San Francisco 49ers: Disastrous 2015 Offseason Not to Blame for Current Team Woes
By Peter Panacy
The No. 1 Reason Why the 49ers Are Bad in 2016
Nothing exists in a vacuum (aside from dust particles actually in a vacuum), so there isn’t really any one particular reason why the 49ers are a last-place team this season.
In reality, it’s a combination of reasons all meshing together into one convoluted mess of a situation.
We can point out the Niners front office, which helped create a culture in which players had no desire to stay and left either via free agency or retirement. We can look at general manager Trent Baalke — and most of us will — for failing to adequately assemble players capable of taking over for the guys who would eventually depart.
Most arguments will probably end there. Blame Baalke and his failures in various draft classes and free agency.
That’s fair. But there’s a bigger problem.
What’s the vision for this team? What’s the large-scale plan? Is there one?
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San Francisco had no set contingency plan for most of the 2015 departures. And if it did, those plans failed miserably. Even the worst business models have some sort of short-, medium- and long-term goals in place.
It’s hard to decide what the 49ers’ goals are, aside from the rhetorical ones we hear about hanging championship banners and all.
So if there is a No. 1 issue, it’s the feeling this franchise has no direction in sight.
Next: Ranking the Top 5 Problems the 49ers Are Facing in 2016
All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com andSports-Reference.com unless otherwise indicated.