Will Roman and Fangio Be Back?

The 49ers have won the NFC West for the second consecutive season.  With success comes the inevitable exit of top assistants to fill the coaching vacancies around the NFL.

So far their are six confirmed head coach positions available: Chicago,  Buffalo, Kansas City, Philadelpia, Cleveland, and San Diego.  There is also a possible seventh depending on what they decide to do in Arizona with Ken Whisenhunt, who has shown a complete inability to develop a quarterback after lucking into Kurt Warner to start his stay in the desert.

With the resurgence of the 49ers, their top assistants will be hot commodities.  Last year the 49ers blocked Defensive Backs coach Ed Donatell from interviewing for the open defensive coordinators job.  Greg Roman was a leading candidate for a few college jobs last year and will undoubtedly be a hot target for both college and pro teams in the coming weeks.  Fangio on the other hand has not been linked to any possible moves.  The longtime defensive coordinator may either be stuck at the level he is at currently, or be choosing to stay at this level.

Things will start to sort themselves out quickly.  With the job openings coming today, 49ers assistant coaches will have time to start interviewing immediately during the 49ers bye week.  Once the week is over they will be unavailable through the remainder of their playoff run.

One interesting development last week was the resignation of Chris Ault from Nevada.  Several rumors link to him joining the 49ers next season.  Will he be brought in to replace Roman, should he become a head coach?  My guess is that the carousel is already turning within the 49ers facility, and Ault will eventually be brought in as the quarterback's coach to work alongside the new offensive coordinator, Geep Chryst.  That is only my guess, and we will see how things start to shake out.