That said, nobody is ordering up the engraving for Cottrell's nameplate on his office door just yet. There are a couple scenarios in which the 49ers' meandering search could still head in a different direction.

One of those would be if things turned in Mora's favor. Opinions on his candidacy seem to be strongly divided within the organization, but he does have one very significant backer, that being team consultant Bill Walsh. The two most important opinions still belong to team director John York and general manager Terry Donahue, who hold the final say, but Walsh is said to be communicating to Donahue that Mora is the right man for the job.

Mora represents the choice for continuity and is well-liked within the organization and by the area's media. He's young, fiery and has good bloodlines in terms of head-coaching, given his father's long, successful career.

But he also comes with the baggage of having been a Steve Mariucci guy, which might work against him in York's mind. Having taken a lot of heat for his bungled handling of Mariucci's firing, York would probably prefer someone who didn't remind everyone of the team's last young, telegenic, people-friendly head coach. Otherwise, the question might be, if you were going to hire a Mariucci clone, why didn't you just keep Mooch?

Fairly or unfairly, another perception that isn't in Mora's favor is the belief by some within the organization -- perhaps York among them -- that he has a tendency to get too emotional at times, and isn't quite level-headed enough to be the public face of the organization.

That's why Cottrell is thought to be in the lead of the three-man race, however slightly. Besides him being very deserving of a head-coaching opportunity, another factor in his favor is that the 49ers and York would no doubt generate very positive publicity for hiring a black candidate and raising the league's minority head-coaching ranks to its all-time high of four.

In case you haven't noticed, positive publicity has been in short supply around the 49ers offices lately. York is said to be very sensitive to the league's push for more qualified black head coaches, and in interviewing Cottrell, Blache and Patriots defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel, the 49ers already have taken the NFL's efforts to address that issue more seriously than any other team in league history.

I'd be surprised if the league office in New York wasn't strongly encouraging York to go with a minority candidate, thereby allowing the NFL to claim that its new interview guidelines successfully helped double the number of black head coaches in one off-season: from two to four.

That would allow the league to point to the following statistic: 40 percent (or two of five) of its head-coaching vacancies this off-season were filled by black candidates, with Cottrell or Blache joining Cincinnati's Marvin Lewis.

Sources I talk to say of those, Bellotti has the most credence. Neuheisel's star has dimmed somewhat in Donahue's eyes, and Erickson would likely seek more front-office power than the 49ers are willing to give.

Another strike against the collegiate coach scenario? Money. The 49ers are said to be looking to hire a head coach for an annual salary in the range of $1.25 million. But most successful major college coaches likely would come with the stipulation of an expensive buyout clause in their contracts, perhaps discouraging the 49ers from making that kind of financial commitment.

All along, Donahue's No. 1 collegiate candidate has been Notre Dame's Tyrone Willingham, the former Stanford head coach. But while Willingham likely would have never considered leaving the security and hero worship of South Bend for the dysfunctional family that the 49ers and its front office have become, Donahue was blocked from approaching Willingham by York.

Why? Because York is a proud and active Notre Dame alum, and he didn't want to do anything to hurt his alma mater's program.

York is also said to be uneasy with the idea of hiring a college head coach just days after that coach got a new batch of recruits to sign on with his program, promising them a chance to play for him. The perception of hiring a head coach who just broke his word to a bunch of fresh-faced student-athletes is not the public image York is eager to project from 49ers camp.

Donahue is said to be feeling the pressure of fronting the team's coaching search, knowing that this is his chance to either secure or jeopardize his own position within the organization.

"Terry's almost begging people to interview for the job," said one team source. "People keep saying, 'Thanks, but no thanks.' I think he's really having some trouble getting candidates. He's walking around here glassy-eyed and tight as a drum. We've never seen him so tight, so down in the dumps. He knows it's his hire, his moment, and if he doesn't handle the search well, he could wind up being distanced from York."

"He doesn't even want to be in the building any more," the team source said. "He's tired of being portrayed as the guy who can't keep his hands out of things."

Walsh and Donahue have taken considerable hits in the media for second-guessing Mariucci's decisions or laying the groundwork for York's dismissal of the popular former head coach. But sources say while Donahue and Walsh weighed in with York on Mariucci's shortcomings in some matters, such as play-calling, neither man expected York to act so swiftly and decisively in ending Mariucci's tenure.

"That was all York who got Mariucci," the team source said. "Walsh and Donahue were both surprised because York took it further than anybody thought."

Of York, Walsh is said to have remarked: "Four years ago, this guy was testing urine samples in a lab. Now he's running a football team. What does he think I've been doing for 22 years?"

York ran a medical lab in Youngstown, Ohio, before his wife, Denise DeBartolo York, assumed control of the team from her brother, Eddie DeBartolo.

With the team in the midst of a budget-cutting phase under York's leadership, it was announced this week that vice president/business development David Goldman will be leaving the organization, with apparently no plans to replace him. Others have speculated about the long-term viability of team president and CEO, Peter Harris, whose job description may also be under review.

"Everything's up for grabs right now at that place," said one league source of the 49ers situation. "Nobody seems to know what the plan is."

"This one has been very genuine," he said. "I'd spoken to some [teams] before, but I want to make this point very clear; Just because a team talks to you, it's not an interview.

"I've had seven teams talk to me; four of them are what I'd call legitimate interviews, and three of them have been bull-crap sessions. Excuse my language, but that's how I feel about it. Three of those teams talked to me, and there was no way I was a serious candidate or they had thought in their mind of hiring me. I was just in there to fill in a time slot and make them look good."

Not this time. By early next week, Cottrell could be the 49ers new head coach. No bull crap about it.

Don Banks covers pro football for SI.com.

 

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