Kawakami's latest

Originally posted by RollinWith21n52:
To people supporting the Baalke hire, let me ask you. If we were to go out and get the director of player personnel from the Bills, Panthers, Broncos, etc. would you still think that was OK? Because what we're doing to fix this team is getting the director of player personnel from a bad team. It's normally guys from NE, Baltimore, NYG, etc etc that get these jobs...not guys from the worst teams in the league. But hey, his first draft was brilliant, because you know, so many of these rookies have been great for us. And if you think rookies don't make a difference, go check out Cleveland's draft, or KC's draft, this year.

Pretty hard to ignore all the truth in this post. Basically it's the same thing they did when hiring Sing. Instead of really cleaning house and getting an experienced guy they just hired the previous guy's protege. I have faith that Baalke if he is the guy can do a better job, but at the same time this looks like a replay of the same bad movie.

We're missing the point here. If Baalke turns out to be a great GM, then that's excellent. Kudos to us. But it will have been by luck that it worked out, rather than anything else.

The whole point of launching a wide GM search is to allow yourself to weigh all potential options and get a better perspective of the field. I don't think Jed's done that. We only know of two people he's interviewed (Softli and Sundquist). We're unsure as to whether or not he had other football-knowledgable people in the room with him, making the evaluation.

So, when Jed turns around and says: hey I found our guy, and I did it all by myself! my eyebrows go up. How does a 29-year-old exec who's looked clueless in the past suddenly think that he's got the answer after only 2 days?

I think Kawakami's right. Jed doesn't know what he's doing. Sometimes you get lucky, like when your 6th round draft pick out of Michigan turns out to be an all-pro, but most of the time, if you don't know what you're doing, you're just going to get exposed.

If Baalke really is our future GM, I will root for him, but I hope like heck that Jed is smarter than that.

Originally posted by Louiecomelately:
We're missing the point here. If Baalke turns out to be a great GM, then that's excellent. Kudos to us. But it will have been by luck that it worked out, rather than anything else.

The whole point of launching a wide GM search is to allow yourself to weigh all potential options and get a better perspective of the field. I don't think Jed's done that. We only know of two people he's interviewed (Softli and Sundquist). We're unsure as to whether or not he had other football-knowledgable people in the room with him, making the evaluation.

So, when Jed turns around and says: hey I found our guy, and I did it all by myself! my eyebrows go up. How does a 29-year-old exec who's looked clueless in the past suddenly think that he's got the answer after only 2 days?

I think Kawakami's right. Jed doesn't know what he's doing. Sometimes you get lucky, like when your 6th round draft pick out of Michigan turns out to be an all-pro, but most of the time, if you don't know what you're doing, you're just going to get exposed.

If Baalke really is our future GM, I will root for him, but I hope like heck that Jed is smarter than that.

Well said.

Originally posted by NinerGM:

Originally posted by Louiecomelately:
We're missing the point here. If Baalke turns out to be a great GM, then that's excellent. Kudos to us. But it will have been by luck that it worked out, rather than anything else.

The whole point of launching a wide GM search is to allow yourself to weigh all potential options and get a better perspective of the field. I don't think Jed's done that. We only know of two people he's interviewed (Softli and Sundquist). We're unsure as to whether or not he had other football-knowledgable people in the room with him, making the evaluation.

So, when Jed turns around and says: hey I found our guy, and I did it all by myself! my eyebrows go up. How does a 29-year-old exec who's looked clueless in the past suddenly think that he's got the answer after only 2 days?

I think Kawakami's right. Jed doesn't know what he's doing. Sometimes you get lucky, like when your 6th round draft pick out of Michigan turns out to be an all-pro, but most of the time, if you don't know what you're doing, you're just going to get exposed.

If Baalke really is our future GM, I will root for him, but I hope like heck that Jed is smarter than that.

But the fact that we are assuming its all a charade is SPECULATION. What's amazing to me is that all this criticism is based on what everyone thinks is going on behind the scenes. I'm not sure I quite understand all the consternation over rumor, innuendo, suggestion.

There is a clear slant to the article - that Baalke search was a "set-up". Could it at all be possible that Jed has been talking to people around the league for a while now and they've been saying Baalke is your best choice? Remember this guy has ties throughout the NFL working under Parcells and was a part of the Redskins when Casserly was there.

I'm not saying I know 100% what's going on. There are a lot of talking sources right now and most of it is rumor. We won't know what's going on until it happens. I think then people can complain or criticize. However, until that point the energy invested in the vitriol around here is insane.

What really pisses me off is in everyone's rush to criticize Baalke, as if he was responsible for what happened on the field this season. If you're going to give Baalke more power, and that move is approved by some of the best NFL execs out there, then I don't have a problem with that. If Eddie D has been saying Baalke is your guy, then I don't have a problem with the decision.

We know one thing is absolutely true; Jed is getting advice from his uncle and from others who have successful organizations. If any of you recall Eddie's interview, he actually was the first person to say changes were coming weeks before Singletary was fired. That tells me Jed and Eddie had been talking about this for some time.

Bottomline; does any of this means things will get better? No. However, it certainly doesn't mean that Kawakami (wrong about 49ers taking Clausson), Killion, Cohen, LaConfora (wrong about a myriad of things) are 100% right in their assessments. Things are incredibly fluid right now and there Tweets are geared more for reading their articles than divulging any real facts at this point.

Just my 2 cents.

Excellent post NinerGm

Baalke's resume is the talent on the field. The reason every pundit in the world, including Kawakami, including Cohn, picked the Niners to win the NFC West this year was that the talent on the field was clearly there. That is not even an arguable point.

So if you don't trust York to make a good GM hire decsion, you should be cheering for him to retain the one proven commodity he has -- Baalke.

But if you trust York to make a good GM hire decision, then you cheer for him to get someone better.

Originally posted by 190836:

Originally posted by Louiecomelately:
We're missing the point here. If Baalke turns out to be a great GM, then that's excellent. Kudos to us. But it will have been by luck that it worked out, rather than anything else.

The whole point of launching a wide GM search is to allow yourself to weigh all potential options and get a better perspective of the field. I don't think Jed's done that. We only know of two people he's interviewed (Softli and Sundquist). We're unsure as to whether or not he had other football-knowledgable people in the room with him, making the evaluation.

So, when Jed turns around and says: hey I found our guy, and I did it all by myself! my eyebrows go up. How does a 29-year-old exec who's looked clueless in the past suddenly think that he's got the answer after only 2 days?

I think Kawakami's right. Jed doesn't know what he's doing. Sometimes you get lucky, like when your 6th round draft pick out of Michigan turns out to be an all-pro, but most of the time, if you don't know what you're doing, you're just going to get exposed.

If Baalke really is our future GM, I will root for him, but I hope like heck that Jed is smarter than that.

Well said.

I concur-- well said.

Why not interview other serious candidates–ANY SERIOUS CANDIDATES–who, at the very least, could toss out alternate ideas and challenge the 49ers’ status quo?


This is what gets me. This search has been a charade all along.

Originally posted by NinerGM:

Originally posted by RichnSanRamon:
Baalke's resume is the talent on the field. The reason every pundit in the world, including Kawakami, including Cohn, picked the Niners to win the NFC West this year was that the talent on the field was clearly there. That is not even an arguable point.

So if you don't trust York to make a good GM hire decsion, you should be cheering for him to retain the one proven commodity he has -- Baalke.

But if you trust York to make a good GM hire decision, then you cheer for him to get someone better.

People forget - this was the 2010 49er Offseason from a GM perspective:

1)Willis extended
2) Davis extended
3) Ted Ginn brought in for a 6th (no loss there for a WR/PR/KR)
4) Decent draft with 2 starters and a up-and-coming back-up
6) Sims re-signed for 2 years (brilliant signing)
5) Brian Westbrook signed back-up to Gore (brilliant signing)
6) All first round picks signed well before training camp
7) Didn't cave in to Manny Lawson
8) Didn't cave in to Abruyo Franklin
9) Didn't cave in to extending Dashon Goldson but drafted his replacement
10) Travis LaBoy signed (had almost as many sacks as Haralson and Lawson combined)

Maybe it's me but that's a kick-ass GM off-season for the 49ers. This is MUCH better than the drunken McCloughan decisions.

Tell me what's wrong with this list as a GM.

Do I think this is enough to make him GM? Maybe not, but that's a damn good start in my opinion. What's insane to me is Baalke is getting hammered for "the failure on the field." I agree with Kawakami that Singletary was allowed to run a muck but that's the power structure Jed created. Singletary inherited Nolan's role. That MUST be changed. Maybe it is ..... but Baalke, IMHO saved what respectability was left.

Imagine just how angry the NT would be without Sims, Westbrook or LaBoy. Adam Snyder playing LT, a rook who has problems keeping his feet at RB and absolutely no pass-rush at all.

Everyone's head would have exploded.

I think Baalke has done a good job for the one season--but it still would be going into the world of the unknown since there isn't enough data to predict the future.
The Niners went heavy into trying to fix the OL---so the secondary and DL didn't get touched in 2010--nor the QB.

My hunch is Baalke is smart and would learn quickly--even from mistakes--but I am just guessing--I can't really know.

But I agree with Tim--if Baalke gets us Harbaugh---good going---if Harbaugh doesn't sign the dotted line---yikes--here we go again.

Originally posted by sfninerfanMax:

Originally posted by NinerGM:

Originally posted by RichnSanRamon:
Baalke's resume is the talent on the field. The reason every pundit in the world, including Kawakami, including Cohn, picked the Niners to win the NFC West this year was that the talent on the field was clearly there. That is not even an arguable point.

So if you don't trust York to make a good GM hire decsion, you should be cheering for him to retain the one proven commodity he has -- Baalke.

But if you trust York to make a good GM hire decision, then you cheer for him to get someone better.

People forget - this was the 2010 49er Offseason from a GM perspective:

1)Willis extended
2) Davis extended
3) Ted Ginn brought in for a 6th (no loss there for a WR/PR/KR)
4) Decent draft with 2 starters and a up-and-coming back-up
6) Sims re-signed for 2 years (brilliant signing)
5) Brian Westbrook signed back-up to Gore (brilliant signing)
6) All first round picks signed well before training camp
7) Didn't cave in to Manny Lawson
8) Didn't cave in to Abruyo Franklin
9) Didn't cave in to extending Dashon Goldson but drafted his replacement
10) Travis LaBoy signed (had almost as many sacks as Haralson and Lawson combined)

Maybe it's me but that's a kick-ass GM off-season for the 49ers. This is MUCH better than the drunken McCloughan decisions.

Tell me what's wrong with this list as a GM.

Do I think this is enough to make him GM? Maybe not, but that's a damn good start in my opinion. What's insane to me is Baalke is getting hammered for "the failure on the field." I agree with Kawakami that Singletary was allowed to run a muck but that's the power structure Jed created. Singletary inherited Nolan's role. That MUST be changed. Maybe it is ..... but Baalke, IMHO saved what respectability was left.

Imagine just how angry the NT would be without Sims, Westbrook or LaBoy. Adam Snyder playing LT, a rook who has problems keeping his feet at RB and absolutely no pass-rush at all.

Everyone's head would have exploded.

I think Baalke has done a good job for the one season--but it still would be going into the world of the unknown since there isn't enough data to predict the future.
The Niners went heavy into trying to fix the OL---so the secondary and DL didn't get touched in 2010--nor the QB.

My hunch is Baalke is smart and would learn quickly--even from mistakes--but I am just guessing--I can't really know.

But I agree with Tim--if Baalke gets us Harbaugh---good going---if Harbaugh doesn't sign the dotted line---yikes--here we go again.

That's the gamble. Not sure we should be putting all of our eggs in one basket.

No need to hate on Kawa. He's putting together the bits of info that are
out there and giving you his opinion. That's his job. He's pretty good at it
and has been right about the 9ers more than his share of times.
Save the Jimmy Clauson comments please.

This whole process reeks of a sham. York gets all fired up, drops Eddie D's
name a couple times. Tells us he's going to hire a veteran GM from outside the
org. Only to leak out that Balke is the front runner for the job one token
Rooney rule interview and two days later. And why hasn't he talked to Parcels about Balke before? He just thought of this now? So York.

I've been trying to be open minded about Jed. But its starting to look
more and more like he's just a mouthpiece for his ma and pa.
When it comes to the big checks I doubt he's got any real swag.

Keeping this front office intact is ridiculous. Jed can re-arrange the
deck chairs on the Titanic all he wants. The results will still be the same.

Originally posted by boriken_9er:

Originally posted by 49er4life:

Originally posted by RollinWith21n52:
To people supporting the Baalke hire, let me ask you. If we were to go out and get the director of player personnel from the Bills, Panthers, Broncos, etc. would you still think that was OK? Because what we're doing to fix this team is getting the director of player personnel from a bad team. It's normally guys from NE, Baltimore, NYG, etc etc that get these jobs...not guys from the worst teams in the league. But hey, his first draft was brilliant, because you know, so many of these rookies have been great for us. And if you think rookies don't make a difference, go check out Cleveland's draft, or KC's draft, this year.

The only problem I see with this is, why would anybody from NE, Baltimore, or NY want to come to a team that has such a recent history of inept ownership that has no clue what it is doing? Sure Jed seems to be saying the right thing, but words mean nothing it is the action that counts.

If Jed can pull off a big hire, I am all for it. Although I will not be holding my breath.

If you worked for NE, Baltimore or NY and have no shot of becoming the GM, would you stick around? There are only 32 GM positions in the whole league and they rarely become available, of course, you would jump on it.

You forget the reputation the 49ers have acquired over the last decade. There are GM openings every year, and in most cases with organizations that are... well, organized.

The 49ers have a 29 year old CEO, are disorganized, and have the potential to ruin your career, vs. waiting a year or two and going to a team with owners that have proven they want to win and have better personnel in place. What do you do?

Originally posted by 49er4life:

Originally posted by boriken_9er:

Originally posted by 49er4life:

Originally posted by RollinWith21n52:
To people supporting the Baalke hire, let me ask you. If we were to go out and get the director of player personnel from the Bills, Panthers, Broncos, etc. would you still think that was OK? Because what we're doing to fix this team is getting the director of player personnel from a bad team. It's normally guys from NE, Baltimore, NYG, etc etc that get these jobs...not guys from the worst teams in the league. But hey, his first draft was brilliant, because you know, so many of these rookies have been great for us. And if you think rookies don't make a difference, go check out Cleveland's draft, or KC's draft, this year.

The only problem I see with this is, why would anybody from NE, Baltimore, or NY want to come to a team that has such a recent history of inept ownership that has no clue what it is doing? Sure Jed seems to be saying the right thing, but words mean nothing it is the action that counts.

If Jed can pull off a big hire, I am all for it. Although I will not be holding my breath.

If you worked for NE, Baltimore or NY and have no shot of becoming the GM, would you stick around? There are only 32 GM positions in the whole league and they rarely become available, of course, you would jump on it.

You forget the reputation the 49ers have acquired over the last decade. There are GM openings every year, and in most cases with organizations that are... well, organized.

The 49ers have a 29 year old CEO, are disorganized, and have the potential to ruin your career, vs. waiting a year or two and going to a team with owners that have proven they want to win and have better personnel in place. What do you do?

Well organized teams have GMs...not GM job openings. The Lions, Bills, and Browns get openings. We're not the bottom of the barrel in that group.

I assume you are including Anthony Davis as one of your "starters" but I don't think you can safely say he is starting material yet. Jury is definitely still out on him. Iupati is solid and a furture pro bowler IMO, but he's just a guard. I also really don't like Baalke giving up a 4th round pick to jump up and get AD. That reeked of panic and inexperience. Other than that I like your points NinerGM

Originally posted by NinerGM:

Originally posted by RichnSanRamon:
Baalke's resume is the talent on the field. The reason every pundit in the world, including Kawakami, including Cohn, picked the Niners to win the NFC West this year was that the talent on the field was clearly there. That is not even an arguable point.

So if you don't trust York to make a good GM hire decsion, you should be cheering for him to retain the one proven commodity he has -- Baalke.

But if you trust York to make a good GM hire decision, then you cheer for him to get someone better.

People forget - this was the 2010 49er Offseason from a GM perspective:

1)Willis extended
2) Davis extended
3) Ted Ginn brought in for a 6th (no loss there for a WR/PR/KR)
4) Decent draft with 2 starters and a up-and-coming back-up
6) Sims re-signed for 2 years (brilliant signing)
5) Brian Westbrook signed back-up to Gore (brilliant signing)
6) All first round picks signed well before training camp
7) Didn't cave in to Manny Lawson
8) Didn't cave in to Abruyo Franklin
9) Didn't cave in to extending Dashon Goldson but drafted his replacement
10) Travis LaBoy signed (had almost as many sacks as Haralson and Lawson combined)

Maybe it's me but that's a kick-ass GM off-season for the 49ers. This is MUCH better than the drunken McCloughan decisions.

Tell me what's wrong with this list as a GM.

Do I think this is enough to make him GM? Maybe not, but that's a damn good start in my opinion. What's insane to me is Baalke is getting hammered for "the failure on the field." I agree with Kawakami that Singletary was allowed to run a muck but that's the power structure Jed created. Singletary inherited Nolan's role. That MUST be changed. Maybe it is ..... but Baalke, IMHO saved what respectability was left.

Imagine just how angry the NT would be without Sims, Westbrook or LaBoy. Adam Snyder playing LT, a rook who has problems keeping his feet at RB and absolutely no pass-rush at all.

Everyone's head would have exploded.

Originally posted by m_brockalexander:
As usual............the truth hurts. If this Baalke stuff is true and Jed goes for the easy solution instead of actually taking his time to find the "right man for the job", get used to another 5 years of losing.

I told everybody. I called it. Same Yorks...

Originally posted by NinerGM:

Originally posted by RichnSanRamon:
Baalke's resume is the talent on the field. The reason every pundit in the world, including Kawakami, including Cohn, picked the Niners to win the NFC West this year was that the talent on the field was clearly there. That is not even an arguable point.

So if you don't trust York to make a good GM hire decsion, you should be cheering for him to retain the one proven commodity he has -- Baalke.

But if you trust York to make a good GM hire decision, then you cheer for him to get someone better.

People forget - this was the 2010 49er Offseason from a GM perspective:

1)Willis extended
2) Davis extended
3) Ted Ginn brought in for a 6th (no loss there for a WR/PR/KR)
4) Decent draft with 2 starters and a up-and-coming back-up
6) Sims re-signed for 2 years (brilliant signing)
5) Brian Westbrook signed back-up to Gore (brilliant signing)
6) All first round picks signed well before training camp
7) Didn't cave in to Manny Lawson
8) Didn't cave in to Abruyo Franklin
9) Didn't cave in to extending Dashon Goldson but drafted his replacement
10) Travis LaBoy signed (had almost as many sacks as Haralson and Lawson combined)

Maybe it's me but that's a kick-ass GM off-season for the 49ers. This is MUCH better than the drunken McCloughan decisions.

Tell me what's wrong with this list as a GM.

Do I think this is enough to make him GM? Maybe not, but that's a damn good start in my opinion. What's insane to me is Baalke is getting hammered for "the failure on the field." I agree with Kawakami that Singletary was allowed to run a muck but that's the power structure Jed created. Singletary inherited Nolan's role. That MUST be changed. Maybe it is ..... but Baalke, IMHO saved what respectability was left.

Imagine just how angry the NT would be without Sims, Westbrook or LaBoy. Adam Snyder playing LT, a rook who has problems keeping his feet at RB and absolutely no pass-rush at all.

Everyone's head would have exploded.

I think it was Maiocco who pointed out and I agree: Baalke's issues have more to do with his presence in the building. This season he still behaved like a scout and wasn't around for most of the year. As a GM, he has to put an enitre structure in place and then oversee it on a daily basis. That's the part I'm unsure of.

As far as a talent evaluator, I'm with you, I liked his offseason.