49ers Must Fire Tomsula
If Jed York wants to be held accountable, he only has one option this offseason, he has to fire Jim Tomsula. It will be difficult for Jed to admit he made a massive mistake by replacing an incredibly successful coach in Jim Harbaugh with someone who couldn't even put sentences together, let alone a competitive football team on Sundays.
Jim Tomsula was exactly who we thought he was. An incredibly nice guy, who is passionate about the game, but is completely in over his head as a head coach in the NFL. Tomsula spent more time looking confused on the sideline than Dennis Erickson and Mike Singletary combined. I'll admit Tomsula was dealt a difficult hand with all of the unprecedented and significant transition the team suffered in the offseason, but he is largely responsible for sending the Niners to the basement of the NFL.
The list of failures is longer than Santa's Christmas list. Tomsula was responsible for destroying an incredibly talented and developing quarterback in Colin Kaepernick. He replaced the starting QB with one Blaine Gabbert that is incapable of getting a first down on third down and appears to be visibly scared to throw the ball over 10 yards. He created an offense that was so poorly concocted, it never scored a touchdown on the opening drive until last week. The offense was so predictable and amateurish, defenders even said they knew what was coming before the play was run.
He also was responsible for developing a defense that couldn't stop anyone on the road and was just bad enough at home. He's responsible for a team that committed mental mistake after mental mistake, reflecting the lack of discipline from the coaching staff. He never was successful on any coaching challenges and didn't make any adjustments at halftime. But most pundits and 49er fans saw this coming the minute Jed York hired Tomsula.
Jed York is ultimately responsible for this debacle and the sooner he realizes his mistake, the better off the Niners will be going forward. There is no fathomable way that York and Baalke can go into another season with Tomsula leading the charge. The fans have already let their feelings be heard loud and clear as they have revolted by flying banners over Levi's stadium calling for York to "mutually part ways" with the 49ers. They've also decided to not even show up to games, costing the 49ers home field advantage and huge revenue from gameday parking, concessions and merchandise. Jed has to make a move that will appease the fanbase and provide some hope for the future, otherwise, things are just going to get worse.
If Jed fires Tomsula, it will be an admission that he made a mistake, but it will show the fanbase that he cares about winning. And right now the fans believe that Jed only cares about the money and the bottom line. He hoodwinked all of the fans that bought personal seat licenses, like myself, with a bait and switch. Everyone bought seats because of Harbaugh and then he promptly fired him because Harbaugh didn't feed Jed's ego enough. Now fans are stuck with expensive seats that they can't unload. They have a valid reason to be upset.
But as we all know, things can change pretty quickly in the NFL. Just two years ago, the 49ers were headed to the NFC Championship game and if it weren't for some horrendous calls, they would have beaten Seattle and probably won their sixth Super Bowl. The good news is that if Jed fires Tomsula a new coach would bring new life and new confidence to a team that still has a lot of talented players on the roster. In addition, the 49ers will most likely have a top 5 draft pick. Which means they could find their franchise QB in Jared Goff. A new coach, an improved offensive line and a top tier QB, could bring the Niners right back to the playoffs. But that only happens if Tomsula is fired.
And Tomsula needs to be fired now. There is no need to wait. Chip Kelly just became available and Jed York has to consider the possibility of a Chip Kelly offense led by Colin Kaepernick. There is no doubt in my mind that would be a nightmare for opposing defenses. If not, there are plenty of offensive minded coaches that would love a chance to have Goff as their guy. The Niners have to fire Tomsula now so they can be the first in line for head coaching candidates. If they wait, they may lose out. The time is now, the fans are ready, Jed just has to swallow his pride and make the move.
