San Francisco 49ers: Ranking the 10 Worst Teams in Franchise History
By Peter Panacy
No. 6: The 1999 49ers
Regular-Season Record: 4-12, fourth in the NFC West
It’s hard to list a team under former head coach Steve Mariucci on this list. But we’ve already done so with Hall of Fame great Bill Walsh.
1999 signified a major turning point in the franchise. And it wasn’t just the year in which the 49ers, and the NFL, lost quarterback Steve Young as a player. Fans can still recall the career-ending hit in Week 3.
The 49ers had a quarterback competition with rookie Jeff Garcia and Steve Senstrom, and neither particularly impressed. The two finished with a 77.9 and 52.7 passer rating, respectively.
The rest of San Francisco’s roster also couldn’t make up the difference. While the 49ers remained somewhat respectable on offense thanks to the efforts of wide receivers Jerry Rice and Terrell Owens, the Niners defense finished with the third-most points allowed on the year (453) and the second-highest passing yards given up (4,068).
San Francisco’s scoring differential was an abysmal minus-158 points.
But the Niners were going through the start of a transformation that would usher in some dark years on the horizon. San Francisco was entering dangerous waters with its salary cap situation — aspects that would eventually lead to the disastrous turn of events in 2003 and 2004.
Next: No. 5