Are the San Francisco 49ers on the Verge of Implosion?
The semi-national disaster that is the San Francisco 49ers organization appears all but poised to break apart at the seams entering the 2015 season.
Cracks have been evident for months. Perhaps even years.
There was the whole Jim Harbaugh vs. front office debacle—a spectacle that couldn't end positively and only came to a close when Harbaugh was dismissed by the combination of CEO Jed York and general manager Trent Baalke.
TOP NEWS
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Colts Release Kenny Moore
Projecting Every NFL Team's Starting Lineup 🔮
Rookie WRs Who Will Outplay Their Draft Value 📈
Other cracks were evident long before this happened. There were players with character concerns and rumored rifts within the locker room. One group showered in the practice facility while the other used the regular locker room showers at Levi's Stadium, per Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee in an appearance on KNBR 680 some months ago.
Once Harbaugh and the vast majority of his coaching staff were gone, San Francisco placed a new coaching staff that did not employ high-profile names that would have, at least, satisfied the most cynical of fans and pundits.
Instead, we got defensive line coach Jim Tomsula whose head-coaching experience spans one year in NFL Europe and one game as interim head coach in 2010.
To be fair, this isn't Tomsula's fault. He could wind up being a stellar head coach, and plenty of players praised his promotion shortly after the news broke.
If that was all that beset the 49ers this offseason, there still could be hope for a successful new phase in San Francisco. Unfortunately, there is so much more to what has proven to be the most tumultuous of times for this organization since the departure of former head coach Steve Mariucci after 2002.
The subsequent years proved to be some of the darkest moments in franchise history. Could this team be following the same path?
Can Jim Tomsula Prove the Doubters Wrong?
Tomsula was the right choice for the 49ers for all the reasons.
He has familiarity and respect from the players. He'll inherit a defense that ranked No. 5 in the league last season with just 5,143 yards allowed despite a slew of significant injuries. Tomsula also shows the 49ers' willingness to think outside of the box and go with a candidate that wasn't a cast-off from some other franchise.
But the events that led up to Tomsula's promotion from D-line coach were more than enough to stain his first season as head coach.
Ultimately, the front office got its choice in the decision. He fits what Baalke and York want in a head coach. One can't envision clashes similar to those that transpired between the front office and Harbaugh.
So Tomsula was doomed from the start. He won't be able to rectify that until the 49ers start winning.
And that seems like an increasingly distant hope.
Can the 49ers Overcome Departures of Key Players?
Players come and go. Rarely do we see one player play out his entire career with one organization. Such is the nature of the NFL.
But 2015 appears to be one of the biggest challenges in recent history, and that would be the case even if the head-coaching situation had not been at the forefront at the conclusion of 2014.
Standout players like wide receiver Michael Crabtree, offensive guard Mike Iupati and running back Frank Gore appear destined to leave the team via free agency.
Gore, the franchise's all-time rushing leader and bell-cow of the offense, appears to be leaning towards a deal either with the Indianapolis Colts or the Philadelphia Eagles, per Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area. San Francisco does have a tandem of backs that includes Carlos Hyde and Kendall Hunter.
Will this be enough to supplement the loss? One can only hope so.
And yet this isn't the only bout of bad news the 49ers might have to overcome.
Perennial Pro Bowlers Justin Smith and Patrick Willis are leaning towards retirement per various sources cited by Maiocco.
Smith's possible retirement has been newsworthy since the end of the 2014 season. While he has yet to make an official decision, the 35-year-old defensive end is certainly at the twilight of his storied career.
To solve this budding problem, the 49ers inked former Arizona Cardinals defensive tackle Darnell Dockett to a 2-year, $7.5 million contract. That's good, but the 49ers would preferably have a tandem that features both Dockett and Smith up front.
This might not happen.
But Willis' possible retirement prompts even more questions surrounding this franchise.
From a player perspective, the 49ers will likely replace the perennial Pro Bowler with outstanding young linebacker Chris Borland who amicably filled the void when Willis was injured in 2014.
But Willis is more than just a defensive standout. He's the leader of the defense and, with little argument, the face of the franchise.
The 49ers have plenty of other notable stars on defense that could lead this team. But Willis' potential loss speaks more than volumes.
And what of other net losses? Crabtree departing does open the door for San Francisco to target a speedy wideout via the 2014 NFL draft or free agency. But will this pending fix solve all the problems for an offense that ranked No. 20 last season in all-purpose yards (5,239)?
It's hard to say.
Winning With Class?
The storied 49ers organization might be going through one of the worst offseasons since the the debacle of former general manager Joe Thomas in 1977.
"Winning with class" has been a slogan of York this offseason. But Mark Purdy of theHi San Jose Mercury News describes how this organization has failed to live up to that statement. He writes:
"Yet in almost all respects, team owner Jed York and general manager Trent Baalke can blame only themselves for the mess. They teed it all up with their clumsy handling of former coach Jim Harbaugh's departure (although he wasn't entirely blameless). Then they exacerbated it with their professions of "winning with class" while in too many cases ignoring their own slogan.
"
Failure to live up to this standard has been evident for some time now. There was the troublesome case with defensive end Ray McDonald. San Francisco stood by McDonald during his first off-the-field incident associated with domestic violence in spite of some harsh criticism.
Even though McDonald was not charged in that case, the veteran defensive end was then involved in an alleged sexual assault case later in 2014. The team had no choice to release him by that point.
This could be an isolated case. If that were so, the 49ers would have saved some face.
But it's not the only one.
San Francisco signed troubled wide receiver Jerome Simpson just before the free-agency period started.
Simpson missed all of 2014 after a number of incidents which eventually resulted in his release from the Minnesota Vikings. When asked about the deal, York responded that, "he did not know what the thinking was" (h/t Ann Killion of the San Francisco Chronicle).
San Francisco's newest wideout could turn himself around given the change in scenery. But he could also continue down the same path despite the new venue. We can't say for sure, but it doesn't look good for the 49ers given the context.
And then there is the news that fullback Bruce Miller has been arrested for spousal battery per Maiocco.
The 49ers are at a crossroads here, and the situation could not have come at a worse time.
Trading Colin Kaepernick?
Similar to the rumors that surrounded Harbaugh prior to his departure, stories started to circulate that the 49ers were interested in trading their starting quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
Since then, numerous sources have cited that the rumors were not true.
Adam Schefter of ESPN was one who reported such claims were false.
Baalke followed up via Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News.
"Colin is our quarterback and we are excited to have him,” Baalke said. "He is not going anywhere. The media reports suggesting otherwise are without merit and, quite frankly, ridiculous.”
Kaepernick had his share of struggles in 2014. And his lengthy contract certainly leaves plenty of outs for the team to part ways if they feel he is not the long-term answer.
But such a decision is surprising at this point. One might speculate any Kaepernick rumors would take place a year from now given the elevation of Kaepernick's contractual numbers.
Even if Kaepernick stays in San Francisco, such reports continue to stain what has been an ugly offseason for the 49ers so far.
Any Hope Remaining?
The 49ers could overcome this adversity and prove doubters wrong. Or they can descend into free-fall mode and endure another forgetful period in their history.
True, San Francisco still has plenty of talent on its roster. Budding talent is also on the horizon, and the 49ers can boast of a deep roster despite some of the numerous changes.
But can this team pull it all together and remain a contender in an ever-improving NFC West? It's hard to suggest this can happen.
What we do know is this: San Francisco is dangerously close to falling down in a painful, ugly fashion. This period marks the most tenuous time in recent history where fans are forced to bear a flurry of bad news and setbacks for what was recently a yearly Super Bowl contender.
That accolade is the furthest thing from 49ers' fans minds right now.
And that is a shame despite all the distant hopes that can be mustered.
All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com unless otherwise indicated.
Peter Panacy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report, covering the San Francisco 49ers. Be sure to check out his entire archive on 49ers news, insight and analysis.
Follow him @PeterPanacy on Twitter.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
