Chiefs’ Chris Ballard not interviewing for 49ers’ GM opening

A key member of the Chiefs’ scouting department won’t be interviewing for the San Francisco 49ers’ vacant general manager opening, after all.

Chris Ballard, the Chiefs’ director of football operations, won’t be interviewing with the 49ers, a source told The Star on Monday. Reports from earlier in the day said that Ballard had a meeting scheduled with the club.

Ballard, who interviewed for the Titans’ and Bears’ vacant general manager openings the last two years, has been with the club since general manager John Dorsey’s arrival, along with coach Andy Reid, before the 2013 season.

With the Chiefs, Ballard played a role in the selection of cornerback Marcus Peters in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft. Peters was dismissed from the University of Washington during his junior season after repeated clashes with the new coaching staff and was considered a draft risk by many. The Chiefs sent Ballard to Oakland to spend a little time with Peters prior to the draft.

Peters recorded eight interceptions during a rookie season that ended with him being chosen the NFL’s defensive rookie of the year. He added six more interceptions this season.

Ballard was promoted in May 2015 to his current position of director of football operations under Dorsey.

Since Dorsey’s arrival, the Chiefs have received contributions from all four of their first picks — Eric Fisher, Dee Ford, Peters and Chris Jones — and also unearthed a number of contributors in the middle and later rounds.

This story was originally published January 2, 2017 at 7:09 PM with the headline "Chiefs’ Chris Ballard not interviewing for 49ers’ GM opening."