INDIANAPOLIS — I have a theory as to why the 49ers promoted Mick Lombardi to quarterbacks coach this offseason.
If you haven’t heard, former 49ers quarterbacks coach Brian Griese’s contract expired this offseason and he decided to step away from coaching for a while to focus on his family according to general manager John Lynch.
So the 49ers could have gone out and hired another former quarterback to replace Griese, or they could have hired someone with lots of experience coaching the position.
Instead, they promoted Lombardi, who was a senior offensive assistant last year. Lombardi seems like a good, young coach considering he has two seasons as offensive coordinator under his belt. But he has never been a quarterbacks coach.
In 2019, Lombardi was the Patriots’ assistant quarterback coach, but their starter was Tom Brady who probably taught Lombardi more than Lombardi taught him. The next season, the Patriots moved Lombardi to wide receivers coach.
So why did the 49ers choose Lombardi?
Here’s my theory.
The 49ers need to sign a good backup quarterback this offseason. Lombardi was an assistant on the Patriots when Mac Jones was a rookie. Kyle Shanahan was extremely high on Jones when he came out of college.
Maybe the 49ers think Lombardi could draw Jones to the 49ers if they make him a competitive offer in the next few weeks.
Remember, Griese was Brock Purdy’s biggest advocate in the organization. Now that Griese is out, anything could happen.
