Has the Window Closed for the 49ers?

In the sports world, when a team comes close to winning a championship but just can’t get over the hump, many pundits like to make a reference to an imaginary window of opportunity. They claim as soon as the window closes, the team now has almost no shot to win a championship. After making at least the NFC Championship game three years in a row, the San Francisco 49ers failed to make the playoffs this season. Does this mean that their championship window has closed?

Some people may argue that there is no such thing as a championship window. They cite the old phrase “any given Sunday” as supporting evidence. While it is true that any team can get hot and explode at any time, most agree that there is definitely some sort of time frame that teams can stay good and compete at a high level.

Players leave, coaching staffs change, ownerships get handed over; there are many different reasons why a team may lose their chances to continue to seriously compete for a championship.

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Before the 2012 season, Justin Smith warned the 49ers that their championship window may not be as big as it seemed. Was Smith right? Has their window finally closed?

With head coach Jim Harbaugh leaving for puzzling reasons that might never be released to the public, the team is in a bit of disarray. The team currently doesn’t coaching staff, and after the drama that unfolded with their last coach, the team may be hard pressed to find and keep any good coach for a long period of time.

Harbaugh has always been a good coach, but coaching can only get a team so far. The team must have talent, and that talent must execute on the field. For as much skill as Harbaugh had as coach of the 49ers, the team had just as much talent. That certainly made the coaching staff’s jobs much easier.

Besides the coaching aspect of things, the main problem that the 49ers have is that a large amount of talent that the 49ers relied on in recent years is going away, and they might not have the talent to replace them.

Players like Frank Gore, Michael Crabtree, Chris Culliver, Perrish Cox, and Mike Iupati are all free agents. Ahmad Brooks, Ray McDonald, Smith and Vernon Davis are already gone or may not be back next year. That is a big chunk of talent that has carried the 49ers on their backs the last few years.

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When a team brings in a new coaching regime, the new head coach usually wants to bring in their own guys, both players and coaches. What that means for the team, is that usually a big change is in order. The players that most think are essential to the team are seen as expendable to those whose opinions actually matter. Essentially the names that fans associate with numbers might be totally different next year.

This is why it is so hard to predict if the 49ers window has closed. There is no denying that the 49ers had a toxic environment in their organization last year and needed a change. But will that change be for better or for worse?

If the 49ers stay in-house and promote Vic Fangio to head coach, it might not be as much of a change, since he is familiar with all of the players and with the organization. But Fangio is just one of the many candidates that are interested in the 49ers.

The 49ers still have a talented roster. Many potential head coaches are interested in coaching this team. After all, they are just one year removed from three consecutive NFC Championship appearances. Notable head coaches such as Mike Shanahan or Mike Holmgrem have mentioned that they are interested in coming back after some time off from coaching to coach the 49ers.

It’s hard to believe a team that was so good so recently would fall off so quickly, but it is possible. Of course, we won’t truly know if the 49ers’ window has closed until the games have been played. However, with so many questions plaguing the 49ers organization right now, it doesn’t hurt to add a few of our own.