So, now what?

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The 49ers got their guy in new head coach Jim Harbaugh, getting everyone off team president Jed York's back for the foreseeable future and cutting new general manager Trent Baalke some slack until at least the draft.

So, now what for the 49ers? Hire a staff, of course.

It seems a foregone conclusion Harbaugh will bring over Stanford defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, who spent 23 years as an NFL assistant before joining Harbaugh this past season. That includes 11 straight years as a DC for the Panthers (1995-98), Colts (1999-01) and Texans (2002-05).

Before that, he coached the Saints' "Dome Patrol" of linebackers Rickey Jackson, Pat Swilling, Sam Mills and Vaughan Johnson.

(Wishing Greg Manusky well in his head coaching interview today at Carolina, as first reported by CSNBA. He'll probably need the job).

Harbaugh said he will evaluate the existing staff and decide who to keep or let go. Defensive line coach Jim Tomsula would seem safe after York's nod of approval as a one-week interim coach. I also like running back coach Tom Rathman's chances. Maybe offensive line coach Mike Solari scores points for turning down a job from Pete Carroll last year (kidding, kind of).

Stanford offensive coordinator David Shaw followed Harbaugh from San Diego to Stanford, but won't likely come here if Stanford wants to give him its head coaching job.

But if Stanford doesn't ... Shaw started in the NFL under Jon Gruden, worked with Brian Billick and coordinated Harbaugh's power-run, play-action offense. So, he is well-versed in variations of the West Coast offense Harbaugh will install.

The Harbaughs have long-running connections across the NFL. Look for him to bring some longtime associates in between now and the Super Bowl.

Posted By: David White (Email, Twitter) | January 08 2011 at 09:16 AM