Every sports franchise has its big “what-if” moments. The San Francisco 49ers have had their fair share over the years even though the organization has enjoyed more success and won more Super Bowls than most NFL franchises.
That’s why we’re going to take a look at the 25 biggest what-if's in Niners history.
This will not be a ranking, but instead is meant to cover many of the alternate scenarios that could have played out for San Francisco had things gone differently over the course of the franchise’s 80 year history.
Biggest 'what-ifs?' in 49ers history
- What if 49ers ran it with Frank Gore in the Super Bowl vs. Ravens?
- What if Bill Walsh hadn’t retired when he did?
- What if 49ers drafted Aaron Rodgers instead of Alex Smith?
- What if Brock Purdy hadn’t gotten hurt against Eagles?
- What if 49ers didn’t trade up for Jerry Rice?
- What if 49ers moved to Los Angeles?
- What if 49ers drafted Mac Jones instead of Trey Lance?
- What if 49ers hadn’t traded Charles Haley to Cowboys?
- What if 49ers drafted Tom Brady?
- What if Jimmy Garoppolo hit Emmanuel Sanders in the Super Bowl?
- What if Joe Montana didn’t get injured against New York Giants?
- What if Kyle Williams hadn’t muffed those punts against Giants?
- What if Jaquiski Tartt had caught that easy interception?
- What if 49ers never brought in Steve Young?
- What if 49ers had never traded Joe Montana?
- What if Chiefs were called for holding on 3rd-and-15?
- What if 49ers had drafted Patrick Mahomes?
- What if Chris Borland didn’t retire?
- What if Dre Greenlaw hadn’t torn his Achilles in the Super Bowl?
- What if Alex Smith hadn’t gotten hurt?
- What if 49ers had signed Peyton Manning?
- What if Trent Baalke hadn’t forced out Jim Harbaugh?
- What if 49ers had given Chip Kelly another season?
- What if Rams had traded for Christian McCaffrey instead of 49ers?
- What if Richard Sherman hadn’t tipped that pass?
What if 49ers ran it with Frank Gore in the Super Bowl vs. Ravens?
Why not start with a big one?
The 49ers were heavily favored going into the Super Bowl for the 2012 season against the Baltimore Ravens. They were riding high off a big comeback victory against the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Championship game, and on paper, they probably had more talent.
It seemed they were going to mount another huge comeback after they fought back from a 28-6 deficit and made the game close following a power outage. Down 34-29 with less than five minutes in the fourth quarter, the Niners had the ball 2nd-and-goal at Baltimore’s 5-yard line. They did not run it once, opting for three passes which were all incomplete including a fade-route to Michael Crabtree on the fourth and goal attempt.
It was baffling then and remains baffling years later.
With Frank Gore in the backfield and an incredible athlete in Colin Kaepernick, the Niners could have easily run the ball at least a few times and probably should have done at least one read option. Head coach Jim Harbaugh has even said he wishes they had run it with Gore.
Instead, they lost the Super Bowl, and fans were left to wonder what offensive coordinator Greg Roman was thinking.
What if Bill Walsh hadn’t retired when he did?
Bill Walsh is one of the greatest coaches in NFL history and was the driving force behind turning San Francisco into the best team of the 1980s. Yet, the rigors and stresses of the job clearly took a toll on him, and Walsh decided to retire on top after the 1988 season, which resulted in a Super Bowl win for San Francisco.
But what if he had kept on coaching the team after that season?
Things probably wouldn’t have been that different as San Francisco won the Super Bowl the following year and then nearly got back to the Super Bowl in the 1990 season. But one could argue Walsh would've been better equipped in the years that followed to help the Niners overcome the Dallas Cowboys, the team that eliminated San Francisco in 1992 and 1993.
Walsh still clearly had a desire to coach as evidenced by his return to Stanford from 1992 to 1994, so maybe if he had taken more time before deciding to step away, the Niners could’ve won one or two more Super Bowls during that era.
What if 49ers drafted Aaron Rodgers instead of Alex Smith?
The 49ers held the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 draft. Many expected them to go with Aaron Rodgers, the Northern California native who went to Cal, but instead, the Niners selected Alex Smith out of Utah.
It seemed like a dreadful decision as Smith struggled his first few years in the league, while Rogers eventually proved to be one of the greatest NFL quarterbacks of all time when he got his shot with the Green Bay Packers.
There are no guarantees that Rodgers would have had success if the Niners drafted him. He probably would have played right away, just like Smith, and given how bad the 49ers were as a team and an organization at that time, Rodgers might’ve been eaten alive.
The pairing I always thought would have been interesting is, if things played out similarly and the Niners cycled through coaches but eventually paired Rodgers with Jim Harbaugh. That could have been a pair that produced a Super Bowl, but they’re also both big personalities who might not have mixed very well.
What if Brock Purdy hadn’t gotten hurt against Eagles?
The 2022 49ers were in an absolute roll. They won their final 10 games of the regular season and then won in the Wild Card and divisional rounds of the playoffs to earn a date with the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship game.
Rookie Brock Purdy looked unbeatable, and San Francisco’s defense was playing well going into that game, but Eagles edge rusher Haason Reddick hit Purdy in his elbow early in the contest, Purdy tore his UCL, and the Niners’ Super Bowl hopes were dashed.
There’s no guarantee San Francisco would have won the game, had Purdy stayed healthy. But, given the fact the next two times the Niners played the Eagles, they beat them, it’s not unreasonable to think it would’ve at least been more competitive.
Even if the 49ers won, it would have resulted in a Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs, and we know how that’s gone twice now. So, maybe it only would’ve resulted in another Super Bowl berth rather than a victory, but you never know.
What if 49ers didn’t trade up for Jerry Rice?
While Jerry Rice on the 49ers just feels like one of those inevitable things that was always meant to be, it’s easy to forget Walsh had to trade up to get him. He saw Rice’s highlights on TV and knew he’d be a perfect fit for the offense, so he traded up from the No. 28 overall pick to the No. 16 overall pick to get his guy.
The No. 17 overall pick in the 1985 NFL Draft belonged to the Cowboys, so there is some dark alternate universe where Rice played for the Cowboys and became a legend in Dallas.
Just the thought makes the stomach churn…
What if 49ers moved to Los Angeles?
It sounds crazy, but former owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. at least threatened to move the team to Los Angeles in order to gain support for a referendum to give the 49ers funding for a new stadium.
Imagining the Niners in Los Angeles is perhaps even more vile than imagining Rice in a Cowboys uniform. Had the 49ers made that move, who knows where the Rams would be, perhaps still in St. Louis. The Chargers would probably still be in San Diego, and maybe the Raiders would’ve stayed in Oakland as the lone Bay Area team.
Let’s just be glad that never came to pass.
What if 49ers drafted Mac Jones instead of Trey Lance?
This one became an especially interesting one to ponder after the 49ers signed Mac Jones as a backup in 2025, and he started eight games as Purdy dealt with a toe injury. Jones looked so good in Kyle Shanahan’s offense that it was only fair to wonder how good he would have been had the Niners never traded up to select Trey Lance in the 2021 NFL Draft and instead selected Jones with the No. 12 overall pick.
It’s tough to say whether Jones would have been better than Jimmy Garoppolo right out of the gate, or whether San Francisco would have put him on the bench to start off.
Either way, maybe getting familiar with Shanahan’s offense meant Jones would’ve been ready to go whenever his number was called, and he would be the one running San Francisco’s offense rather than Purdy.
What if 49ers hadn’t traded Charles Haley to Cowboys?
While the trade to move up in the draft and select Lance is definitely one of the worst in 49ers history, the decision to trade Charles Haley to the Cowboys in the early 1990s is up there as well.
Haley was seen as something of a locker room cancer in San Francisco and did not get along all that well with his teammates. Still, the decision to send him to the Cowboys had pretty much immediate negative consequences because Dallas beat San Francisco in both the 1992 and 1993 NFC Championship Games.
Thankfully, the Niners got Dallas in 1994 and won a Super Bowl. But if they hadn’t gotten rid of Haley, maybe they’re able to get past Dallas in '92 or ‘93 and have six or seven Super Bowls instead of five.
What if 49ers drafted Tom Brady?
Every NFL team can ask itself this as they all had multiple cracks at Tom Brady before he was finally selected by the New England Patriots in the sixth round of the 2001 NFL Draft.
It’s easy to think the Niners would have been unstoppable with Brady, but it’s important to remember they were far from a behemoth in 2001. The 49ers had a solid year, going 12-4 with head coach Steve Mariucci and quarterback Jeff Garcia, but it’s unlikely Brady would’ve started that season unless Garcia went down, just like how Brady didn’t get a shot in New England until Drew Bledsoe went down.
Mariucci was a good coach, so if he and Brady eventually formed a tandem, that could have led to good results, but probably not the same dominance that Brady's partnership with Bill Belichick brought about in New England.
Still, Brady grew up in the Bay Area as a 49ers fan and was literally at the NFC Championship game when Dwight Clark made “The Catch,” so it would’ve been pretty special if the Niners had taken him and he ended up becoming the Brady we all know now in red and gold.
What if Jimmy Garoppolo hit Emmanuel Sanders in the Super Bowl?
The Niners didn’t get Brady, but they did eventually trade for the next best thing: his backup.
Jimmy Garoppolo was good enough to get the Niners to the Super Bowl in the 2019 season, although that had a lot more to do with San Francisco's running attack and defense than him.
He played OK in the game, completing 20 of 31 passes for 219 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions.
Yet, if he had hit Emmanuel Sanders late in the fourth quarter, that could have changed everything.
Down 24-20 on 3rd-and-10 from around midfield with about a minute and a half on the clock, Sanders actually beat two defensive backs and was open. Garoppolo took the shot but overthrew the ball by a few yards, and San Francisco lost the game.
Had Sanders caught the pass, maybe he would’ve scored, or he may have been down within the 10-yard line, which could have given San Francisco a chance to redeem itself after failing to run the ball with Gore in a very similar situation seven years prior.
What if Joe Montana didn’t get injured against New York Giants?
The 1990 Niners looked primed to repeat. They had won the Super Bowl the two prior years and went 14-2 in the regular season, easily won its divisional-round matchup, and was leading 13-9 in the fourth quarter against the New York Giants in the NFC Championship game.
That’s when Giants defensive lineman Leonard Marshall put a huge hit on Joe Montana, a hit that earned Marshall a place on our 25 biggest 49ers villains list, which forced a fumble and was recovered by New York.
Montana was knocked out of the game, and the Giants scored a field goal and then another field goal after a Roger Craig fumble to win the game 15-13.
If Montana doesn’t get hurt, it’s hard to see the Niners losing that game. He was so experienced and had played in so many big games at that point, that his preternatural “Joe Cool” calm probably would have led to a win or a score to ice the game.
And it wouldn’t have shocked anyone if the Niners won the Super Bowl and became the first, and only, NFL team to three-peat.
What if Kyle Williams hadn’t muffed those punts against Giants?
While we are on the subject of heartbreaking 49ers losses to the Giants in the NFC Championship game decided by awfully timed fumbles, why don’t we take a trip down Kyle Williams lane?
Williams muffed not one, but two punts in the 2011 NFC Championship game. He muffed one in the fourth quarter that was recovered by New York and led to a touchdown, and then he muffed another one in overtime, which led to the Giants kicking the game-winning field goal.
If he hadn’t muffed those punts, maybe the Niners win that game, but they would’ve had a tough Super Bowl matchup going up against the Patriots.
What if Jaquiski Tartt had caught that easy interception?
Yet another NFC Championship heartbreaker occurred during the 2021 season, this time against the Rams.
With the Niners up 17-14 and the clock just under 10 minutes in the fourth quarter, Matthew Stafford made one of his classic ill-advised throws that hit safety Jaquiski Tartt in the chest, but he couldn’t secure it.
Who knows if the Niners win the game if he catches that pass, but that might have been the momentum-shifting play they needed. If San Francisco drives down and scores a touchdown it probably would’ve had a 10-point lead with five minutes left.
We know how Shanahan has a gift for blowing leads, but if the 49ers had held on, they would’ve had a date with the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl, a team they had beaten earlier in the regular season.
What if 49ers never brought in Steve Young?
Arguably the most heated quarterback controversy in NFL history was between Montana and Steve Young.
Acquired via trade from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1987, Walsh tried to get Young involved more and more, which understandably irked Montana, who felt the 49ers were his team.
Ultimately, without Young there to motivate him, perhaps Montana doesn’t have the determination to stay as sharp as he did and win the Super Bowl in both the 1988 and 1989 seasons, which ended the controversy until Montana got knocked out by Leonard Marshall.
What if 49ers had never traded Joe Montana?
Conversely, it’s interesting to ponder what would have happened if the Niners never traded Montana to the Chiefs.
Montana didn’t play in 1991 and 1992, due to an elbow injury, which allowed Young to step into the spotlight.
Ultimately, head coach George Seifert went with Young over Montana, and the face of the franchise was traded away.
While it still doesn’t feel right to see Montana in a Chiefs uniform, and he proved that he still had gas left in the tank in the 1993 season, the quarterback drama needed to end at some point. Young delivered a title to the 49ers in the 1994 season and kept them relevant throughout the decade, which is more than Montana would’ve been able to do, since he was older than Young and retired in 1995, while the left-handed scrambler played until the 1999 season.
What if Chiefs were called for holding on 3rd-and-15?
The 49ers had the Chiefs on the ropes back during their first Super Bowl matchup in the 2019 season. Up by 10 points with under eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Chiefs had a 3rd-and-15, and it seemed like the Niners were going to ice it.
Instead, Patrick Mahomes worked his magic and launched a 44-yard pass to Tyreek Hill. They scored a touchdown, then scored another one and went on to win the game.
But there was a blatant missed holding call on that 3rd-and-15 as Nick Bosa was obviously held by Chiefs left tackle Eric Fisher.
If that gets called, then it’s 3rd-and-25, which may have been too far even for Mahomes’ magic and could’ve changed the outcome of the game.
What if 49ers had drafted Patrick Mahomes?
While we’re on the subject of that pesky Mahomes, maybe there’s some world in which he hasn’t been a thorn in San Francisco’s side for years and actually donned the red and gold.
Mahomes went No. 10 overall to the Chiefs in the 2017 NFL Draft, but the Niners held the No. 3 overall pick and decided to select defensive lineman Solomon Thomas out of Stanford.
Thomas never quite lived up to expectations, while Mahomes is already one of the best quarterbacks ever.
Had the 49ers had the foresight to pick him, it’s scary to think how good he could have been in Shanahan’s offense and how many Super Bowls the Niners might have right now.
What if Chris Borland didn’t retire?
The 2014 season was hard for the 49ers for a lot of reasons, but the surprise retirement of linebacker Chris Borland didn’t help matters. He stepped away from the game due to concerns about concussions and CTE and recently wrote about what his time after the NFL has been like.
Borland had a great rookie season in 2014, recording 108 tackles and two interceptions on the year. Had he continued on that trajectory, maybe he would have made a nice pairing with Fred Warner down the line.
As things worked out, the 49ers formed a pretty great tandem at linebacker between Warner and Dre Greenlaw.
Speaking of which…
What if Dre Greenlaw hadn’t torn his Achilles in the Super Bowl?
The 49ers easily could have beaten the Chiefs in their second Super Bowl matchup. They had a lot of chances, and the game was so close, going into overtime where San Francisco took the lead on a field goal, only for the Chiefs to go down and win it with a touchdown.
Just one play, or one player, could have made a world of difference.
Greenlaw has always been the enforcer on San Francisco’s defense, and he’d made big plays in that very postseason, like when he intercepted Jordan Love to ice the game against the Green Bay Packers. Or what about that huge hit on the goal line in Seattle back in 2019, which secured the No. 1 seed for San Francisco?
He could’ve made a similar sort of play against the Chiefs, but as he was amped up and getting ready to run back on the field during the second quarter, he tore his Achilles and was done for the game.
Not only did the 49ers lose one of their best players on defense, but the psychological toll of losing such an important player had to have hurt as well. The Niners didn’t need much more to win that game, and Greenlaw staying healthy could have made all the difference.
What if Alex Smith hadn’t gotten hurt?
The 49ers bounced back from the loss to the Giants to end the 2011 season and were rolling to start 2012 until Smith got a concussion.
That led to Kaepernick taking over San Francisco’s offense, but what if Smith never got hurt?
Smith was playing well enough that he wouldn’t have been benched, and he proved in 2011 that he was good enough to get the Niners to the Super Bowl. Smith was solid for the Niners, but Kaepernick’s arm strength and speed gave the offense something it was missing, so it’s doubtful the Niners would have won the Super Bowl if Smith remained under center, but one never knows.
What if 49ers had signed Peyton Manning?
While Kaepernick was the guy who ended up supplanting Smith as quarterback, it was nearly Peyton Manning who ended up replacing him.
Manning was a free agent following the 2011 season, and Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman flew to North Carolina to watch a workout with Manning.
They were very interested in him and were one of the finalists for his services, but Manning ended up choosing the Denver Broncos instead.
Manning still had plenty of gas left in the tank, as he had some of his best career seasons with Denver, so if he had chosen the Niners, maybe he would’ve brought a Super Bowl back to San Francisco.
What if Trent Baalke hadn’t forced out Jim Harbaugh?
Harbaugh never had a losing season in his four years with San Francisco. His teams went 13-3, 11-4-1, 12-4, and 8-8 under his leadership. They made two NFC Championship games and a Super Bowl. Yet his final year in 2014 was so trying, and his relationship with general manager Trent Baalke was so bad, Harbaugh got forced out even though it was called a “mutual parting of ways.”
It’s interesting to ponder what would have happened if team CEO Jed York had decided to get rid of Baalke instead of Harbaugh. Maybe the Niners simply weren’t sustainable under Harbaugh’s volatile, high-energy leadership, but it’s hard to see them having the awful seasons they did in 2015 and 2016 under Harbaugh.
What if 49ers had given Chip Kelly another season?
Jim Tomsula was the guy to replace Harbaugh in 2015, and the 49ers went 5-11.
Tomsula got fired and Chip Kelly was brought in to replace him. Things got even worse as the team went 2-14.
It would have been easy for the Niners to give Kelly another chance after that year. Sure, San Francisco was awful, but the optics of firing two straight coaches after one season were not good.
Thankfully, it proved to be a wise decision as San Francisco brought in Shanahan as head coach and John Lynch as general manager. That duo completely changed the franchise’s fortunes and built a sustainable model for success.
What if Rams had traded for Christian McCaffrey instead of 49ers?
Arguably the best move the Shanahan-Lynch duo has made during their time in San Francisco was to trade for running back Christian McCaffrey.
He completely changed the offense, and when he’s healthy, the Niners are always competitive.
But he was nearly a member of the Rams.
The Rams made a strong trade offer to the Carolina Panthers, but ultimately Carolina went with San Francisco’s trade package instead. Had McCaffrey gone to L.A., that would have completely shifted the balance of power in the NFC this decade.
The Rams already have one Super Bowl this decade, but maybe they’d have more had they acquired McCaffrey instead of San Francisco.
What if Richard Sherman hadn’t tipped that pass?
The 49ers-Seahawks rivalry was at its peak in the 2013 season. Going into the year, they were clearly the two best teams in the NFC, so it wasn’t a shock to anyone they faced off in the NFC Championship game.
With 30 seconds left in the game, and the 49ers down 23-17 with the ball near Seattle’s 20-yard line, Kaepernick tried to hit wide receiver Michael Crabtree in the end zone, but Richard Sherman tipped it and it was intercepted.
Looking back, there was no need for the Niners to take a shot and challenge Sherman there. They had time on the clock and two timeouts, plus that play happened on 1st-and-10. They could’ve even tried to run it if they wanted to, but instead, they went for it all and paid the price.
With how feckless Denver looked in that Super Bowl against Seattle, it’s fair to consider the NFC Championship the real Super Bowl that year because it seemed like whichever team won was going to steamroll the Broncos.
That’s the pain and beauty of "what-if's," though. The Niners have had misfortune visit them plenty of times, but they’ve also been lucky enough to be one of the premier franchises in the NFL.
Still, greedy fans like me can’t help but wish some of these “what-if” moments had gone the other way for San Francisco.
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