The San Francisco 49ers are likely to fire coach Jim Tomsula, though general manager Trent Baalke’s job is reportedly safe.
ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio originally reported the news, with Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole confirming, though stressing that no final decision has been made on Tomsula.
It would mean that Tomsula lasts only one year in San Francisco, a disastrous 4-11 campaign. He served as the team’s defensive line coach between 2007 and 2014, but simply appeared in over his head in the top job.
As Florio notes, that’s a big part of the embarrassment. The Niners knew Tomsula better than anyone else, entrusted him with the top job, and watched it go terribly wrong when they probably should have known better.
Baalke, meanwhile, will be entrusted to clean up the mess. He has been the team’s GM since 2011 and still enjoys a good relationship with ownership, and can point to the fact that he presided over the successful Jim Harbaugh years. This would be, however, the third coach he will be permitted to hire. The first one worked out great, the second one the opposite. The third hire may well seal his fate one way or the other.
These moves will do little to placate the fanbase, as they’re pretty sure the organization’s problems don’t lie with Tomsula or Baalke.
