Niner Noise
FanSided

What San Francisco 49ers fans really want this holiday season — Part 12

By Eric Gamboa

January 3, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers fan holds a sign for owner Jed York during the third quarter against the St. Louis Rams at Levi's Stadium. The 49ers defeated the Rams 19-16. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
January 3, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers fan holds a sign for owner Jed York during the third quarter against the St. Louis Rams at Levi's Stadium. The 49ers defeated the Rams 19-16. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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Nov 22, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers linebackers coach Mike Nolan looks on during the second half of the game at Qualcomm Stadium. Kansas City won 33-3. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 22, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers linebackers coach Mike Nolan looks on during the second half of the game at Qualcomm Stadium. Kansas City won 33-3. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports /

Head Coaching Hires

Under Scot McCloughan, the 49ers were led by head coaches like Mike Nolan and Mike Singletary. Both of whom played their roles in the deterioration of first-round quarterback Alex Smith (not to mention never posting a winning season).

Jan 17, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; East head coach Mike Singletary looks on during the first quarter at the East-West Shrine Game at Tropicana Field . Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 17, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; East head coach Mike Singletary looks on during the first quarter at the East-West Shrine Game at Tropicana Field . Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

Trent Baalke deserves praise for reeling in Jim Harbaugh. Recruiting Harbaugh, who was a highly coveted college coach, was a major win for Baalke. Failing to remember Harbaugh had many suitors distorts Baalke’s overall performance as the team’s GM. Crediting Baalke for landing Harbaugh is fair.

Hiring Jim Tomsula as the 49ers head coach following Harbaugh’s departure reeks as a decision made by 49ers CEO Jed York and not a decision made by Baalke (but more on that later).

Replacing Tomsula with current head coach Chip Kelly looks like a Trent Baalke hire.

Determining if Kelly is a good coach for the 49ers is way too early to make. Kelly should get one more season with better talent considering he inherited a mostly starless roster.

But, even if you include Tomsula as a Baalke hire, Baalke still has a better history of hiring head coaches than McCloughan (or at least the

possibility of being a talented head coach as is the case with Kelly).

Baalke gets the edge over McCloughan as far as HC hirings go. Baalke also deserves much more credit for building those Harbaugh teams than McCloughan. Now, with that argument put to bed, let’s decide if Baalke is worthy of keeping as the team’s GM heading into 2017.