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Getting it started a little early...
49ers are expected to keep Baalke, dump Tomsula
Posted by Mike Florio on January 3, 2016, 8:20 AM EST
A disastrous season in San Francisco, which feels even worse than the 4-11 record the team carries into the finale against the Rams, is expected to result in one major change. But not two.
Per a league source, G.M. Trent Baalke is expected to return. Coach Jim Tomsula is expected to be fired.
If Tomsula goes, the one-and-done will represent a significant embarrassment for the organization. Tomsula was the hand-picked replacement for Jim Harbaugh, an eight-year member of the staff whom they knew better than any team ever knows a head-coaching candidate.
But the 49ers need to do something in order to placate a fan base that has quickly become disgusted with the direction of the organization. More and more empty seats are seen at games, and more and more fans have taken owner Jed York up on his offer to be held accountable for a failure to win championships.
Firing Tomsula could actually cause those voices to become even louder, with the team’s reliance on a guy who was clearly in over his head from the get go giving fans plenty of ammunition for arguing that York, too, is in over his head.
York and Baalke will have a chance to reverse that perception, but they’ll need to make a big splash in order to regain confidence and trust. Chip Kelly becomes an intriguing possibility, in the event that the 49ers hope to try to resurrect the imploding career of quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
Former 49ers offensive coordinator Mike Holmgren has continuously expressed interest in the job, and he has the kind of track record that could make the fan base believe that things will turn around. Holmgren has a proven track record when it comes to spotting and developing quarterbacks, with guys like Brett Favre, Matthew Hasselbeck, and Mark Brunell all in Green Bay during Holmgren’s time there. (Holmgren also had Kurt Warner in the building, but that was several years before he developed into the guy no one ever thought he would be.)
A solid relationship between York and Baalke is expected to give the five-year G.M. a sixth season — and a third head-coaching hire. Most General Managers get to hire two coaches at most; it’s hard not to think that Baalke’s long-term future hinges on getting this hire right.
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Report: Browns will fire coach, GM
Posted by Zac Jackson on January 2, 2016, 9:04 PM EST
The Browns plan to move on from general manager Ray Farmer and head coach Mike Pettine after Sunday’s season finale, a Cleveland.com report Saturday said.
The report by Mary Kay Cabot quoted sources as saying team owner Jimmy Haslam is inclined to “blow things up” and has already begun seeking out replacements. Though this is the first sourced report of such moves happening — Cabot wrote that interviews with potential replacements could begin as soon as Sunday night — neither move would be a surprise.
The Browns went 7-9 last year in Pettine’s first season but lost their final five games. They’re 3-12 headed into Sunday’s game vs. the Steelers and have won once since October.
Farmer was hired by the Browns in 2013 and promoted in Feb. 2014, a few weeks after Pettine was hired as head coach.
It was previously reported that Pettine met with Haslam and was told that a decision would be made either after the game or on Monday. Cabot previously wrote that assistant coaches walked out of a Friday meeting with Pettine feeling the staff would be fired.
Haslam took ownership of the Browns in Oct. 2012. He fired team president Mike Holmgren, general manager Tom Heckert and head coach Pat Shurmur at the conclusion of the 2012 season, fired head coach Rob Chudzinski at the end of 2013 and then fired team CEO Joe Banner and general manager Mike Lombardi in 2014 when Farmer was promoted.
49ers are expected to keep Baalke, dump Tomsula
Posted by Mike Florio on January 3, 2016, 8:20 AM EST
A disastrous season in San Francisco, which feels even worse than the 4-11 record the team carries into the finale against the Rams, is expected to result in one major change. But not two.
Per a league source, G.M. Trent Baalke is expected to return. Coach Jim Tomsula is expected to be fired.
If Tomsula goes, the one-and-done will represent a significant embarrassment for the organization. Tomsula was the hand-picked replacement for Jim Harbaugh, an eight-year member of the staff whom they knew better than any team ever knows a head-coaching candidate.
But the 49ers need to do something in order to placate a fan base that has quickly become disgusted with the direction of the organization. More and more empty seats are seen at games, and more and more fans have taken owner Jed York up on his offer to be held accountable for a failure to win championships.
Firing Tomsula could actually cause those voices to become even louder, with the team’s reliance on a guy who was clearly in over his head from the get go giving fans plenty of ammunition for arguing that York, too, is in over his head.
York and Baalke will have a chance to reverse that perception, but they’ll need to make a big splash in order to regain confidence and trust. Chip Kelly becomes an intriguing possibility, in the event that the 49ers hope to try to resurrect the imploding career of quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
Former 49ers offensive coordinator Mike Holmgren has continuously expressed interest in the job, and he has the kind of track record that could make the fan base believe that things will turn around. Holmgren has a proven track record when it comes to spotting and developing quarterbacks, with guys like Brett Favre, Matthew Hasselbeck, and Mark Brunell all in Green Bay during Holmgren’s time there. (Holmgren also had Kurt Warner in the building, but that was several years before he developed into the guy no one ever thought he would be.)
A solid relationship between York and Baalke is expected to give the five-year G.M. a sixth season — and a third head-coaching hire. Most General Managers get to hire two coaches at most; it’s hard not to think that Baalke’s long-term future hinges on getting this hire right.
==============
Report: Browns will fire coach, GM
Posted by Zac Jackson on January 2, 2016, 9:04 PM EST
The Browns plan to move on from general manager Ray Farmer and head coach Mike Pettine after Sunday’s season finale, a Cleveland.com report Saturday said.
The report by Mary Kay Cabot quoted sources as saying team owner Jimmy Haslam is inclined to “blow things up” and has already begun seeking out replacements. Though this is the first sourced report of such moves happening — Cabot wrote that interviews with potential replacements could begin as soon as Sunday night — neither move would be a surprise.
The Browns went 7-9 last year in Pettine’s first season but lost their final five games. They’re 3-12 headed into Sunday’s game vs. the Steelers and have won once since October.
Farmer was hired by the Browns in 2013 and promoted in Feb. 2014, a few weeks after Pettine was hired as head coach.
It was previously reported that Pettine met with Haslam and was told that a decision would be made either after the game or on Monday. Cabot previously wrote that assistant coaches walked out of a Friday meeting with Pettine feeling the staff would be fired.
Haslam took ownership of the Browns in Oct. 2012. He fired team president Mike Holmgren, general manager Tom Heckert and head coach Pat Shurmur at the conclusion of the 2012 season, fired head coach Rob Chudzinski at the end of 2013 and then fired team CEO Joe Banner and general manager Mike Lombardi in 2014 when Farmer was promoted.
