In early January, almost 10 days before Jim Tomsula was hired, former 49ers offensive coordinator Mike Holmgren made it known that he was interested in the teams' vacant head coaching job.
But when his agent reached out to the 49ers, the team said it didn't share the same interest.
On Friday, Holmgren called in to The Rich Eisen Show and shed light on the 49ers' reasoning for not pursuing him.
"This last December, after the season, I had a couple of chances, and almost took one of them, and then realized that, ‘What am I doing?' I’d be traveling across the country and my grandkids are all in Seattle, and my life is really good but I had the bug still, and then I told my agent, ‘You know, the one I’d really kind of like to do is San Francisco,’ and so they reached out to the 49ers and essentially, I got a call back saying, ‘Nah, we’re going with a younger guy,'” Holmgren said.
Holmgren turned 67 years old this past June 15. Instead, the 49ers tabbed then-46-year-old Jim Tomsula as Jim Harbaugh's replacement.
To his credit, Holmgren, who thought he could still coach, said the 49ers' rejection was something he needed to hear.
"I probably needed to hear that because you get your ego stroked and you’re flattered when people call you and you kinda get into a place where I’m not sure you’re making great decisions. But when I heard that I said, ‘Okay, I needed to hear that and now I’m going onto other things,’" Holmgren said.
Despite not getting the job, the former Packers and Seahawks head coach was asked why he still had the desire to get back on the sideline:
"It was never work for me. I mean, I had a job and it paid the bills, but I enjoyed it so much. And that's what happens when you coach," Holmgren said.
