49ers General Manager Trent Baalke cracks the coaching whip

The San Francisco 49ers‘ front office clashed with former head coach Jim Harbaugh, and GM Trent Baalke is on the hunt for a candidate he can keep under control.

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The marriage between the San Francisco 49ers and Jim Harbaugh was destined to end in divorce — Harbaugh sought the personnel power that General Manager Trent Baalke has wielded since Harbaugh’s hire in 2011. When he didn’t get it, Harbaugh clashed with Baalke on multiple occasions, according to CSN Bay Area.

Their poisoned relationship eventually led the 49ers to part ways with Harbaugh, who finished the 2014 season a disappointing 8-8. In his four years with the organization, Harbaugh went 44-19-1, taking the team to three straight NFC Championship games and Super Bowl XLVII.

After Sunday’s announcement that Harbaugh was out as head coach, one thing was clear — Harbaugh’s record wasn’t ever going to be good enough. No matter how may games he won, no matter how dominant his defenses were, he didn’t win football’s ultimate prize; the Super Bowl.

In Monday’s press conference with reporters, Jed York reiterated that hoisting the Lombardi Trophy is his only goal. “We expect to win the Super Bowl every year,” he said per the 49ers’ official website. “That is our goal.”

The 49ers didn’t win the Super Bowl this year because the team got away from its identity — the hard-nosed, ground-and-pound team built on a stout defense and power running game. When Harbaugh was hired in 2011, Frank Gore finished the season with 1,211 rushing yards and the team reached the NFC Championship game. This season, Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman asked Colin Kaepernick to carry the load, and he failed profusely. Kaepernick was expected to become the franchise’s next great quarterback, but looked more Jeff Garcia than Joe Montana. He consistently missed routine throws, panicked in the pocket, and took costly sacks to end promising drives.

Some may blame Kaepernick or a lack of weapons at wide receiver for the team’s failures this year, but it’s clear that York and Baalke blame Harbaugh. To them, Harbaugh strayed from the vision, tried to implement his own formula, and defied Baalke’s insistence that the team focus on the defense and running attack.

Now, the 49ers stand at a crossroads, with Baalke forced to choose which path the team takes. No hire will be as successful as Harbaugh was in his four-year tenure, and neither will make as much as a splash as he did in 2011. If Baalke wants to retain the power he so willingly kept from Harbaugh, he will need to choose a coach he can keep whipped.

Will Rex Ryan be forced to build teams with draft bust after draft bust? No. Will Mike Shanahan let Baalke tell him how to coach his team? Definitely not.

In firing Harbaugh and giving Baalke full personnel power, York has made a statement that the next coach of the 49ers must be willing to act as Baalke’s puppet. Baalke has a plan, and if you don’t like it, you’re more than happy to leave.

If you’re Jim Harbaugh, maybe that’s a good thing. For the next coach, good luck.

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