from back then, including this one from the USA Today, stressed how young he was, and how unusual it was for someone that young to get a job.

One move Tomlin made to help ensure his veteran team would respect him was to retain the services of the Steelers’ veteran defensive coordinator, Dick LeBeau.  He quickly grasped the players’ loyalty to LeBeau, according to this article from the Associated Press (h/t LA Times).  Tomlin was quoted at the time praising LeBeau:

"

As I start to work with him on a day-to-day basis, he's exceeded my expectations in terms of what he's capable of. It's been refreshing, not (just) with him but with the entire defensive staff. It's been fun. We're in there every day hacking away at it.

"

A similar arrangement between Gase and Fangio might hit the jackpot for the 49ers.  Fangio would be the well-respected veteran in the locker room; someone who has grinded out years in an NFL locker room and won the hearts of his players.  Players like Antoine Bethea and NaVorro Bowman have stumped for Fangio being the coach in 2015.  Keeping him around in some capacity could help quell any locker room discontent with the new coach.

Meanwhile, while I think Fangio’s the best coach for the 49ers, I think Gase might well be the best coach for Colin Kaepernick.  While he takes some heat for letting Peyton Manning run the show in Denver—an offensive coordinator in name only—that’s really not fair at all.  Yes, Manning likes to audible at the line, and yes, the offense is very similar to the one Manning had in Indianapolis, but he’s not the one designing the game plan or putting in those audibles.  Tons of his players—from Manning himself to offensive tackle Ryan Clady to tight end Jacob Tamme—have vouched for his skills.

Justin Edmonds/Getty Images

It also says something that all the quarterbacks he has worked with as a position coach or coordinator have had their most productive seasons with Gase.  That includes Jon Kitna, Tim Tebow and, yes, even Peyton Manning.  He’s succeeded with a wide variety of different types of passers.

If Gase is hired as the next head coach, we’ll spend a lot of time breaking down his entire history to see how it might impact the 2015 49ers, but that’s all speculation for now.  If he is picked, however, I hope Vic Fangio will give him a chance.  Inexperience doesn’t necessarily lead to failure in the NFL, especially if you have a veteran mind like Fangio giving support.

Bryan Knowles is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report, covering the San Francisco 49ers.  Follow him @BryKno on twitter.