The 49ers have just fired one of their Most committed players due to his poor performance in the Superbowl loss against the Chiefs.
Trent Baalke was let go from his position as general manager of the San Francisco 49ers after six seasons.
In the team’s release on Sunday, owner Jed York discussed the decision to break ways with head coach Chip Kelly and Baalke:
Adam Schefter of ESPN was the first to report that Kelly and Baalke would be fired by the 49ers.
Baalke stated, “It didn’t surprise me,” according to Kevin Jones of KNBR.com. “We accomplished some really fantastic things. A few exceptionally prosperous seasons. We regret not being able to give the Bay Area the championship they so richly deserve. I hope the best for this company in the future. I do believe they have a promising future.”
Later, in an interview with Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group, Baalke stated that he wasn’t sure what his future holds and that he would “take a few days, catch my breath and see what happens.”
It appears that this action has been planned since early December, when NFL Network source Ian Rapoport hinted that Baalke might be having problems during a KNBR 1050 interview.
Rapoport stated, “(Baalke) might be in some danger.” “That will come to pass. I’m aware that Trent has admitted responsibility for this, so if they go 3-13, 2-14, or any other number and he says what he’s said, it’s difficult not to blame him—especially since he has already blamed himself.”
Things continued to spiral for the 49ers after Harbaugh’s departure. They went 5-11 in 2015, their worst record in a season since 2007, as the retirements of Patrick Willis, Justin Smith, Anthony Davis and Chris Borland during the offseason left their roster undermanned.
San Francisco fired head coach Jim Tomsula after one season, paving the way for Kelly to take over. The 49ers’ lack of talent didn’t make things easy for Kelly, who finished with a 2-14 record in his only year with the team. The depleted roster was yet another indictment of Baalke’s ongoing struggles to get much of an impact from draft picks in recent years.
However, that could have looked different in 2016 if Baalke had listened to those around him. According to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, Kelly and others in the organization were interested in drafting Dak Prescott in the 2016 NFL Draft but Baalke said no.
After the team let Tomsula go last January, Baalke told reporters he understood his job would be next if the 49ers didn’t show improvement on the field, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk:
Even though it would be difficult for any NFL team to withstand the talent drain San Francisco has had recently, Baalke had trouble with player development and evaluation, which was meant to be his strongest suit.
There are some talented players on the 49ers. Arik Armstead and DeForest Buckner, recent first-round draft selections, offer promise, but not many of the roster’s spots are assured for the long run.
Baalke was the last jigsaw piece to come loose from that successful streak from 2011 to 2014. The 49ers were always going to have a challenging season, but things ultimately got to the point where York had to make a change.
