On Thursday, the Jacksonville Jaguars decided to pass on hiring 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman with the announcement of Gus Bradley as their new head coach. New Jaguars general manager David Caldwell is a close friend of Roman’s and it was widely expected he would hire him to turnaround their 29th ranked offense. Instead, they spared the 49ers Faithful by going with a defensive coach.

The hiring is twofold for Niner fans as not only does San Francisco’s offense retain Roman, for the time being, but also the hiring of Bradley lures him away from the Seattle Seahawks where he was the defensive coordinator. In the last four seasons, he has steadily improved Seattle’s defense and this season they ranked first in the NFL in points allowed and fourth in total yards. Most of Seattle’s defensive players will be on the roster next season, but the philosophy will likely change with a new defensive coordinator. The Seahawks hired University of Florida defensive coordinator Dan Quinn to replace Bradley as the defensive coordinator. It has not been reported whether or not Roman interviewed for the Jaguars head coaching position.

There is the possibility of Roman being hired by another team as the Arizona Cardinals are still in the process of finding a head coach. The Cardinals have seen first-hand what Roman can do with an offensive on the field four times the past two seasons. Also, of the four coaches interviewed or will be interviewed soon by the Cardinals, three of them are offensive coordinators: Darell Bevell (Seattle), Jay Gruden (Cincinnati) and Todd Haley (Pittsburgh). The only defensive minded coach interviewed is current Cardinal’s defensive coordinator Ray Horton.

Roman could also become a candidate for college teams with openings, although nothing has been reported that any teams want to interview him. He has been a candidate the past two years for college coaching jobs.

Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

On Tuesday, the Jacksonville Jaguars hired David Caldwell as their general manager who has served as the Atlanta Falcons director of player personnel this season. So how does the hiring affect the San Francisco 49ers? As it turns out Caldwell and 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman were teammates and roommates in the 1990’s, while both attended John Carroll University. There have been multiple reports that because of Caldwell and Roman’s past history the Niners offensive coordinator is now a “strong candidate” for the Jaguars head coaching job.

With the 49ers and Falcons still in the playoffs, and the possibility of the two teams meeting in the NFC Championship game, Roman would only say about Caldwell, “Dave’s in Atlanta, so we might end up playing them, so I’m not really talking to Dave right now,”

This not the first-time Roman has been mentioned as a possible head coaching candidate. Over the past few years, while in San Francisco and at Stanford University, he was high-up on the list of many college head coaching jobs. The Jaguars currently have Mike Mularkey signed under contract as their head coach, but it’s likely with a new GM and after the team finished with a 2-14 record that they will go in a new direction.

Roman deserves a head coaching job in the NFL, but I would hate to see him go. He has the confidence of Jim Harbaugh to be the primary play caller and keeping him provides the 49ers offense with continuity. This especially helps with the development of Colin Kaepernick heading into next season. But with the way Roman has turned around the 49ers offense and his 13 seasons of experience in the NFL as an assistant coach, he is attractive to many teams. The Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles are also rumored to be interested in Roman’s services for their vacancies at head coach.

It is not known if Roman interviewed for any head coaching jobs in the last week, when teams were able to interview coaches from playoff teams with first-round byes. There have been no reports and when asked about that on Tuesday, Roman said, “I’m not going to talk about any of that stuff. I’m focused on the Packers.”

Click here to watch a video of Roman discussing the 49ers matchup this weekend against the Green Bay Packers.

Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The first full day after the regular season ended saw seven NFL head coaches and five general managers fired for their performances in 2012. Some big name coaches let go were Andy Reid (Eagles), Lovie Smith (Bears) and Ken Whisenhunt (Cardinals). All three coaches led their teams to Super Bowl appearances in their tenure, but fell short. With so many open positions the San Francisco 49ers have a few candidates on the field and in the front office that might get interviews and offered jobs.

It has already been reported the New York Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars have asked permission to talk with 49ers Director of Player Personnel Tom Gamble for their general manager jobs. Gamble will likely receive an offer for one of the jobs with the way he has helped orchestrate the 49ers drafting of players and signing free agents with much success. Gamble has spent the last eight years with the 49ers.

Niners offensive coordinator Greg Roman is reportedly one of five candidates to replace Andy Reid in Philadelphia. He has also been mentioned to succeed Pat Shurmur who was fired by the Cleveland Browns.

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and special teams/assistant head coach Brad Seely could also interview for head coaching jobs in the offseason. The person most likely to leave San Francisco is Tom Gamble. Roman and Fangio will get interviews for coaching positions, but the likely outcome is all of the teams looking for applicants will want to hire someone with previous head coaching experience.