San Francisco 49ers kicker Robbie Gould has been Mr. Consistent for the team over the past two seasons. The 14-year veteran has made 29 of his 30 field goal attempts this season while converting 24 of his 26 extra-point attempts.
Gould, a long-time Chicago Bear, is in his second and possibly final season with the 49ers. He is scheduled to become a free agent in March. The 49ers have made it clear they love having a reliable kicker, and Gould loves playing for San Francisco.
"Of course we want Robbie back," head coach Kyle Shanahan said after the 49ers' Week 15 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. "He's been great for two years. It's nice for a coach, that when you get to the end of that, I'm not thinking about him missing it at all."
Gould, who joined KNBR on Wednesday, shared what playing in San Francisco has meant to him over the past two seasons.
"I love it here," Gould said on the "Murph & Mac" show. "I think it's a great place. I think the organization does a lot of things. When I make decisions, I don't just make decisions on, 'Oh yeah, let's just come back.' It's going to come down to a lot of different things."
It isn't as simple as mutual respect for one another. For Gould, money isn't the deciding factor either. Knowing he was entering the final year of his deal, his wife and three children remained back in their Chicago home. His future may not be in San Francisco, so it didn't make sense to uproot the entire family.
"Obviously, I'd love to be back here," Gould continued. "Right now, I'm not really too worried about that. I think I have like 12 days left in the season, counting down going to see my five, three, (and) five-week-old baby. If it works out that way, then it works out that way. If it doesn't, then obviously they have a decision they have to make. Then I'll have an opportunity to make a decision that I have to make."
The 49ers may decide to get younger at kicker. Although, as Shanahan pointed out, there is something to having that reliable veteran experience. That showed on Sunday when Gould kicked the game-winning field goal in overtime to snap a 10-game losing streak against the Seahawks.
Money shouldn't be too big a factor either for the financially responsible 49ers.
For Gould, playing home games in the Bay Area has meant more to him than simply getting out of the cold late-season weather he experienced in Chicago and with the New York Giants. He has a lot of respect for the organization itself and how its players are treated.
"Ultimately, at the end of the day, I hope I'm back here," Gould continued. "If that's how it is, I love it here. I've enjoyed it here. I think this place checks a lot of boxes off as a player. I think the support staff here is phenomenal. I think the York family has been incredible through the entire two years I've been here, especially through some tough situations that my wife and I have had to deal with, whether it's delivering a baby, whether it's going through a personal situation last training camp.
"I don't think they get enough credit for the human side of football. Everyone looks at wins and losses, and I think those are things that, as a player, you take into account. And then you go to my special teams room, that room is probably the best room I've had in my 14-year career. Those are things that all go into it."
Gould will keep his family's best interests in mind when he decides on his football future. His wife, Lauren, has carried the burden of managing things on her own while he is away. That's a tall order when you already have two young kids and add a five-week-old to the mix.
"Those are decisions that you're going to have to make as a family to figure out whether their stability or your career, wherever you're at in that point, makes sense," Gould added. "Like I said, I don't make decisions that are just, 'Let's go and let's get this done.' It's going to be a very educated, calculated decision on what's best for my family, and it will ultimately be what's best for the organization too, and we're all on the same page on that."
Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo's name came up during the interview. What was interesting is that Gould brought him up in a rather amusing way. He was asked if he pays attention to kicker controversies around the league (yup). For example, Peyton Manning's famous "idiot kicker" remark about Mike Vanderjagt at the 2003 Pro Bowl.
"I don't really pay much attention to Peyton Manning and Mike Vanderjagt's exchanges, obviously," Gould responded. "I think I'll just sit here and talk about how handsome Jimmy G is and how great he looks in his Michael Jordan shoes and cleats, and how great he spins the ball.
"And did I mention how good looking he is? I hate that. I mean, honestly, 25, 26 years old, good looking, quarterback in the National Football League. I would hate that, for sure."
Before the interview ended, Gould was asked if he would like to say anything more about Garoppolo.
"He's extremely handsome," he added. "Ladies, he's 26, 27 years old. We can put out a PSA."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Gould below.