The San Francisco 49ers stand as one of the most iconic franchises in sports. Yet the Niners also have some bad, bad history dating back to 1946. In this not-so-fun slideshow, Niner Noise ranks the top-10 worst 49ers teams in franchise history.
When one thinks of the San Francisco 49ers, memories of Super Bowl trophies, Hall of Fame Players and some of the most iconic moments in sports should come to mind.
Indeed, the 49ers have boasted some of the greatest teams in NFL history. And the storied accolades continue to draw praise from new and old fans alike.
But not every 49ers team, dating back to the franchise’s inception in 1946, fits the mold of legendary status. On the contrary, there have been plenty of bad, bad Niner teams over the decades. And San Francisco fans who witnessed the struggles of the 2015 49ers will know this statement all too well.
True, the 49ers have a better-than average regular-season record at 558-450-16. So that would mean San Francisco is, at least, a winning franchise.
Yet this Niner Noise feature won’t be focusing on that aspect. At least not yet.
No, it’s time to dive back into 49ers history and evaluate the 10 worst teams to have worn the red and gold — fitting with the franchise hitting its 70th birthday this season.
Don’t worry. We’ll get to our 10 best teams in franchise history soon. But let’s get the bad out of the way first and list, in order, the years Niner fans would prefer to be forgettable.
This won’t be based solely on record, although these stats play a large role. We’ll take a look at statistics, impact players and the overall makeup of the team to determine the rankings.
It may not be pretty, but let’s get onto the rankings.
Next: No. 10
No. 10: The 1964 49ers
Regular-Season Record: 4-10, seventh in the NFL West
The first Niners team on our list jumps back to the years just before the Super Bowl and at a time when the 49ers weren’t that good.
Well, in reality, the 1964 Niners were pretty awful.
San Francisco boasted a last-place NFL offense (236 points scored) and a defense that wasn’t much better (330 points allowed). Gee, that sure sounds familiar to Niner fans.
The 49ers did have quarterback John Brodie at the helm, who threw for 2,498 yards and 14 touchdowns but against 16 picks. And not one of the Niners’ offensive players rushed for more than 275 yards on the season — abysmal even for how different NFL football was during the 1960s.
The Niners of that year also sent only two players on roster to the Pro Bowl — wide receiver Dave Parks and linebacker Matt Hazeltine.
Yeah, this pretty much ends any excitement about what the 49ers of 1964 had to offer.
Next: No. 9
No. 9: The 1979 49ers
Regular-Season Record: 2-14, fourth in the NFC West
The 1979 49ers may be the silver lining in advance of what was the greatest dynasty in franchise history. After all, San Francisco had a new head coach in Bill Walsh. And the team had drafted a young quarterback out of Notre Dame named Joe Montana.
Yet the 49ers of the late 1970s were still mired in the disastrous efforts by then-new owner and now-legendary icon Ed DeBartolo Jr.
DeBartolo had taken over the year before and had installed Joe Thomas as general manager — not a good move at all. And San Francisco was still trying to figure out the benefits from the lucrative, and draft-pick-costly, transactions for quarterback Jim Plunkett and running back O.J. Simpson.
Simpson took a back seat to running back Paul Hofer, who had 615 yards and seven touchdowns on the season. And Montana, despite seeing playing time in all 16 games, would sit behind quarterback Steve DeBerg as the rest of the team tried to learn Walsh’s West Coast offense.
Not much of it mattered in 1979 though.
San Francisco tied the mark for worst record in franchise history at 2-14. While the offense saw some improvements from previous season (No. 16 in the NFL with 308 points scored), the Niners 27th-ranked defense was atrocious.
But good times were not far away.
Next: No. 8
No. 8: The 2006 49ers
Regular-Season Record: 7-9, third in the NFC West
The dynasty of the 1980s had long evaporated and the talent-laden Niners of the 1990s and early 2000s were also gone, which ushered in a new and forgettable era under the reign of former head coach Mike Nolan.
The 2006 49ers may not be the only Nolan squad on this list. But this season was especially bad.
Nolan boasted of a lot of changes when he took over as head coach the year before. Signs like “Win the West” used to don the players’ locker room. And yet the 2006 49ers finished with a 7-9 record and their fourth-consecutive losing season.
San Francisco did have some positives. Running back Frank Gore rushed for 1,695 yards and eight touchdowns. Wideout Antonio Bryant also had a decent season as the Niners’ leading receiver.
But some of the good performances and regular-season record masks some of the true problems behind the team.
Statistically, the 49ers hadn’t improved much at all. Their offense ranked No. 24 in the league (298 points). Defensively, San Francisco was even worse and allowed a league-highest 412 points on the year.
The 49ers also had a point differential of minus-114, which ranked 29th in the NFL that season.
Forget the record, this Niners team was terrible outside of Gore.
Next: No. 7
No. 7: The 2007 49ers
Regular-Season Record: 5-11, third in the NFC West
Yes, No. 8 was the 2006 49ers and No. 7 is the 2007 squad still led by former head coach Mike Nolan.
But what separates the two years, and makes the ’07 Niners even worse than their predecessor, were an overwhelmingly convoluted mixture of poor decisions, infighting and dysfunction.
OK, so the 5-11 record is bad enough. And that standing won’t be reinforced by San Francisco’s last-place offense (219 points scored) or 20th-ranked defense (364 points allowed).
By this point, the relationship between Nolan and then-quarterback Alex Smith had soured. And Smith’s shoulder injury in Week 4 against the Seattle Seahawks cast plenty of doubt whether or not Nolan wanted to continue with the team’s first-round pick from 2005.
Oh, and in case you forgot, the Niners added free-agent cornerback Nate Clements to the most lucrative offseason deal then given to a defensive back.
Clements didn’t exactly work out despite the big payday.
Perhaps the only positive from this season was the first-round drafting of inside linebacker Patrick Willis.
Otherwise, the 2007 49ers were a squad to forget.
Next: No. 6
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
No. 5: The 2015 49ers
Regular-Season Record: 5-11, fourth in the NFC West
There may be those who would argue the 2015 49ers should be higher on this list. And given just how boring and uninspiring one-year head coach Jim Tomsula’s squad was, those fans might be right.
Like many other coaches on this list, Tomsula inherited a mess. The departures en masse following the 2014 season, including former head coach Jim Harbaugh, meant the 2015 49ers would be in for a slew of challenges few teams would be able to combat even under the best of circumstances.
Still, the promotion of Tomsula from defensive line coach was seen more as a personality move from CEO Jed York and the 49ers front office rather than tabbing the right coach for the job.
And the results were reflected on the field.
Quarterback Colin Kaepernick never found headway once Harbaugh left and was benched in Week 9 in favor of backup QB Blaine Gabbert. San Francisco’s offensive line was permeable, and injuries also took their toll across the board.
Not surprisingly, the 2015 49ers finished with the league’s worst offense that season (238 points scored). And they weren’t much better in most other offensive categories.
Despite some early season problems, the Niners defense gained some headway in the second half. But this unit still allowed the third-most yards in the league (6,199) when the season was over.
Tomsula was fired after just one season along with the majority of his ineffective coaching staff.
But what keeps this team from reaching any higher is simple: San Francisco has a few more teams, either statistically or due to other circumstances, which make 2015 seem not as bad as it seems.
Perhaps just the recent memory of the 2015 season calls for this to be higher. But not necessarily when one puts it into context.
Next: No. 4
No. 4: The 1978 49ers
Regular-Season Record: 2-14, fourth in the NFC West
We’ve already discussed how then-49ers owner Ed DeBartolo Jr.’s first few years atop the organization weren’t that good. And his selection of Joe Thomas as general manager was a perfect indication of the problems within the franchise.
Thomas’ deal with the Buffalo Bills for O.J. Simpson was proving its effectiveness as the 31-year-old running back was no longer capable of handling the rigors of being an every-down ball-carrier. He led the team in rushing in 1978 but with only 593 yards and one touchdown.
San Francisco managed its first win of the season over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 5 and wouldn’t see another until a 6-3 uninspiring performance at home over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 15.
During that stretch, quarterback Steve DeBerg tossed just eight touchdowns against 22 interceptions. And the 49ers offense finished the year with a mere 219 points scored — 28th in the league.
If there were any positives from this season, they came after its conclusion. The 49ers fired Thomas after 1978, which helped open the door for head coach Bill Walsh to take over.
Combined with the Walsh selection, the Niners would cash in on a draft class the subsequent year that included players like quarterback Joe Montana and wide receiver Dwight Clark.
Their time would come soon.
Next: No. 3
No. 3: The 2005 49ers
Regular-Season Record: 4-12, fourth in the NFC West
Former head coach Mike Nolan finds his way again onto our list of worst 49ers teams of all time. And the No. 3 selection marks his first year as the Niners head coach.
Granted, Nolan inherited a team completely bereft of talent (don’t worry, we’ll get to 2004 shortly). But the big-talking head coach didn’t exactly get his team off to the best of starts.
A lot of question marks came to the forefront when Nolan selected quarterback Alex Smith with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 NFL draft. Nolan passed up on Cal quarterback Aaron Rodgers for what many believe to be a distaste in Rodgers’ personality.
Smith’s first season at the pro level was a disaster. His offensive line was a mess, the 49ers lacked any weapons for him outside of third-round pick Frank Gore and the embattled quarterback threw just one touchdown against 11 interceptions over nine games played.
And the 49ers’ quarterbacking carousel continued with Tim Rattay, Ken Dorsey and Cody Pickett all seeing starts over the season.
Not surprisingly, the Niners finished with a 4-12 record, the league’s third-worst offense and a defense that allowed more points and yards than any other team that season.
So much for Nolan’s lofty expectations.
Next: No. 2
No. 2: The 2004 49ers
Regular-Season Record: 2-14, fourth in the NFC West
2004 was the season things completely fell apart for the red and gold. The year marked the second-consecutive losing season under head coach Dennis Erickson but also was paralleled by a mass exodus of talent due to the 49ers salary cap situation of the previous years.
San Francisco was forced to part ways with quarterback Jeff Garcia, wide receiver Terrell Owens and running back Garrison Hearst. Other notable players were also released due to cap restraints.
As a result, the 2004 49ers fielded one of the most under-equipped and talent-strapped teams in recent NFL history. San Francisco’s roster that year boasted a plethora of players who likely wouldn’t have made it onto most teams’ practice squads.
Led by a quarterback tandem of Tim Rattay and Ken Dorsey, along with an ineffective running back Kevan Barlow, the 49ers offense finished with an abysmal 259 points scored — 30th in the league.
The defense was even worse. The Niners allowed 452 points on the season, which ranked the highest out of all 32 NFL teams that year.
This group also had a point differential of minus-193 — worst in the league.
San Francisco finished last in the division for the first time since 1979, and the horrendous season marked the end for Erickson and general manager Terry Donahue with the 49ers.
But despite all that went wrong in 2004, this 49ers group still isn’t the worst team in franchise history.
There’s one more.
Next: No. 1
No. 1: The 1963 49ers
Regular-Season Record: 2-12, seventh in the NFL West
OK, 49ers fans. Here it is: the worst of the worst.
San Francisco’s all-time worst team in franchise history belongs to the 1963 49ers — a year which Niner fans would like to forget. And most probably have.
The 49ers finished last in the NFL West in the years before the Super Bowl and managed just two narrow wins over the Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys in Weeks 6 and 9, respectively.
The Niners were at or near the bottom in nearly every significant offensive and defensive category over the course of the season. San Francisco’s leading receiver, Bernie Casey, did manage 762 yards and seven touchdowns, but he was one of just a handful of standouts from the 49ers roster that year.
What separates this group from the 2004 49ers is the dramatic difference in point differential. Both years saw the Niners post a minus-193 point differential, but this is quite astounding given the 1963 squad reached that mark in two fewer games.
Not exactly the way a team goes about finding bragging rights.
Tack on the fact the 2004 49ers outscored their 1963 counterparts by 61 points with the extra two games, and one should have further evidence why this team ranks No. 1 on our all-time worst list.
So there you have it — the worst 49ers teams in franchise history. These years may not be pretty at all. And many of the listed seasons are ones which San Francisco fans would like to forget.
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But these years are equally a part of Niner history just as those seasons which defined a franchise. After all, one can never measure greatness without acknowledging the failures.
Let’s only hope this list stays put, and failed teams never reach this top-10 status moving forward.
Next: San Francisco 49ers: The All-Time Super Bowl Team
All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com unless otherwise indicated.