Kyle Shanahan isn’t going to Indianapolis for this week’s NFL Scouting Combine.
Per NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco, Shanahan and other San Francisco 49ers coaches won’t attend the annual pre-draft showcase. General manager John Lynch and 49ers scouts will travel to Lucas Oil Stadium.
Shanahan also didn’t attend the combine last year. He may have ignited a growing trend by opting out of the event.
Matt LaFleur, Mike McCarthy, and Sean McVay aren’t going to Indianapolis either. Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio said Robert Saleh isn’t expected to attend either, but the New York Jets head coach “might make a cameo appearance.”
“It’s not a huge groundswell yet, but you get four, five, six coaches realizing the scouting combine isn’t worth their time to go and attend. At some point, the NFL’s got to get a little bit nervous,” Florio said.
Florio noted that coaches can easily access the results of physicals and drills elsewhere while interviewing players via Zoom. Peter King speculated that they don’t want to be bombarded by unemployed coaches treating the combine like a job fair.
Following another Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, Shanahan will resume other offseason tasks. Finding a new defensive coordinator to replace Steve Wilks may top that list.
Per Maiocco, Shanahan said he’s interviewed former Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley and 49ers defensive passing game specialist Nick Sorensen. He’ll also interview 49ers defensive backs coach Daniel Bullocks and expects to “finish it all up this week.”