On Monday, San Francisco 49ers radio play-by-play announcer Ted Robinson joined ESPN 1320 on Monday and discussed the future of the team's quarterback and head coach positions.
"You have to have an answer at quarterback," said Robinson. "At ten weeks in, I can't believe that there's a view that there's an answer inside for quarterback so you have to go out. And you see what's happened with [Rams QB Jared] Goff. It took ten weeks for Goff to get on the field. Then you see a fourth-round guy in [Cowboys QB Dak] Prescott that's rippin' it. So you can see how inexact that science is.
"I personally think that at some point, you have to look at finding a veteran to be a placeholder while you develop young. And I think the Goff example is the cautionary tale of that. It would be fairly awkward to draft someone if you're the 49ers and throw him right into a team that isn't very good. They tried that with Alex Smith ten years ago and it didn't work."
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Robinson was also asked about the possibility of Chip Kelly not returning to the 49ers next season. "If you did that, you would be then on your fourth coach in four years," Robinson said. "That's no one's plan. The flip side is if this season doesn't turn in any way, shape, or form and you bought him out, you have to ask yourself, 'Is there an answer then?'
"That's a hard decision. I sure as heck wouldn't want to make it. I use the highway analogy here. At some point, you can't just keep filling the potholes. At some point you've got to tear the road up and rebuild the road, right? And no one expected the 49ers to be even in the position, but five years in, they might have to confront that. Is it time to rebuild a road because, again, 1-9. Sadly, these are all historic precedents that are beings set that are the wrong way. At some point, the results are speaking for themselves."
You can listen to the entire interview on ESPN 1320.