Fixing the mess that is the San Francisco 49ers
I’m not here to bash on the 49ers. I think we all know how awful they are. It’s a shame that this once great franchise has now been put into the black hole of the NFL. There just seems to be no glimmer of hope or light at the end of the tunnel. Although the 49ers just entered the tunnel two years ago after letting Jim Harbaugh go, there have been no signs of an exit. However in case you’ve been living under a rock here’s a short timeline showing the sudden rise and horrible fall of the 49ers organization.
January 2, 2011–49ers finish 8th straight losing season
January 8, 2011–49ers hire Jim Harbaugh from Stanford
January 22, 2012–49ers reach NFC Championship game
February 3, 2013–49ers reach Super Bowl
January 19, 2014–49ers reach NFC Championship game
December 28, 2014–49ers end season at 8–8
December 28, 2014–49ers ask Jim Harbaugh to resign.
December 29, 2014 — Jim Harbaugh becomes Michigan Head coach
January 14, 2015–49ers promoted Defensive Line Coach Jim Tomsula to Head Coach
January 3, 2016–49ers end season at 4–12
January 4, 2016–49ers fire Tomsula
January 14, 2016–49ers hire Chip Kelly as Head Coach
January 1, 2017–49ers end season at 2–14
January 1, 2017–49ers fire Chip Kelly and GM Trent Baalke
January 30, 2017–49ers hire John Lynch as GM
February 6, 2017–49ers hire Kyle Shanahan as Head Coach
Well here we are. The 49ers are on their 4th coach in four years, except this time they have a different GM making the roster decisions. The front office has been in shambles mostly because of the awful management job Trent Baalke has done along with Jed York’s stubbornness and personal interests. The front office over the past few years has appeared to care more about their own personal feelings and relationships than winning and team success/growth. I obviously wasn’t there so I don’t actually know how these men operate, but I have seen the product they have put on the field over the past couple years and it’s been absolute…well…crap. After each year has passed it’s still a little confusing as to why the 49ers wanted Jim Harbaugh gone. The report states that both Harbaugh and the 49ers front office decided to “part ways” however Harbaugh said otherwise stating he was forced out of the job which he told an ESPN source. There were rumors throughout the entire 2014 season that the front office, specifically Jed York, wanted him gone due to there being issues with their relationship. Take that as you will, but there seemed to be no legal or controversial issue for them to have a problem other than the fact that they just didn’t respect each other. I could understand that to a degree. As a CEO, it’s important to have the people who work under you respect you, but if that’s the only reason for letting Harbaugh go, is it really the right decision?
I forgot I wasn’t supposed to bash on the 49ers. Sorry, it’s hard not to, but onto the subject.
I know it’s hard to swallow the fact that your team is about to have their 4th coach in four years, but I believe it’s a good thing Chip Kelly was let go. Based off of his stint in Philadelphia, he never really grabbed the respect of his players or peers. In fact, when he was given complete control he made PR mistake after PR mistake. He traded away or let go of players like Jeremy Maclin, LeSean McCoy, and Desean Jackson for what has basically amounted to nothing while aggressively trying to hold onto a player like Riley Cooper who said a racial slur while drunk; being a no name player, you’d think he would be released, but nope. From that moment on it was clear he lost the locker room and all respect that came with being a Head Coach. So overall, I think it was great Kelly was fired. He proved to be an awful GM/Head Coach in Philadelphia and made a bad 49er team even worse. They also made another great step in letting Trent Baalke go. I’ll give Baalke some leeway though. It’s not his fault so many good 49er players decided to retire out of nowhere (See: Patrick Willis, Anthony Davis, Justin Smith, Chris Borland), the injuries of the heart and soul of the team, NaVorro Bowman, occurred, and Colin Kaepernick created so much locker room tension with his political statements. In fact, despite all of those issues he has done a decent job at drafting quality players and developmental projects. However, he failed in some crucial areas. He was unable to unload Kaepernick’s salary, retain players lost to free agency, and was responsible for the hiring of Tomsula and Kelly as Head Coaches. Although he’s not the worst front office man, something had to be done, and he made too many mistakes to be given another chance. Basically it’s good the 49ers scrapped their front office and started over.
Their next step was an interesting one, but not necessarily in a bad way. Kyle Shanahan was told he would be offered the job as the Head Coach of the 49ers before he reached the Super Bowl, so during that window, John Lynch reached out to Shanahan asking for help to land the GM position with the 49ers. They have had a somewhat professional relationship in the past. Kyle’s dad, Mike Shanahan, was the coach of the Denver Broncos while John Lynch was there as a player. They know each other, and with Lynch’s Stanford degree it’s safe to say the man is smart albeit without any front office experience. Here’s where it get’s more interesting. John Lynch was officially hired as the GM, he will have final say in the creation of the 90-man preseason roster, however Kyle Shanahan will have final say in the cut the 53-man official roster going into the regular season.
The next step in the process should be filling out the rest of the front office. John Lynch has no front office experience, as I have mentioned before, so it’s important he surround himself with executives and other personnel who know how the system works. So far, Lynch and Shanahan have done that with the hiring of former Detroit Lions GM Martin Mayhew and Adam Peters who was the Director of College Scouting for the Denver Broncos. Both appear to be excellent hires. Mayhew played with John Lynch which provided both experience and recognition. It’s important to work with people you are comfortable with and understand. Peters is also a familiar person to Lynch considering Peters was a scout with the Broncos while Lynch was a player there. It’s also important to note that Peters has been a huge reason why the Denver Broncos have been able to draft so well over the past 5 years which is something the 49ers desperately need. I would expect a few more veteran front office additions before March which is when all of the madness begins.
Simultaneously, it’s important for Kyle Shanahan to surround himself with experienced veteran coaches. He opted to not hire an offensive coordinator which was advice he received from his father. Interesting idea, but I personally am not a fan of it. Kyle is a rookie head coach and it’s filled with a lot of responsibility. In a lot of ways, being a head coach is like being a CEO of a company. It’s his responsibility to come up with a gameplan and managing the coaches. He has to oversee everything, and he may not even have time to take control of the offense. What’s interesting to me is Mike Shanahan’s suggestion to not hire an OC, when his most successful seasons as a head coach were when Gary Kubiak was his offensive coordinator. It just doesn’t make sense to me. I understand you may have a specific way of teaching your system in mind, but as a rookie head coach it just seems important to get as much help as possible. Hiring an official coaching staff is still in the works. He was able to finish the creation of his offensive coaching staff by hiring Atlanta Falcons’ assistant coaches, Mike LaFleur and Mike McDaniel, as the Wide Receivers Coach and Running Game Specialist Coach respectively. He is currently working on the defensive side of the ball. For his defensive coordinator, Shanahan recently hired Jaguars’ linebackers coach, Robert Saleh. Saleh developed a relationship with Kyle while they both coached for the Texans. This was another surprising addition to me. Again, I believe it’s great to hire coached you know and understand, however there’s not much experience on this coaching staff which troubles me because there’s no one really there at the moment to help Kyle Shanahan learn the job of a head coach. More additions will be made. It will be interesting to see who takes the title as the Assistant Heach Coach if anyone is offered it at all. In a way, it’s a shame Shanahan had to wait so long before hiring a staff, because had of had time in January, I would have thought Wade Phillips would have been a perfect addition to this 49ers team.
As March arrives, the 49ers have a wonderful opportunity. They are projected to have roughly $80 million to use during the chaos that free agency. The best part, they have 20 free agents on the team and really only need to resign two in my personal opinion; linebackers Gerald Hodges and Michael Wilhoite. There are also rumors that Colin Kaepernick may opt out of his contract which could provide even more space for the rich 49ers. The important part is what they do with the money. With Kyle Shanahan as the Heach Coach, I expect the 49ers to pick up a couple familiar faces. It may not sound sexy, but I think signing former Atlanta Falcon fullback Patrick DiMarco would be excellent. It’s important to add players that are familiar with the system and could help lead the way for running back Carlos Hyde. There’s no other aspects about it, now that Martellus Bennett has a Super Bowl ring, expect him to want a big payday. I wouldn’t put it past the 49ers to go after the talented tight end along with former Falcon Jacob Tamme. With Glenn Dorsey becoming a free agent and struggle to stay healthy expect the 49ers to be aggressive at the defensive line. Both Brandon Williams and Bennie Logan are coming off of great years at the defensive tackle/nose tackle position so they should probably show some interest. When it comes to quarterback it doesn’t look like anyone in the organization wants Kaepernick back and with Blaine Gabbert being a free agent, there’s a huge gap at the position. Rumor has it that Shanahan wants Matt Schaub on the team, but probably not as a starter. He will need Shaub’s knowledge of the system in order to educate the team. So the question is who will be the starter? Will they go after Kirk Cousins? Draft Deshaun Watson? Resign Christian Ponder? The possibilities (both good and bad) are endless!!! The next important position is corner. With the likes of A.J. Bouye, Stephon Gilmore, and Tremaine Johnson as free agents, it’s safe to say the 49ers will land one of these bad boys barring any franchise tags. A.J. Bouye is seen as the real deal to a lot of NFL GMs so he’ll be offered a lot of money, however the 49ers may be desperate enough to give him that contract he desires. At wide receiver, the 49ers don’t have much talent. I think it would be important they try to go after a Pierre Garcon, Desean Jackson, or maybe even Alshon Jeffery. Heck take a chance on Terrelle Pryor if you have to, just upgrade that position. You can have the most talented QB in the world but it won’t matter if there’s no one out there to catch the ball. Point is, the 49ers have a lot of gaps to fill but fortunately for them, they have a lot of money to spend. They should, however, try their best to not offer a lot of money to slightly above average players. Make sure the players work in your system, and make sure the players are healthy. Free agency is meant for you to fill all of the holes in your roster. Once all of the holes are filled, then you are able to use the draft to pick up the most talented players available.
Drafting is a complex process. We’ll never actually know if a player will become a great one or not. In fact the greatest QB of all time, Tom Brady, was selected in the 6th round! There’s no telling what could happen. However the 49ers are now blessed with the 2nd pick in the draft. What to do, what to do. Let’s pretend Deshaun Watson is taken off the board; then what? From what I have witnessed the in NFL, the best teams are built from the trenches out. I think it would be really important for the 49er to draft either a tackle or dominant edge rusher with their first pick. Make sure you are able to protect your QB or running game or make sure you are able to stop the most important position in the game; the QB.
Now I know there are a lot more things the 49ers need to do. I also know I’m not a GM, otherwise I’d actually be a GM. However, it is important the 49ers surround themselves with experience, hard work, good character, familiarity, and a common vision in all aspects of the organization; team, front office and coaching staff. Don’t worry 49er fans. I’m sure everything will fix itself soon. Just know that good teams put themselves in a good position for the future. If your team drafts well, keeps key players together, have consistency in the coaching staff and front office good things will happen. Good news is both the GM and Head Coach are young so you may be in a long ride of success.
Join Ryan and others on discussing this blog article and their thoughts on how long it will take to rebuild the 49ers — http://athletiqa.com/post/BhHFNHHvLnQw4c5sc
(Related) What is the impact of having John Lynch as the 49ers GM?
