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ByCanInman BayAreaNewsGroup KyleShanahan'scandidacyto become the San Francisco 49ers next coach comes after his fa- ther, Mike, had the support of former 49ers stars to fill that post each of the past two years. The 49ers on Friday officially interviewed Kyle Shanahan, the Atlanta Falcons offensive coor- dinator, after meeting earlier in the day with a prospective general manager, George Pa- ton, the Minnesota Vikings as- sistant GM. Buffalo Bills interim coach Anthony Lynn was the first of the 49ers coaching candidates to interview, doing so Wednes- day. Shanahan is also interview- ing for three of the other five NFL coach openings, those be- ing with the Los Angeles Rams, Jacksonville Jaguars and Den- ver Broncos, where his father, Mike, won back-to-back Super Bowls as coach. Mike Shanahan talked with the 49ers brass each of the previous two years dur- ing coaching searches that led to the hiring (and eventual firing) of Jim Tomsula and Chip Kelly. Kyle Shanahan, 37, told At- lanta-area reporters this week he is "definitely" ready for his debut as a head coach. Fal- cons quarterback Matt Ryan, who earned AP First-Team All- Pro honors Friday, and Falcons coach Dan Quinn both endorsed Shanahan as a head-coach-in- waiting, prior to the Falcons' 41-13 dismantling of the 49ers on Dec. 18. "He's fully equipped and seen a number of different pro- grams," Quinn told the Bay Area media on a conference call last month. "I can totally recognized why he's a candidate, and a good candidate, based on his experi- ence as a play caller and his ex- perience of attacking like they do." Shanahan has been a coordi- nator since 2008, a role he held in Houston, Washington (while his dad was coach) and Cleve- land before joining Atlanta last year. "Eventually, when he gets an opportunity, he'll do a great job as a head coach," Ryan said. "Selfishly I'd like to keep him NFL 49ers see Shanahan for coach, Paton for GM By Chip Thompson editor@redbluffdailynews.com @editorchip on Twitter COTTONWOOD TheCorningLady Cardinals rolled past the Paradise Bobcats 49-35 Thursday at the Enterprise Tournament and the Red Bluff Lady Spartans fell to the University Prep Panthers 51- 42 at the West Valley tournament. The Cardinals got out to an early lead in the opening period and shut down the Bobcats in the first half, giving up just six points in the first period and two in the second, while posting 25 at the Lady Hornet Invitational. After a lopsided third period the Cardi- nals sealed the win with a 20-10 final period. Morgan Mason led the Cardi- nals with 17 points and seven re- bounds, Mariah Castle had a dou- ble-double with 10 points and 10 boards, sophomore Jackie Ca- puto had eight points and 10 re- bounds and sophomore Kara Beckwith had seven points and six rebounds. The Cardinals (7-6) were sched- uled to resume play Friday eve- ning and continue Saturday. The Lady Spartans fell behind early against the Panthers at the New Year's Hoops Tournament and took a 21-16 deficit into the half. The Spartans chipped away at the lead, but a solid final pe- riod from the Panthers clinched the victory. It was the Spartans first action since winning the Holiday Clas- sic Tournament as the hosts. They were scheduled to continue tour- nament play Friday night and Sat- urday. Boysbasketball CORNING The Cardinals (13-0) were scheduled to take on the Willows Honkers (3-10) in the late game Friday night at the 16th an- nual Shootout Tournament. The Cardinals beat the Yreka Miners 64-47 Thursday night and the Honkers snuck by the Sutter Huskies 48-45 in the late game BASKETBALL LADY CARDS WIN, SPARTANS BEATEN BoysandgirlstournamentactioncontinueswithgamesthroughSaturday LARRYLONG—CONTRIBUTED Red Bluff's Jesse Miller drives past defenders to the basket Thursday against University Prep at the West Valley Tournament. Online: To follow Tehama County sports, visit the web- site REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM. Staff Report Post 167 Bulls American Legion baseball is preparing for the sum- mer 2017 season and are looking for managers and coaches who are available to coach teams from May through August. All prospective coaches need to have experience in coaching youth players in baseball funda- mentals, running practices and managing games. Bulls players range in age from 14-19 years old. The Bulls play an extensive schedule of games and out-of- town tournaments against some of the finest American Legion and travel baseball teams in the state. Anyone interested in coaching or managing a Post 167 Bulls team needs to prepare a coaching re- sume and submit it to the Post 167 American Legion Baseball Board of Directors at the Jan. 9 meet- ing at the Lariat Bowl at 6:30 p.m. Resumes can be submitted via e-mail at rbbullspost167@gmail. com. For more information call Mark Chrasta at 524-2058. BASEBALL Bu ll s se ek American Legion coaches By Rob Maaddi The Associated Press NFL teams ran the ball less than ever in 2016, yet six playoff teams had a 1,000-yard rusher. Ezekiel Elliot (Cowboys), Jay Ajayi (Dolphins), Le'Veon Bell (Steelers), LeGarrette Blount (Pa- triots), Devonta Freeman (Fal- cons) and Lamar Miller (Tex- ans) each topped 1,000 and will run again in January. Last year, Adrian Peterson was the only 1,000-yard rusher in the playoffs. "I think really getting the run- ning game going was crucial to us starting the ball rolling in the right direction," injured Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill said after the team bounced back from a 1-4 start to win six in a row. Ajayi had three 200-yard games, including 204 in a win over Pittsburgh that started Mi- ami's turnaround. "I know that when I'm produc- tive, the team is going to be suc- cessful," Ajayi said. "But I feel that my play also allows a lot of guys to be able to make plays as well, and it's shown." The formula for winning has changed drastically since the days teams relied on a smashmouth, ball-control running offense. It began with the evolution of the West Coast offense as the short- passing game replaced many runs plays. It continued when more teams started incorporating spread of- fenses, using three and four wide NFL PLAYOFFS Fewer runs, but teams had balance RICK SCUTERI — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE Oakland Raiders quarterback Connor Cook is the first quarterback in NFL history to make his first start in a playoff game. By Jimmy Durkin Bay Area News Group HOUSTON They went into the sea- son's final weekend with an out- side shot at the AFC's top seed. Now, they're underdogs to a team being questioned as one of the worst NFL playoff teams ever. The No. 5 seed Oakland Raid- ers (12-4) haven't been given much of a shot to do damage in the play- offs since losing quarterback and MVP candidate Derek Carr to a bro- ken fibula on Christmas Eve. They were served another body blow Fri- day when Pro Bowl left tackle Donald Penn, who had made 156 consecu- tive starts, was ruled out with a knee injury suffered in the season finale. Oakland is a four-point under- dog in Las Vegas to the No. 4 seed Houston Texans (9-7), who navigated through a watered down AFC South to win their fourth division title in six years. To Houston's credit, they owned a winning record and made the playoffs without their best player — three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt. And the Raiders still have defen- sive end Khalil Mack, a first-team All-Pro who is a strong contender to take over Watt's crown as the league's top defender. He's embrac- ing the underdog role the Raiders will face Saturday. "You love being in a position like that," Mack said. "Just thinking about the situation, how special it would be to go down there and get this win knowing that D.C. wants it just as bad as us makes it even more of a thing that we have to do. "Just embracing it, even though it's challenging. But moving forward and knowing the situation, it's go- ing to be a great feeling on Saturday NFL PLAYOFFS Raidersembraceunderdogrole Oakland goes on road to face Texans, 14-year playoff drought now over AFC WILD CARD PLAYOFFS Saturday: Oakland Raiders at Houston Texans, 1:35p.m., TV on ESPN, radio on 93.9FM. TUNEIN BASKETBALL PAGE 2 RAIDERS PAGE 2 49ERS PAGE 2 RUNNING PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Saturday, January 7, 2017 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1