It was reported on Friday by Tom Pelissero of NFL Network that the Denver Broncos would interview San Francisco 49ers quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello for their offensive coordinator position as part of head coach Vic Fangio's staff.
That interview apparently will not happen.
Adam Schefter of ESPN later reported that the 49ers denied the Broncos permission to interview Scangarello.
Broncos denied permission to interview 49ers' quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello for their offensive coordinator job, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 11, 2019
The 49ers are within their right to block such a move. NFL teams place coaches within two categories: head coaches and assistants. Only head coaching opportunities given to assistants must be permitted. Assistant to assistant moves can be blocked by NFL teams, even if it is considered to be a promotion.
Scangarello finished his second season as part of head coach Kyle Shanahan's staff in San Francisco. He served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Wagner College before joining the 49ers.
It was reported in December, again by Pelissero, that Scangarello's name was emerging as potential offensive coordinator candidate among NFL circles. It seems as though the 49ers are unwilling to let him go.
San Francisco has already denied the Arizona Cardinals, and possibly other teams, permission to interview run-game coordinator Mike McDaniel for their open offensive coordinator job.
Scangarello was credited for being a big reason why Jimmy Garoppolo was able to quickly prepare to play after a trade sent the quarterback from the New England Patriots to San Francisco in 2017.
"Rich doesn't get enough credit in my opinion," Garoppolo told reporters before the 49ers' final game of 2017. "There's a lot of moving pieces, but Rich has been with me since I first got here. Literally the first day I walked in here, we were going over stuff after I did all the interviews and whatnot."
Scangarello also spent a season as the offensive quality control coach with the Atlanta Falcons and, before that, as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Northern Arizona University.
Quarterback Nick Mullens, who started eight games for San Francisco this past season, credits Scangarello for his NFL opportunity.
"Coach Scangarello, he pretty much found me," Mullens said in December. "I was at East-West Shrine game in [St. Petersburg, Florida] and I guess he liked the things that I did in that game and in those practices. And then he followed up with me with a phone call after that.
"Then I took a visit here to the facility in [Santa Clara, California]. The 49ers showed me the most interest all the way through the draft process. So, in the sixth round, they gave me a call, said they wanted to sign me as a free agent."
Shanahan is trying to keep his coaching staff together for as long as possible.
"I like our staff a lot. I think we've got some good coaches," he said on December 31.
Shanahan has already lost defensive backs coach Jeff Hafley, who will become the co-defensive coordinator at Ohio State, and fired head strength and conditioning coach Ray Wright and head athletic trainer Jeff Ferguson.
Shanahan added, "I'm not going to ever say that everyone is just totally safe forever. But, what I can say is I think our staff is a very good staff and I like what our guys are, and where they can be, and it's the staff I want to hold onto."
