Over the past four seasons, Louis Riddick has handled increasingly high-profile roles in ESPN's NFL coverage. Impressive as his television work has been, he apparently hasn't left his previous life as an NFL executive behind.
Riddick will interview next week for the San Francisco 49ers' general manager opening, ESPN colleague Adam Schefter reported Tuesday.
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Before joining ESPN as a "front office insider" in May 2013, Riddick held scouting and personnel roles with the Redskins and Eagles for more than a decade. He most recently served as Philadelphia's director of pro personnel from 2010-13.
But Riddick's NFL career actually began in San Francisco. The 49ers selected the former defensive back in the ninth round of the 1991 NFL Draft, but he couldn't break into a defensive backfield that included current Jets coach Todd Bowles, and he never made a regular-season appearance for the team.
Riddick ended up appearing in all 16 games for the Falcons the following year and played in the NFL through the 1998 season with later stops in Cleveland and Oakland. He also played in the short-lived XFL.
The modern-day 49ers have been among the league's most erratic franchises lately, with coaches Jim Tomsula and Chip Kelly going 7-25 the last two seasons after Jim Harbaugh's departure. That track record helped lead to GM Trent Baalke's dismissal.
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