San Francisco 49ers: 5 Most Embarrassing Moments from Recent Team History

For the first time in a long time, there's a lot to like about what's happening inside 49er land.

The 49er franchise and its faithful had been longing for the return of the glory days for the better part of a decade. After a season to remember in 2011, it seems as though they may have finally arrived.

The painful, eight-year stretch of losing seasons (2003-2010) is rarely spoken of these days, and for good reason.

Perhaps, however, it's beneficial to occasionally reminisce upon how bad things once were, if only in an attempt to capture a stronger appreciation of the promising times that seemingly lie ahead.

Without further ado, let's look at five of the most embarrassing moments from recent 49er history.

Note: The Monday Night Football power outage at Candlestick Park in 2011 perhaps qualifies as an embarrassing moment, but it is not included in this list. 

Niners Fire Mooch in Favor of...Dennis Erickson?

Despite working his way to a 57-39 overall record in San Francisco from 1997-2002, then-GM Terry Donahue and owners representative John York wanted head coach Steve Mariucci run out of town.

They made it happen, and then replaced "Mooch" with none other than Dennis Erickson.

York and Donahue bought into Erickson's supposed "desire" to leave the college ranks and chase a championship at football's highest level.

Okay, Mr. Erickson.

Thanks for nothing, except the 9-23 overall record compiled during the two embarrassing seasons you convinced the 49ers brass to let you lead us through..

Kirk Reynolds Makes a "Terrible Mistake"

Back in 2005, then-49ers public relations director Kirk Reynolds decided to create a 15-minute video to help the players gain a better understanding on how to handle the media and its questions.

The only thing wrong with that, is the fact that Reynolds went about it in the worst possible way.

The "instructional" video included a spoof on gay marriage, lesbian porn, racial jokes and a trio of topless blondes. 

The video was intended to be humorous and not meant for public consumption, but it happened anyway.

Reynolds found himself immediately apologizing for his "regrettable" actions. But once the San Francisco Chronicle got hold of the video, it was too little, too late.

The typically well-liked Reynolds was fired shortly after the video found itself in view of the public eye.

As for how it got that far? Reynolds believed Terry Donahue (49ers GM at the time) was the man behind it.

"

'Absolutely'' he's behind it, He made that clear to a couple of people close to me and a couple members of the media that he was going to do everything he could to take me out with him.

Read more.

"

Regardless of who was to blame for the video's public release, it was undeniably another black eye for a franchise coming off an abysmal 2-14 season, and probably one best left forgotten.

A Game to Forget..or Remember?

It was October 26th, 2008. The 49ers had lost a fifth straight game, this one a 34-13 defeat at the hands of the divisional rival Seattle Seahawks.

It seemed, however, the 49ers were losing their grip on much more than just a chance at a playoff berth.

Mike Singletary was losing his sanity (see rant above), and his pants. A selfish Vernon Davis was losing himself. 

All—at this point—had seemed lost.

And don't forget, this was Singletary's debut as the Niners head coach. Mike Nolan had been fired the Monday prior to the game.

Singletary sent Davis to the showers after the Niners hotheaded tight end drew a personal foul call with some unnecessary extracurricular activity. 

At halftime, with the score 20-3 Seattle, Singletary dropped trow in the 49ers locker room in an attempt to illustrate how badly they were being humiliated.

It was bad times in San Francisco; a getting caught with your pants down-type of bad.

Of course, I should mention that some good did come out of this tumultuous time. Davis credits Singletary's tough love as a big reason he's become the leader he is today.

The Dre' Bly Showboating Debacle

How many NFL athletes (as diva-like as some of them may be) would think about showboating when their team is down 35-10 in a game?

Better yet, how many would be willing to do it from their own 20-yard line?

Well, we know one. His name is Dre' Bly. 

Bly made some rather impressive plays during his time in the NFL, the one highlighted in the video above failed to qualify.

In fact it was utterly embarrassing, and the 49er organization suffered as a result.

Thankfully Bly would take his high step elsewhere after the 2009 season, though he's yet to find his way back onto the gridiron since suiting up in Red and Gold.

Here We Go Again

Clements wasn't showboating, but this post-interception debacle probably cost San Francisco the game.

With the Niners up 14-13 in this October 2010 matchup at the Georgia Dome, Clements picked off a Matt Ryan pass over the middle with 1:30 to go in the game.

Our final embarrassing moment occurs at the 1:45 mark of the video clip provided.

The Falcons had three timeouts remaining, so it was by no means a guarantee the 49ers would have been able to run out the clock had Clements went to the ground. 

But damn, hold on to the ball! Or at least hug that sideline just a bit more. We could all see Roddy White bursting ahead, preparing to strike once again.

Clements, however, wasn't aware of anything but the end zone, and the Falcons would go on to kick a game-winning field goal after recovering Clements' fumble.

On a brighter note, you can catch a rather impressive Taylor Mays touchdown at the :25 mark. 

I'm sure there aren't many of you who were aware Mays did much of anything positive during his short stint as a 49er, let alone score a touchdown.