Mike Nolan and his yet-to-be-determined coaching staff are heading back to Mobile, Ala. to coach the Senior Bowl. The 49ers learned late today that they will be coaching the South squad just as they have the last two seasons. Nolan and GM Scot McCloughan have said that coaching the players in the week leading up to the game gives them better insight into the draft, and indeed their last two draft classes have been heavy on Senior Bowl participants. The team's two first rounders in '07, Patrick Willis and Joe Staley, both played in the game, as did other draft picks over the last two years such as Jay Moore, Michael Robinson and Thomas Clayton. The Senior Bowl will be held on Jan. 26 this year.
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I write for The Sacramento Bee but I live in San Jose. Sometimes, I think my 408 area code throws off agents, who see it on their phone and think the 49ers are calling them. Patrick Willis' agent, Ben Dogra, said as much when I called him on the eve of training camp to see whether Willis had been signed. Reporters had been calling him for weeks and had gotten zero response. When I called, he picked up immediately and I can't begin to explain how disappointed he was to be talking to me instead of, say, Paraag Marathe.
A similar situation occurred today when I called Gary O'Hagan, who is Cam Cameron's agent. Here's how the conversation went:
ring, ring, ring
This is Gary
- Hi, Gary. Matt Barrows with The Sacramento Bee.
(long pause) Sure.
- Hi. I cover the 49ers and was wondering whether they've been in contact with Cam Cameron regarding their offensive coordinator position.
(long pause) No comment.
- Ok. Will you be commenting at all throughout this process?
Probably not.
- Ok. Well, thanks for taking my call.
Do I think I'll be talking with O'Hagan much over the next few days? Probably not.
-- Matt Barrows
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