On Tuesday, The San Francisco 49ers scheduled Hue Jackson for an interview that was originally thought to be nothing more than a Rooney Rule move. Not long after this news broke, came the news that the Raiders would not be retaining the services of Tom Cable. It was speculated that the Raiders made this move to prevent Hue Jackson from jumping ship to San Francisco.
At the time, the popular opinion was that the 49ers forced Davis’s hand by scheduling an interview for someone they were using to eliminate any hurdles before naming Jim Harbaugh their next Head Coach. To go along with this, there was also reports of sources close to Hue Jackson saying he would become the Raiders next Head Coach.
Then Tuesday turned into Wednesday. Hue Jackson went on his interview with the 49ers and according to the NFL Network, he “made a strong impression.” The Raiders meanwhile have still yet to schedule Jackson for an interview.
The 49ers are still targeting Jim Harbaugh, but so are the Broncos and the Dolphins. It has been reported that the Dolphins would be willing to make Harbaugh the league’s highest paid coach. This would undoubtedly put a huge dent in the 49ers chances of landing Harbaugh and consequently push Hue Jackson from Rooney Rule applicant to a legitimate candidate for the position.