ProFootballTalk founder Mike Florio has an intriguing idea for a change of scenery for Kyle Shanahan.
Appearing on “The Rich Eisen Show” on Tuesday, Florio mentioned how the Raiders sent Jon Gruden to the Buccaneers in 2002 and wondered why coaching trades don’t happen more often.
“I feel like Shanahan and the 49ers are getting close to the point where they would benefit mutually from a fresh start,” Florio said, naming the Bears as a potential destination for the head coach.
“If you can get Shanahan and join him at the hip with Caleb Williams, are you kidding me?”
After reaching the Super Bowl last season but losing to the Chiefs, the 49ers are 5-7 this year.
They have suffered a rash of injuries — wideout Brandon Aiyuk is out for the year, running backs Christian McCaffrey and Jordan Mason are both headed to injured reserve and left tackle Trent Williams and pᴀss rusher Nick Bosa have both missed the team’s last two games.
Eisen asked Florio what gave him the impression that this would be something to which the 49ers and Shanahan would agree.
“There’s nothing specific, but you just look at the situation. It’s been since 2017 they’ve been kind of banging their head against the door trying to knock it down,” Florio said.
“This year just feels like it’s coming to an end from a standpoint of the nucleus of players that they have there. And you never know what’s happening behind the scenes. I mention the 49ers because it’s been 10 years or so since they had Jim Harbaugh going into what was the fourth year of his tenure there. The first three years had been very successful … We reported at the time that the 49ers were close to trading Harbaugh to the Cleveland Browns.”
The Bears fired head coach Matt Eberflus last week after a series of late-game debacles, the latest being an unawareness of the clock in a Thanksgiving loss to the Lions.
Thomas Brown was named the interim head coach.
Florio also mentioned Ravens head coach John Harbaugh as somebody the Bears should consider calling and inquiring about for a trade.
