Can 49ers' Jim Tomsula, Raiders' Jack Del Rio Subvert Perceptions, Expectations?

There's no question which NFL franchise has been the class of the San Francisco Bay Area. Even in the Oakland Raiders' winningest times, they've been rowdy iconoclasts compared to the restrained, genteel, Stanfordian San Francisco 49ers.

Contrast Bill Walsh and Joe Montana against John Madden and "The Mad Bomber" Daryle Lamonica. Compare Jon Gruden to Steve Mariucci. Jim Harbaugh to...

Hmm.

Maybe that's what 49ers owner Jed York meant when he told KNBR radio host Brian Murphy, per Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle, "winning with class is what matters."

Walsh would never celebrate a victory by jumping around an opponent's field, flipping up his shirt and slapping the opposing coach in the back—let alone get into an ensuing shout-and-shove match. George Seifert never foamed at the mouth. Mariucci is a gregarious guy, but his enthusiasm isn't "unknown to mankind."

York announced his new head coach, Jim Tomsula, as "a man of great class and integrity," per Pro Football Talk's Michael David Smith. Yet, as Bleacher Report Director of Talent and Media Dylan MacNamara pointed out on Twitter, Tomsula doesn't cut a stately figure on the sideline:

Tomsula looks like what he is: a football guy, through and through. He's a classic player's coach, one for whom public support flowed out of his current and former pupils around the league, per Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News. Veteran guard Alex Boone, who held out of training camp and the preseason in a contract dispute, was especially effusive.

"Jimmy's a great guy," Boone told Inman. "He's a great coach. I'm excited about this. He understands the game of football. More important, he understands the trenches, and that's big for us. He understands how this game is supposed to be played."

That sentiment harkens back to something left tackle Joe Staley said during the middle of the 2014 season, via Grant Cohn of The Press Democrat. When asked to clarify his assertion the 49ers have "been doing dumb stuff," he replied, "Penalties, dumb blocks, dumb techniques and dumb schemes," taking a perceived shot at offensive coordinator Greg Roman.

Roman took plenty of heat in this space, and elsewhere, for abandoning the 49ers' power-run principles.

So, Tomsula has the support of the players and will get back to hard-nosed, he-man football. What remains to be seen, though, is how Tomsula will do a better job of running the entire organization than the man who was his boss's boss just a few weeks ago.

Think about it: uncouth, untested, enthusiastic, loved by players and, given the unreleased details of his contract, someone who presumably came cheap? That's not the 49ers model; that's the Raiders model.

On the other side (or, now that the 49ers play in Santa Clara, other end) of the San Francisco Bay, owner Mark Davis departed from the Raiders' longstanding tradition of giving younger, cheaper assistants their first crack at the job. From recent experiments like Dennis Allen, Hue Jackson and Lane Kiffin all the way back to Madden himself, the Raiders have always preferred their front office behind the wheel and their coaches merely passengers.

With the hiring of former Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio, the Raiders have flipped that image on its head. Not only is Del Rio an NFL lifer with a long track record as both head man and coordinator, but he's one of just two contemporary NFL skippers to coach in a suit:

Doug Benc/Getty Images

The other, of course, was former 49ers head coach Mike Nolan, who, as the son of one of Walsh's predecessors, Dick Nolan, was the ultimate 49ers coaching legacy.

Del Rio's track record as a head coach is hardly scintillating; his 68-71 record over nine seasons in Jacksonville was punctuated with just two playoff appearances. That's not to say he didn't achieve anything noteworthy while he was there.

His defenses, per Pro-Football-Reference.com, ranked in the top 10 in either scoring or yardage in six of those seasons. That his 2005 squad went 12-4 with a platoon of Byron Leftwich and David Garrard under center seems incredible today.

Across his last four seasons, though, Del Rio's Jaguars were uninspiring. They went 5-11, 7-9, 8-8 and 5-11. With star tailback Maurice Jones-Drew struggling to stay healthy and effective, the Jaguars had no identity, did nothing well and were completely uninspiring—much like the last decade of Raiders teams.

In Denver, there couldn't have been a more clear identity: The Broncos were all about Peyton Manning leading a pass-first offense on an offense-first squad. Yet Del Rio's units have fared well against teams going all-out to match Manning's scoring pace; they ranked fourth, 22nd and 16th in scoring defense in 2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively.

Del Rio's had a lot of talent to work with, like sackmaster Von Miller (whose six-game suspension in 2013 contributed heavily to the defense's dip in production), fellow pass-rusher DeMarcus Ware, cornerbacks Chris Harris, Jr. and Aqib Talib and safety T.J. Ward. Still, he should get credit for deploying those talents well, and developing key contributors like Harris and defensive lineman Terrance Knighton into difference-makers.

Despite being the worst scoring defense in the NFL in 2014, the Raiders have talented young players to build around. Rookie linebacker Khalil Mack should continue to be a fire-breathing monster under Del Rio, and fellow linebacker Sio Moore should take the next step. Raiders fans have to hope Del Rio will hire an offensive coordinator who can develop rookie quarterback Derek Carr.

The key for Del Rio, ultimately, will be how he works with general manager Reggie McKenzie. If Mack and Carr were the only two players McKenzie drafted in 2014, it would still be a banner class. Free agency was a different story, with the aborted attempt to sign St. Louis Rams offensive lineman Rodger Saffold one of the most embarrassing moves any NFL executive made this year.

Del Rio is far from the rock star coach Raiders owner Mark Davis may have wanted, but he's a professional-caliber head coach who knows how to play competitive football without a lot of headline-grabbing tomfoolery (OK, there was a little tomfoolery in Jacksonville).

When it comes to maintaining the 49ers' physical mindset and aggressive defense, Tomsula is the perfect hire. Off the field, though, he'll have to prove he can handle media attention, high expectations and differing personalities in the organization better than Harbaugh did. He'll also have to put together an excellent offensive staff; Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area explained why that could be difficult:

The conflict between Harbaugh and 49ers general manager Trent Baalke might have been resolved with the hiring of a good company man, but it's yet to be proved that Baalke was the guy driving the 49ers' success. If his management style is already hurting Tomsula, and his roster management isn't exceptional, it's hard to see this new leadership group making York (and his expensive new stadium) look good.

Both new Bay Area coaches will have to win over unimpressed fanbases and skeptical media—and in both cases, they've got a lot of winning to do.

Just like always in the NFL, though, there's one quick way they can win everyone over: win games.