San Francisco 49ers: 2010 State Of The Franchise Recap And Reactions

The San Francisco 49ers held their second annual State of the Franchise conference on Tuesday night. It was ultimately an opportunity for us fans to hear from the 49ers management about the upcoming season and beyond.

The event had three major segments: CEO/President Jed York’s overview of the franchise, GM Trent Baalke’s evaluation of the team’s 2010 draft class, and head coach Mike Singletary’s vision of the team.

York, nephew of former owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr., began by reminiscing on the franchise’s decorated past, and spoke of his vision of rejuvenating the club and repeating the success it had in the 80’s and 90’s.

He followed up by talking about the transition from the team’s former legends to current stars such as Patrick Willis and Vernon Davis. He stated how this organization has high expectations and standards, and that they are focused on winning championships.

He expressed his enthusiasm about playing primetime games such as their Week 2 matchup against the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football, as well as their trip overseas to London where they will battle the Denver Broncos.

Then he touched up on several different issues such as how the team is dedicated to improving communication with the fans and giving them a considerable input in things such as their new stadium.

Moreover, he made some interesting points about how the team will keep training camp open to the public, will introduce team-related mobile phone applications, and just created a system called My49ersRewards which allows us to earn points towards discounted season tickets through our purchases at every-day stores such as Starbucks or Best Buy.

All that, in my mind, was a great way to demonstrate his genuine care and interest for the fans.

Baalke, the newly appointed GM in the wake of Scott McLoughlin’s unexpected leave, showed his humbling gratitude and how fortunate he feels to in this position.

He then explained the 49ers draft philosophy and how along with physical skills, they were looking for players with energy, work ethic, and passion for the game.

He followed up by displaying a few highlight clips of their draft picks and discussed what their expectations were and what roles they would fill.

Succeeding him was Mike Singletary, who thoroughly and directly spoke of his team's approach heading into the season. He said the 49ers were looking to identify what was preventing them from making the playoffs, and to formulate a plan to fix those issues.

He said, the team was looking to improve the offensive line, add a playmaking safety, and add a return specialist, three tasks he believes they successfully completed.

To end his speech, he said that even though he believes that the 49ers are as talented as any team in the league, he wanted to maximize every player’s abilities and outwork their opponents. He finished by saying that this Saturday, which is the start of training camp, will also mark the start of something special, and a start of a new era. 

One concept that all three stressed was the importance of high character, ethics, and class—three qualities I strongly believe that every professional football team should strive for.

Finally, there was a fan-based question and answer session for all three members of the front office.

Overall, if there’s one thing we should take away from this entire event, its’ that there is immense optimism throughout the organization, and we should all be excited about what lies ahead in this season.

I’m confident that the 49ers’ franchise can accomplish its vision, and I wish the team the best of luck in doing so.

If you’re interested, you may view the segments here on 49ers.com