As the 49ers get set to take on the Bears, Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com can’t help but reflect on how either Chicago offensive coordinator Adam Gase and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio could have wound up as head coach in San Francisco. As the 49ers’ defensive coordinator, Fangio gave the 49ers a top five defense, but, of course, he was ultimately passed over for Jim Tomsula.

Maiocco hears that if Gase got the 49ers’ head coaching job, he would have kept Fangio on staff and given him full autonomy over the defense. GM Trent Baalke floated the idea of Tomsula taking over as defensive coordinator to Gase, according to one source, but Gase was wary about giving that job to someone with no experience regarding the secondary.

Here’s more from around the NFL:

• Even though Chris Johnson has been placed on IR-DTR and Andre Ellington is dealing with a toe injury, the Cardinals still have no interest in signing Ray Rice, according to Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic (on Twitter). Despite not playing in an NFL regular season game since 2013, and not receiving a workout this year, Rice continues to train in the hopes of getting another shot at the NFL.
• NFL executives have been informed by the league office that the 2016 salary cap will likely come in between $147MM-$155MM, per Jason Cole of Nerdy Football (on Twitter). If the cap comes in at the higher end of that range, it will represent a significant increase over this year’s cap of $143MM.
• The NFL is likely to do away with the Veteran Combine it ran early this year, Cole tweets. Apparently, the league felt that they did not get enough of a return on the combine given the cost of holding it.
• Baylor wide receiver Corey Coleman has indicated to multiple sources that he’s strongly considering entering the NFL Draft, Rand Getlin of NFL.com tweets.

Here’s a look at the AFC East:

• The Patriots issued a statement regarding the status of injured tight end Rob Gronkowski (Twitter link via CBSSports.com’s Will Brinson): “During Sunday night’s game, Rob Gronkowski sustained a bone bruise/sprain of his right knee. His status will be evaluated on a week-to-week basis and listed accordingly on the practice participation and injury reports. There is no timetable for his readiness to return, which will be determined in the days or hours prior to the appropriate game. Any timetable reported prior to that final determination would be speculative.”
• The Patriots had veteran defensive back Zackary Bowman in for a workout, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Reiss adds that the Pats are keeping their emergency lists fresh, so it doesn’t sound like we should expect a deal to happen this week.
• Rex Ryan’s honeymoon with Bills fans appears to be over, but players still stand behind the first-year coach, as Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News writes. In a sampling of player opinions, on and off the record, Carucci found that the support for Ryan is unwavering.

The Cowboys do not plan on placing Tony Romo on IR, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com tweets. The Cowboys want to keep Romo on the roster in the event of a long playoff run. Of course, with a 3-8 record good for last in the NFC East, a playoff appearance doesn’t seem terribly likely.

Romo re-injured his collarbone in Thursday’s loss to the Panthers and that hairline fracture in his clavicle will keep him off the field for some time. Initially, the Cowboys had been holding out hope that Romo hadn’t broken the clavicle for the second time this year. However, a CT scan last week confirmed the club’s fears.

Of course, the Cowboys are likely headed for a top-10 draft pick rather than vying for a postseason spot. After the way this season has played out for Romo, one has to wonder if the Cowboys might look to tap their quarterback of the future in April.