The friction between Jim Harbaugh and Trent Baalke has been well documented throughout the 2013 season. The chatter amongst media and fans had begun to fade until reports surfaced at the beginning of the NFL Scouting Combine that the 49ers had been approached by the Cleveland Browns regarding a potential trade involving Harbaugh and draft picks. While the topic may not be one that 49ers fans want to discuss, the friction between Harbaugh and Baalke is actually good news for the team and it's fans.
Through the 2014 season at least.
The tension has turned 2014 into championship or bust for the organization. The last time the environment at 4949 Centennial was this tense and focused heading into a season was 1994. Coming off back to back NFC Championship Game losses at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys and facing a new salary cap, the 49ers led by Eddie DeBartolo, Carmen Policy and George Seifert went all in to rebuild the defense and add a few pieces to the offense with the sole purpose of taking down the Cowboys.
The result was the fifth Super Bowl title for the organization. It is also its last.
Jim Harbaugh heads into 2014 with two years left on the five year deal he signed when he was hired in 2011, but for all intents and purposes this could be his final season on the 49ers sideline.
If the 49ers fail to win the Super Bowl this season it is very likely that Jed York will be forced to make a choice between Harbaugh and Baalke, and if it were to come to that, Baalke should be the choice.
Baalke has put together a roster capable of winning the championship, and while Harbaugh has done a good job of getting them close he has ultimately fallen short. In 2012, the team came up five yards short. To help fix the problems in the red zone Baalke made a move in the offseason to acquire Anquan Boldin, the receiver who made clutch play after clutch play in the red zone throughout the Ravens postseason run.
With a return trip to the Super Bowl on the line in the 2013 NFC Championship Game in Seattle, Harbaugh and his offensive staff called for Boldin to be targeted a grand total of zero times. That is unacceptable.
We saw a similar power struggle take place in Dallas between Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones, with Johnson ultimately leaving the Cowboys and Johnson replacing him with Barry Switzer.
While many 49ers fans will point to this as a reason the organization should stand behind Harbaugh, the situations are much different. During his time in Dallas, Johnson was heavily involved in the personnel side of building them into a Super Bowl contender. That's not the case in Santa Clara where Jed York has given Baalke complete control over the final roster.
Also, it's not as though the Cowboys lacked success after Johnson left. In their first two seasons under Switzer, the Cowboys reached the NFC Championship Game and won their third Super Bowl in four seasons. The eventual demise of the team had more to do with being unable to replace an aging core of veterans due to an inept front office led by Jones than the coaching. That would not happen in San Francisco.
If the 49ers were to move forward with Baalke, they would have a solid talent evaluator to continue to bring new talent to the roster and several potential coaching replacements already in the building.
One potential replacement would be current defensive line coach Jim Tomsula. Tomsula has experience as a head coach, having won a championship in NFL Europe before coaching the 49ers to victory in their 2010 season finale after the firing of Mike Singletary. From the outside it would appear that Tomsula would be a breath of fresh air to the front office with a loose style that in many ways resembles the head coach of the 49ers biggest rival up in Seattle.
Will it come to this? Only time will tell. For now, 49ers fans should keep their seat belts fastened and trays in their full upright and locked position. There is sure to be plenty of turbulence on this ride.