We knew Chiefs director of football operations Chris Ballard would likely be leaving at some point and it appears this could be the year. Multiple reports say Ballard is meeting the 49ers about their open GM job after the 49ers fired Trent Baalke and Chip Kelly this week.
The 49ers will interview with Josh McDaniels over the weekend, also have a meeting set up with GM candidate Chris Ballard of KC.
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) January 2, 2017
#49ers requested permission to interview #Chiefs director of football operations Chris Ballard, source said, for their GM job.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 2, 2017
Another candidate for 49ers GM job - Chiefs exec Chris Ballard, who will interview for that opening this week
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) January 2, 2017
Some of the reports say the interview is going to happen while others say permission merely has been requested. Either way, I would expect him to interview.
Ballard came to the Chiefs in 2013 so he’s been here for this full ride under John Dorsey. I thought the Chiefs were going to lose him last year when he interviewed for a GM job but he ended up getting a promotion in KC and sticking around.
It’s impossible to know how much or how little he does. He was one of the Chiefs staffers that went out Oakland before the 2015 draft to meet with Marcus Peters and his family. Outside of a few anecdotes like that, we don’t get a glimpse into the inner-workings of a front office. What we can look at is the Chiefs drafts and their free agency picks, which have been pretty solid over the past few years.
Ballard is considered one of if not the top GM candidate this year.