49ers Make It Official: Trent Baalke Is The Next GM

The San Francisco 49ers have hired their GM. As it was widely expected, the team will roll with Trent Baalke, an in-house candidate, after interviewing several candidates. The 49ers have officially announced the move and indicated that Baalke will be responsible for hiring the head coach after Mike Singletary was fired earlier this season.

The 49ers requested permission to interview Raiders offensive coordinator Hue Jackson for their head coaching job before this news came out so that should have been a clue that they were going with someone who was already in-house. The 49ers have said previously the GM will pick the coach.

On Tuesday morning it was reported that the San Francisco 49ers requested permission from the Oakland Raiders to interview offensive coordinator Hue Jackson for their head coaching job. The 49ers fired Mike Singletary this season and have been searching for a GM and a head coach.

By Tuesday afternoon, the Raiders confirmed they had given permission for the interview.

The San Francisco 49ers may not be looking far for their next head coach. In fact, it could come from just across the bay. The 49ers requested permission to interview Oakland Raiders offensive coordinator Hue Jackson, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

The news is surprising because the 49ers were expected to hire their GM before the head coach. It’s also possible this is an effort to comply with the Rooney Rule.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Lombardi did interview with the 49ers.

The new GM of the 49ers will be picking the next head coach after Mike Singletary was dismissed last week. Jed York has said he will interview candidates this week and determine by the weekend whether to extend his search to people already on NFL teams.

After the firing of Mike Singletary, the San Francisco 49ers are going about the business of hiring a new long-term head coach, and team president Jed York has reportedly turned his attention to a couple of big names. According to Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News, York is zeroing in on Jon Gruden and Jim Harbaugh.

Kawakami reports that York’s first order of business is to hire a new general manager capable of bringing either Gruden or Harbaugh to San Francisco. The team has not filled the general manager position since Scot McCloughan left in April.

Shortly after the game, 49ers ownership wouldn’t commit to Singletary beyond this week. Shortly after that, news surfaced that he had been fired. And soon after that, Singletary issued a statement:

Singletary knows he has a long career in this league, and knows he underachieved, so his statement is focused on a classy exit. Besides, he could have written that statement two months ago.

Niners Nation has some instant reaction to the decision, which they thought was a long time coming:

Defensive line coach Jim Tomsula will coach the final game of the 2011 regular season.

The way Team President and CEO Jed York, Singletary might not even stick around that long. Depends on how you read his comments after Sunday’s loss.

The 49ers will finish with a losing record for the seventh time in eight years. The only year that wasn’t a losing season was Singletary’s first full one with the team, which finished 8-8. Singletary has two years remaining on his contract but as York put, “money is no object” in the team Niners’ quest to become a Super Bowl team again.