San Francisco 49ers: Silver Linings from Horrid Offseason
By Dan Fappiano
The Coaching Debut of Jim Tomsula
Jun 11, 2015; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Tomsula looks on during minicamp at Levi
Anytime a new coach takes a new job he, or she with the Arizona Cardinals’ new inside linebacker coach, will be put under a microscope based on their performance. That person, even if they have been coaching for decades, will be held to different expectations when put into a new position.
That idea stays the same for new head coach Tomsula. After serving as the team’s defensive line coach, Tomsula was promoted to the head coaching position after Harbaugh’s departure.
All eyes will certainly been on Tomsula as he enters his first year as head coach. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The team will need a strong leader who will be able to eventually take the team back to its former glory. This first season will allow upper management and fans to get a good read on the 49ers’ new leader.
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Die-hard 49ers fans may remember that Tomsula has actually coached a game for the team back in 2010. After head coach Mike Singletary had been fired, Tomsula was called upon to coach the team in week 17 against the Cardinals. The 49ers wound up winning that game 38-7.
Tomsula has actually been a head coach before, coaching the Rhein Fire of NFL Europe, a European developmental equivalent to the NFL, in 2006. He was able to compile a 6-4 record.
Overall though, this will be Tomsula’s first run as a head coach in a major sport. It will be interesting to see because he has been mainly a defensive line coach his entire career. When teams promote somebody to the head coaching position from inside the franchise, it is usually the offensive or defensive coordinator that gets the promotion.
Tomsula will be taking that leap though, and seeing if he is the right guy will be good for a team expected to be on a downswing. If Tomsula can at least get the team behind him, regardless of the number of victories on the field, then that is a win. If he is able to get the team behind him and perhaps get them performing better than expected, then he will at least be viewed as being capable of leading the team in the future.
Watching Tomsula’s full time NFL head coaching debut will be key for upper management and fans to see if he is the 49ers coach of the future.
Next: NaVorro Bowman's return