Former San Francisco QB Jeff Garcia criticizes 49ers management

By Luke Dahlgren | Apr 4, 2015

Oct 25, 2013; London, United Kingdom, USA; General view of San Francisco 49ers guard Joe Looney holding a helmet at practice at Allianz Park Stadium in advance of the NFL International Series game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

The former 49ers quarterback talked to the Eureka Times-Standard to criticize the 49ers management for dismantling the team.

For fans of the team, the San Francisco 49ers offseason has gone about as well as the Bolshevik Revolution for the czar.

After three consecutive seasons reaching the NFC Championship game, including a Super Bowl appearance, the 49ers missed the playoffs and looked lost throughout most of the year. Their first move of the offseason was to part with head coach Jim Harbaugh, and since then have also seen linebackers Patrick Willis and Chris Borland retire from the league.

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The Eureka Times-Standard talked to former 49ers quarterback Jeff Garcia about the situation. For Garcia, the fish stinks at the head.

From the Eureka Times-Standard:

"“As a fan you have to really look at the management of the organization and the decisions that they’ve made for that team,” Garcia said. “Sometimes what I see … is you have a lot of personnel that are in positions of power that don’t have real football backgrounds. I’m not saying that’s Trent Baalke, but I’d like to see what his background is, and what gives him the true power to make those sort of decisions.“We know that Jed York never played football.”"

Garcia compared the departure of Jim Harbaugh to a similar instance regarding Garcia’s former coach Steve Mariucci. Mariucci was fired following a 10-6 season and a power struggle with general manager Terry Donahue. The firing was made easier by the 49ers 31-6 playoff loss to the eventual champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but after Mariucci left, the 49ers failed to reach the playoffs in eight years.

With Harbaugh reportedly having the similar issues with the 49ers front office, Garcia wonders if the team will be heading down the same road they did 12 years ago when they let Mariucci walk.

Garcia is a little late to be providing a hot take on the 49ers front office mismanagement. The team has already faced scrutiny from the fans this offseason, and the team may be facing major protest. In 2012, Kansas City fans started the “Save our Chiefs” campaign, and it led to GM Scott Pioli’s firing and to owner Clark Hunt becoming more involved with the franchise.

The 49ers have the opposite problem with their owner, and at this point it may be too early to tell whether or not the team is repeating their 2003 offseason nightmare. Baalke has proven that he can draft talented players, and new head coach Jim Tomsula gives the team some consistency after being promoted from within.

But Niners fans have every right to be skeptics. They have seen it before.

[H/T: Eureka Times-Standard]

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