49ers Had No Choice But To Fire Jim Tomsula As Head Coach

The San Francisco 49ers fired head coach Jim Tomsula last night. After enduring a dismal 5-11 2015 season, the 49ers front office had no other option but to release a coach who was in way over his head.

In 2014 the 49ers went 8-8 after appearing in three-straight NFC Championship games and one Super Bowl. This was considered a disappointing season at the time, with a gradual decline seen in the relationship between former HC Jim Harbaugh and the front office, leading to an eventual “mutual” parting.

Then after an almost laughable coaching search in the 2014 offseason, the 49ers promoted Tomsula to HC who had no NFL head coach or even coordinator experience. The “story” was that the 49ers management had tired with Harbaugh and his “abrasive” personality, and they wanted a “teacher” to become the head coach.

Tomsula’s hiring was seen as bringing in a “yes man” who would simply cede to the wishes of the 49ers front office, unlike what Harbaugh would do. After a strong Week 1 opening win against the Minnesota Vikings, the 49ers performances continually declined over the season to finish at a 5-11 record.

Looking further than the overall record, the final season statistics in several key categories make for ugly reading:

• 32nd in total offense, averaging just 14.9 points per game
• 29th in passing offense, averaging a mere 207.3 yards per game
• For a team that was going to “run the football” (per General Manager Trent Baalke at Tomsula’s opening presser) they ranked 21st in the league at just 96.5 yards per game
• 18th in team defense at 387.4 yards per game, including 27th against the pass and 29th against the run

These statistics don’t lie — these are horrible numbers. And who do these numbers fall on? No doubt on the coordinators Geep Chryst and Eric Mangini, but ultimately they fall on Tomsula. He was burned during games in being out-coached by several experienced coaches, namely the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Mike Tomlin, Arizona Cardinals’ Bruce Arians, and Seattle Seahawks’ Pete Carroll.

The team regressed in mental mistakes, with the best example being the seven offsides penalties against the Detroit Lions.

Additionally, the offense via quarterback Blaine Gabbert (and Chryst’s play-calling), repeatedly threw short check-down passes on 3rd-and-long downs, where it was like watching a bad movie over and over again with no remote control to stop it.

The offense overall regressed to the point that scoring over 14 points in a game was seen as a reason to party.

All of this regression falls into the lap of Tomsula.

So how did Tomsula handle all of this? This is how he looked during most games:

Is this the face of a head coach you want coaching your football team? A look of confusion and hopelessness?

No, of course not!

Tomsula seems like a nice guy, who was a good motivator and a player-friendly coach. However, his knowledge of x’s and o’s was lacking, and he had no ability to come up with a winning game plan, and worse of all showed zero ability to make in-game adjustments when the team was getting pole-axed most weeks.

Then, to top all of that off, he gave rambling post-game press conferences that a) didn’t make any sense, and b) repeated the same excuses week-after-week, and c) he would contradict himself with his answers, with a good example provided by David Fucillo of Niners Nation:

"Well, I think in certain areas we did. It didn’t equate to the win-loss record, which is the ultimate. I got it, that’s the measuring stick. But, in certain areas we did. And I don’t like going backwards, but when you go backwards there, obviously, the Cleveland thing was, that was just no good. That was a big step down. But, then as I’m watching the guys and I’m watching the way they’re working and I’m watching some of the things that we’re doing, that the coaches are doing and what some of the younger guys and where they’re getting and the gel that you’re starting to see happen there, I think that is good. What could I have done? Probably, Cleveland I put a lot of emphasis on starting fast in terms of throwing the ball, getting it down the field and things like that and that’s just not how we’re built right now. So, that’s a Jimbo. I went into the offense, talked about that. ‘Let’s stretch the field here early. Let’s get some things going.’ I think that’s what you’re asking."

The bottom line is that Tomsula was just way over his head as a head coach. He should have stuck as being a defensive line coach, where he excelled. But, if you are offered a guaranteed $10 million dollars to lead one of the most storied franchises in the NFL, and all you have to do is say “yes” when you are told?

Why not?

It didn’t seem likely that CEO Jed York was going to admit a mistake by firing Tomsula after just one season. That looked the most likely scenario on why Tomsula would continue as coach into 2016.

But York ate some humble pie. Who fed it to him is an interesting question, though a conversation earlier today with his uncle that he alluded to in his press conference, former 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr, might have played a part, per Pro Football Talk:

So now the 49ers are looking for another head coach. York stated that he wants a leader with a “clear strategic vision” for the organization, but wouldn’t go into specifics on who that might be or who they are looking at.

Next: San Francisco 49ers Set up Former Head Coach Jim Tomsula to Fail in 2015

For the 49ers to get back to relevancy again, and to return to the playoffs, this next head coach hire needs to be a home run, like the hiring of Harbaugh was at the time in 2011. The front office needs to take their time, find the right person, and not let personalities and ego’s get in the way.

York and company need to follow his own advice – finding the “clear strategic vision” and adhering to this principle is goal No. 1 to start on the road to recovery.

All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com and ESPN.com unless otherwise indicated.