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Before ESPN analyst and former NFL defensive back Louis Riddick changed his tune about the 49ers, he claims he nearly heard the sweet music of “you’re hired.”

Riddick, via SportsBusiness Daily, told ESPN Radio that he almost got the G.M. job in San Francisco.

Specifically, Riddick said he was “very, very, very, very, very, very, very close” to becoming the General Manager of the team, and that he didn’t get the job because he and Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels were a “package deal.”

“It was either going to be him and I, or it wasn’t,” Riddick said of a pairing of McDaniels and Riddick in San Francisco. “Josh, for his personal reasons, decided that now wasn’t a good time. When he decided that — which I was on board with that, obviously — therefore I wasn’t in the running anymore.”

If that’s the case, Riddick should have removed his name from consideration along with McDaniels. Instead, Riddick was eliminated by the team while he was still a candidate.

Riddick also claims that he had a “great interview” with owner Jed York and right-hand man Paraag Marathe.

“It went awesome,” Riddick said. “I got a lot of great feedback from them. I felt that my plan was rock solid, and if it was something that would’ve worked out for Josh and myself overall, then we would be there. But it had nothing to do with anything other than the fact that the pairing, it just wasn’t the right time for us to do that.”

That explanation eliminates a potential explanation for his decision to drop the 49ers’ opening from first of six to sixth of six based on the things he learned about the team. Which suggests that he dropped the job from No. 1 to No. 6 primarily due to something else, like spite — or possibly due to the fact that No. 6 is how he really felt and he nudged the job to No. 1 when it looked like he would be getting it.