How Richard Sherman became a 49ers fan favorite in short order

Few San Francisco 49ers fans would have ever imagined cornerback Richard Sherman becoming a fan favorite, especially during his days with the Seattle Seahawks. But he has, and the path to get there has been quite the story.

I remember telling my wife the San Francisco 49ers signed veteran cornerback Richard Sherman back in 2018 NFL free agency. She, like many a Niners fan, was disgusted by the idea. Sherman was, after all, public enemy No. 1 and the bane of every 49ers fan everywhere.

Now, he was with San Francisco.

It’s not hard recalling why Niners fans hated him so much. There were the outspoken moments, the tip drill and postgame rant about then-49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree following the Seattle Seahawks’ victory in the 2014 NFC Championship game. Sherman and Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson then dug into some turkey on Thanksgiving right in the middle of Levi’s Stadium later that same year.

It wasn’t just fans who disliked Sherman. It was players, too.

“I thought I was going to hate him because I hated him when he was in Seattle,” left tackle Joe Staley said of Sherman on The Rich Eisen Show (h/t 49ers Webzone) last year. “He was just one of those guys that kind of got under your skin.”

Even head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed on KNBR 680 (h/t 49ers Webzone) this week he had his dislike towards Sherman, too.

“I always tell him to this day I didn’t like him that much going in because he’s talked so bad to teams, to me, to players I was with,” the head coach said. “I’ve always been the guy going against him, trying to [beat] him. So he was always irritating me more than anything.”

So if you were one who didn’t like the Sherman signing, you probably aren’t alone.

But Sherman is a classic example of one of those players you hate to play against, yet are thrilled to have on your team. Another example would be the Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green, who is nothing short of being outspoken himself, yet was such a key attribute to the Warriors’ NBA championship dynasty recently.

The transformation from hated rival to fan favorite changed almost immediately. Sherman’s 2017 Achilles injury resulted in him being let go by Seattle, and it took mere hours for San Francisco to bring him aboard on a three-year “prove it” deal, exclusive negotiated by the cornerback himself.

Shanahan pointed out how he was fighting hard during his Achilles recovery, then also showing a primarily young cast of Niners defensive backs how to have more success at the NFL level.

“Well, I can’t give them anything,” Sherman told Niner Noise during spring workouts in 2018. “It takes work, diligence and dedication. I’ll give them tools that I have, the information and knowledge that I’ve received over the years. I can help anytime they want after practice or anytime during practice.”

The tutelage earned him the nickname, “Uncle Sherm.”

Amid a lost 2018 season, Sherman would never hesitate to lift up his teammates, particularly within the secondary:

San Francisco’s secondary was bad that year, though, finishing with a historically low two interceptions and being ranked by Pro Football Focus as the worst defensive backfield in 2018.

The 49ers fanbase growing accustomed to Sherman, if ever to the point of adoration, was going to take results.

Thankfully, those have come in 2019.

As pointed out by this PFF article, Sherman has emerged as the best cornerback of the decade, his 2019 stats and efforts backing up the perennial All-Pro numbers he enjoyed with Seattle.

San Francisco also owns the No. 1 pass defense in the league, too.

This year, Sherman has also endeared himself more to fans, not just because of his play, but also for sticking up for the 49ers’ franchise quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo, also calling out the “haters” who questioned earlier this season whether or not the Niners were a legitimate playoff contender.

But the memory of those heated Seahawks-49ers matchups from years gone by haven’t erased with the passage of time.

Sherman cleared some of that up, however, explaining why his perceived beef with San Francisco wasn’t necessarily aimed at the franchise or the fans, rather with former 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh, under whom Sherman had played in college at Stanford.

“We’ve had our history,” Sherman told reporters this week. “I don’t regret a second of that. I would do it again twice, maybe more. If he were their coach and we were in the same position, it would maybe be worse right now. There’s bad blood there. There’s history there. … It was very personal. It was less 49ers and Seahawks. It was very personal.”

Maybe that takes the pressure off any reluctant fans’ feelings about Sherman being in a 49ers uniform.

But if there’s any hesitation left for Niners fans to fully embrace Sherman, if they haven’t already, a signature win over Sherman’s old squad, the Seahawks, on Sunday in Week 17 would likely do it.