Baalke's first day: Interview Harbaugh, Jackson

Niners general manager Trent Baalke spent his first day with his new title talking to neighboring head coaching candidates.

Baalke interviewed Raiders offensive coordinator Hue Jackson by morning, then hunkered down with primary target Jim Harbaugh of Stanford by day, according to league sources and ESPN reports.

By interviewing Jackson, the 49ers satisfied the Rooney Rule - an NFL team must interview at least one minority for a head coaching vacancy - and may proceed to hire whomever they want whenever they want. Jackson, were he to not end up as Oakland's coach, gives them a strong fallback position if talks with Harbaugh break down.

Team officials would not confirm any of Wednesday's interviews, and Baalke recently said he prefers to keep candidate names out of the public realm.

The 49ers hope to land Harbaugh as quickly as possible, league and team sources have reiterated ever since the team fired coach Mike Singletary on Dec. 26.

That day, team president Jed York has said "money is no object," and he reportedly is willing to offer Harbaugh at least double Singletary's $2.5 million annual salary.

Harbaugh is also expected to demand significant say in roster and personnel decisions, according to multiple reports.

If Harbaugh rebuffs their offer, the 49ers will move on to a long list of Plan B candidates which includes Jackson.

In one season, Jackson turned the Raiders' 31st-ranked offense into a top-10 offense that ranked second in the NFL in rushing.

Jackson interviewed for the 49ers' offensive coordinator job in 2009, but Singletary passed on the then-quarterbacks coach from Baltimore in favor of Jimmy Raye.

However, Jackson is also considered the leading candidate to inherit Oakland's head coaching job. Raiders coach Tom Cable was told his contract would not be extended Tuesday, so he is out of a job.

Titans parting ways with troubled QB Vince Young. B4

E-mail David White at dwhite@sfchronicle.com.