The 49ers are once again in the midst of a head-coaching search, an intensive process that will be headed up by general manager Trent Baalke.
Baalke is one of the chief decision makers in the San Francisco organization, but will not hesitate to reach out for advice when needed.
One man he's looked to is Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells, whom Baalke worked under as a scout with the New York Jets in the late 1990s.
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While not considered a candidate himself, Parcells recently weighed in on the 49ers' coaching search and the pool of potential people to fill the vacancy left by Jim Tomsula.
“I do know that from kind of hearing the list available, it looks like the talent pool is a little bit thin right now,” Parcells said Thursday on 97.5 The Fanatic in Philadelphia.
“It’s always between the experienced coach versus the hot coordinator. And no one knows which of these hot coordinators are eventually going to be successful,” Parcells added. “There are some that have been, and then there are the bus stations full of the others...It's just philosophically what the organization wants. I don't know that I can specifically look out and say 'Hey, here's a guy,' and that guy will be a great guy, I just don't know.”
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[MAIOCCO: 49ers' head coaching candidates]
In the 49ers GM's latest interaction with the media, his mentor, Parcells, was brought up when Baalke was asked if he has any sort of sounding board during this process.
“Well, I think it’s well documented that I search out coach Parcells on a lot of things and will continue to. I’ve got great respect for the man and everything he’s accomplished in his life. I don’t know what else I can say. He’s somebody that I have great respect for.”
Baalke and 49ers CEO Jed York in 2010 first tired to lure Parcells back into coaching to replace Mike Singletary, according to “Parcells: A Football Life,” an authorized biography written by Nunyo Demasio.
Singletary was fired with one game remaining in the 2010 season. Defensive line coach Jim Tomsula took over as interim coach for the final game of the season.