{"id":696210,"date":"2026-01-22T12:03:29","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T12:03:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/696210\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T12:03:29","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T12:03:29","slug":"49ers-news-is-gus-bradley-the-path-of-least-resistance-for-the-49ers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/696210\/","title":{"rendered":"49ers News: Is Gus Bradley the path of least resistance for the 49ers?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kawakami: The 49ers are set up for an all-in 2026 \u2014 can they get Justin Jefferson? (paywall)<\/a>
After cleaning out a big chunk of their depth chart and payroll last March, the 49ers don\u2019t have to hesitate or guard their bank account this offseason. After falling a few star players short against the Seahawks in two lopsided games in the last few weeks, the 49ers have the target right in front of them for 2026.<\/p>\n

They can go and go. Which they owe to the players who pulled them through the season \u2014 and surprised even Shanahan and Lynch by winning 12 regular-season games and knocking off the Eagles in Philadelphia in the wild-card round.<\/p>\n

The 49ers owe it to themselves after they endured all the slashing and budgeting last March and jumped ahead of schedule by making that playoff run.<\/p>\n

So they can try to validate all of this by flying to the top of the potential trade market and making the Vikings an offer they might not be able to refuse for multiple-time All-Pro wide receiver Justin Jefferson to top off a true Super Bowl-level roster.<\/p>\n

Yes, Justin Jefferson. It\u2019s not out of the question. And right now, the 49ers have the gravity to try to bend everything their way in this situation.<\/p>\n

(This idea was first suggested to me by ESPN\u2019s Nick Wagoner on my podcast, and I was intrigued the moment I heard it. Jefferson and Christian McCaffrey probably are the two ideal playmaking fits for a Shanahan offense, and that\u2019s enough to wonder how many first-round picks the 49ers should offer for Jefferson. I\u2019d say at least two.)<\/p>\n

Crosby seems to be on his way out in Las Vegas and he\u2019s long been one of the 49ers\u2019 favorite players. But if the 49ers can only get one of the two superstars, I\u2019d circle Jefferson, because the 49ers\u2019 need for a game-breaking receiver is greater than for another elite edge, and because Jefferson is easily one of the best 10 players in the league and, at 26, should remain there for many years to come.\u201c<\/p>\n

49ers\u2019 Kyle Shanahan all but certain Gus Bradley will replace Robert Saleh (paywall)
<\/a>\u201c\u201cI\u2019m not going to say it\u2019s a real wide net,\u201d Shanahan said. \u201cGus is the obvious one to everyone. And (he) is to us, too. Gus would be the main internal candidate. I feel very fortunate to get Gus and feel great about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 49ers must satisfy the Rooney Rule by interviewing two minority candidates in person before making a hire. Last year, Shanahan made a misstep by announcing assistant Klay Kubiak would be promoted to offensive coordinator before the 49ers interviewed other candidates.\u201c<\/p>\n

Hutchinson: The 49ers don\u2019t sound like they want to conduct a real DC search (paywall)<\/a>
\u201cThis is an era of football in which defenses have started to dictate the terms of engagement.<\/p>\n

Mike Macdonald has given the 49ers hell. He has assistants who could be hired, or at least interviewed to pick their brains. Jim Schwartz, the man who has historically dominated Shanahan, could be available if he doesn\u2019t get the Browns\u2019 head coaching job. Raheem Morris is available, as is Sean McDermott.<\/p>\n

Frankly, I would be stunned if Shanahan doesn\u2019t try and get Morris, unless he feels they\u2019ve settled on Bradley and that it would be disingenuous to interview someone he holds in high regard\u2026 which, of course, is bad process.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s another shortlist of mostly young, available assistant coaches of strong defenses, all who are worth of consideration (and some of whom have already received some):<\/p>\n

Karl Scott, defensive pass game coordinator, Seattle SeahawksChristian Parker, defensive pass game coordinator, Philadelphia EaglesJim Leonhard, defensive pass game coordinator, Denver Broncos (probably goes elsewhere) Tem Lukabu, linebackers, Jacksonville Jaguars Cory Undlin, defensive pass game coordinator, Houston Texans (former pass game specialist & secondary coach with the 49ers)Stephen Adegoke, safeties, Houston Texans (former quality control with the 49ers)<\/p>\n

If the 49ers are dogmatic in their conviction that they must hire Bradley, that\u2019s their prerogative.<\/p>\n

But if they fail to conduct an earnest search? It\u2019s arrogant. It\u2019s lazy. It\u2019s shortsighted. It\u2019s not a responsible way to manage a franchise.<\/p>\n

It feels like they\u2019re all tired after a long season and want this process over with.<\/p>\n

More than anything, it screams that they think their fundamental views in what makes their defense work are above reproach.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say don\u2019t hire Bradley.<\/p>\n

But to laugh off the notion of conducting a real interview process after facing the stark Wilks-and-Sorenson realities of what happens when you don\u2019t conduct a robust process?\u201c<\/p>\n

Kyle Shanahan, John Lynch hold 49ers end-of-season press conference<\/a>
\u201cBrandon is a guy that you guys made a big investment into. And I know Kyle, you said that after his injury it was tough to get him in here and get involved, but it\u2019s kind of an unprecedented move for him to forfeit that kind of money. Have you been able to determine why he was so upset, why wasn\u2019t he showing up and any background you can give on that?<\/p>\n

JL: \u201cI wish I knew. I can\u2019t help you there. Sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Has there been a line of communication with him?\u201c <\/p>\n

KS: \u201cThere was, but not anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

At what point did that snap?<\/p>\n

KS: \u201cWell, when I\u2019m coaching, I don\u2019t hang out in the training room at all. So, I don\u2019t see guys much that way. But, I\u2019d say it officially stopped for me when the last time I tried to get ahold of him and couldn\u2019t and then tried a couple more times and still couldn\u2019t, and then that matched everyone else that was trying to get ahold of him and couldn\u2019t. And eventually there\u2019s not much of an explanation because it\u2019s really hard for us and anyone else to understand. That\u2019s why it\u2019s something I\u2019ve never seen in 22 years of coaching. So, it\u2019s unfortunate and it\u2019s confusing because it\u2019s confusing for all of us. But it eventually becomes it is what it is. You try as hard as you can to fix something that you don\u2019t understand, but it\u2019s not like we understand it very well still. But, eventually you understand that it\u2019s not going to change and you\u2019ve got to move on with your football team, which is always the most important thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Will 49ers trade QB Mac Jones? Lynch, Shanahan answers may not be what they seem (paywall)<\/a>
\u201cAnd the team\u2019s top decision-makers struck an unsurprising note when asked Wednesday about possibly trading Jones. Their answers could be interpreted as a message to the rest of the NFL: We\u2019ll only trade him if we get a high-end draft pick in return.\u201d<\/p>\n

49ers select Trent Williams \u2018heir apparent\u2019 in Mel Kiper\u2019s debut NFL mock draft<\/a>
\u201cI recently moved [Utah OT Caleb] Lomu into my top 25 rankings,\u201d Kiper wrote. \u201cHe is really good in both pass protection and run blocking, and his quickness is going to be an asset in the NFL. Could he be the heir apparent for Trent Williams at left tackle? Williams will turn 38 this summer and has just one year left on his deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cSan Francisco can\u2019t kick the can down the road too much further on its long-term plan. Lomu had 24 career starts and allowed just three sacks during that time — all in 2024.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Pro Football Focus, Lomu allowed eight pressures and zero sacks across 383 pass-blocking snaps in 2025. His 82.1 pass-blocking grade marked a career high, though his 62.0 run-blocking grade represented a noticeable dip from his 70.1 mark in 2024.\u201c<\/p>\n

49ers take a different approach in latest mock draft projection<\/a>
\u201c\u201cThe 49ers add a big-time playmaker to their receiving corps,\u201d Decker wrote. \u201c[Louisville WR Chris] Bell is calm and confident at all times. He\u2019s a natural catcher with strong hands and outstanding ball skills, consistently coming down with everything thrown his way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bell (6-2, 220) wrapped up his collegiate career with 151 receptions for 2,166 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns, per Sports Reference. During his senior season in 2025, he posted career highs with 72 catches for 917 yards and six touchdowns.<\/p>\n

According to Pro Football Focus, Bell earned an 83.3 receiving grade, ranking 20th among all NCAA wide receivers.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe offers a versatile skill set, capable of playing both outside and in the slot, and has the potential to fill the role Deebo Samuel once played in this offense, providing a major lift to Brock Purdy,\u201d Decker added.\u201c<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kawakami: The 49ers are set up for an all-in 2026 \u2014 can they get Justin Jefferson? (paywall)After cleaning…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":696211,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2080],"tags":[220,52307,7,6,1161,252,1137,2624,2623],"class_list":{"0":"post-696210","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-francisco-49ers","8":"tag-49ers","9":"tag-49ers-links","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-nfl","12":"tag-san-francisco","13":"tag-san-francisco-49ers","14":"tag-san-francisco-49ers-news","15":"tag-sanfrancisco","16":"tag-sanfrancisco49ers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115938656609805138","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/696210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=696210"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/696210\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/696211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=696210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=696210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=696210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}