San Francisco 49ers: 5 Easy Steps to Help Fix the Franchise in 2016

Everyone on the Same Page

OK, so this may be one of the biggest clichés out there. But it’s inherently true for what the 49ers need to do.

A lot of it will start towards the top — the relationship between general manager Trent Baalke and head coach Chip Kelly. There can’t be any disagreements as was seen between Baalke and head coach Jim Harbaugh. Not now.

Fortunately, the initial returns have looked positive.

“I always say there’s perception and there’s reality,” Baalke said, via the team’s website, during the NFL Scouting Combine when asked about his relationship with Kelly. “Reality is what we deal with every day in the office. Perception is what everyone else speculates on.

“But it’s been awesome. He’s been very easy to work with. We haven’t spent a ton of time together… but we’ve had a lot of good discussions, and I look forward to continuing those.”

So far so good. Yet Kelly does come with a reputation, and former Philadelphia Eagles’ and current Denver Broncos guard Evan Mathis’ comments certainly raise questions.

Such concerns will lead to how the players feel about Kelly and his approach on and off the field.

NFL analyst Nate Burleson elaborated on such, via Joe Fann of 49ers.com:

"That’s the thing. You have to be bought in. As long as everyone in that organization understands what [Kelly] is trying to accomplish when he game plans, what he’s trying to accomplish with his practices and with his conditioning, it can be productive."

So this may be the most difficult of the easy steps in which the 49ers roster needs to buy in. A locker room will consist of a vast array of personalities and opinions — not all of which to be equally shared.

Fortunately, the vast majority of players on the Niners roster are young. And it’s not hard to see why younger players may buy into such a scheme and approach over more established veterans.

One player who is likely already bought in is second-year defensive end Arik Armstead, who played under Kelly for a season at the University of Oregon:

On the positive side of things, Kelly should reinvigorate what was a stagnant and boring 49ers squad coming into 2016. That should help. And the head coach could stand to take some lessons from what he experienced over three seasons in Philadelphia.

If these pieces can be put into place, the 49ers may enjoy considerably more success this season.

There are far more than just a handful of steps San Francisco needs to take this offseason to ensure 2016 will be a vast improvement over last year. The 49ers are in a hole and struggling to get out — a process which won’t be easy nor, in all likelihood, quick.

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Yet if the Niners can make some simple changes from the top of the organization on down, they’ll be well on their way to ensuring this and subsequent seasons will be part of the needed steps in the right direction.

Let’s hope this will be the case.

Next: 10 49ers with a Lot to Prove in 2016

All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com and Sports-Reference.com unless otherwise indicated. Contractual information courtesy of Over the Cap.