49ers Assistant Coach Declines Interview Request In Surprise Move
01/17/2025 01:11 PM
The NFL's coaching carousel is in full swing after the end of the regular season, and teams with vacancies are looking to hire the right head coach for the future.
Some teams have already filled their spots, like the New England Patriots, who hired Mike Vrabel as their new head coach. There are many popular candidates for jobs around the league like Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn and Liam Coen, but one candidate for a head coaching job has surprisingly refused the ask.
According to New York Post reporter Brian Costello, San Francisco 49ers quarterbacks coach Brian Griese declined an interview request for a head coaching role with the New York Jets.
49ers quarterbacks coach Brian Griese declined the Jets head coaching interview request (@BrianCoz). pic.twitter.com/FpOc3XiNN5
— uSTADIUM (@uSTADIUM) January 17, 2025
Griese has held the position in San Francisco since 2022, the year that Brock Purdy rose to prominence as the team's new starter. Since then he's worked with Purdy, developing continuity within the scheme and making the former seventh-round pick a better player.
In fact, 49ers general manager John Lynch credited Griese with influencing the decision to select Purdy at the end of the draft, a move that has proven to be very successful for the franchise.
"Brian was incredibly impressed once we kind of gave [Brock] to him and said, 'Hey, get on these Zooms, start talking to Brock.' And Griese came back extremely convicted. And then it's in Kyle's [Shanahan] hands, it's in my hands, and we start watching," Lynch said about Griese last year.
"And we were so smart, we waited until the very last pick to draft him, and thank God he was there. He's been tremendous for our organization, and you really could see it right away."
After the turmoil the Jets have experienced over the last few seasons, it makes sense why a coach would think twice before interviewing for the job.
Picking up the pieces after two failed years with a declining Aaron Rodgers will be difficult, and Griese may have felt that he wasn't the right coach for that particular job.
If he continues to work with Purdy and the quarterback stays on his current trajectory, there should be plenty of opportunities for Griese to coach elsewhere in the future.
Related: Troy Aikman Doesn't Hold Back Thoughts On Deion Sanders, Cowboys Rumors
