49ers Ownership and Best/Worst Rankings

by Fooch on May 14, 2009 8:22 AM PDT in News Comment 15 comments

In yesterday's Golden Nuggets, tanos135 posted a link to the SI.com article pointing to John and Denise Debartolo York as one of the five worst NFL owners. The short list included Mike Brown of the Bengals, Dan Snyder of the Redskins, William Clay Ford of the Lions and Al Davis. In the brief discussion about the York's, the article said:

Niners fans long for the days of Eddie DeBartolo, who was once the envy of the NFL and produced five Super Bowl champions. Following his part in a riverboat-corruption scandal, DeBartolo's sister wrested control of the proud franchise in 2000 and handed the reigns to her husband, John York. Since then the 49ers have become one of the biggest train wrecks in the NFL. Many believe York's curt style is the reason the city of San Francisco isn't willing to work with the team to provide a new stadium within city limits, which is forcing the Niners to look south to Santa Clara County.

I received a press release about this article the other day that included the criteria for the rankings. They were:

Team's success or failure on the field.
Willingness to spend money to improve the team.
Stability and capabilities of the front office and management.
Amenities at the team's venue.
Club's culture and interactivity with fans.

In assessing those criteria, nobody will question the success/failure on the field. Much of the bottoming out was due to the salary cap problems created by Eddie DeBartolo and Carmen Policy. Throw in being stuck with a bad QB draft and I suppose excuses can be made. Nonetheless, they're stuck with a relatively poor product on the field.

The willingness to spend money is not an issue at this point. Maybe they're not signing the guys you want, but the last three years they've shown a willingness to open up the checkbook for talented players.

The stability and capabilities of the front office and management? Well some folks here have made it abundantly clear that they think the football operations department is a joke. Personally I think as with most front offices there are good parts and bad parts. Nonetheless if you look beyond the football ops department, they've brought in some talented folks to the rest of the team including Andy Dolich as COO and the recently named Mike Redlick as VP of Business Development. I'm thinking SI was not talking about those non-football ops positions, but I think they're integral parts of any sports franchise.

We all know people have problems with Candlestick Park, but before moving past this one, I will say they've done what they can with a less than stellar stadium. The bigger issue is the last one about the club's culture and interactivity with the fans. The article was looking at owners through 2008. Beginning last season we started to see Jed York step forward as the face of the franchise. Since that time, it seems like the franchise has done more in developing the image of the team, most notably with the new uniforms. Obviously one could just consider it window-dressing, but there definitely seems to be a different feel in the air.

So, I'm curious what people think of the rankings. This is kind of like our other discussions on the "state of the franchise," but I'd like it to be considered in the context of these rankings. Personally, I think the Yorks have improved as owners over the course of their tenure, even before pushing Jed forward as the face of the franchise.

The problem in any discussion of 49ers ownership is that given the franchise's history, anybody is going to face an uphill battle when being compared to Eddie DeBartolo. His tenure saw a franchise achieve as much as any franchise could under one owner. One plus to having that comparison is that it should drive somebody to be even better, but it's still a tough comparison nonetheless.

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I read that article a few days ago

not living in SF makes me a little detached from things, I’ve only been to Candlestick once and don’t have these goings on in my back yard.

But – I think the rankings are deserved through 2008. If you watch what the top 5 owners have done and compare it to the Yorks, it’s clear that something was not right. Actually a lot of things. However, I agree that Jed York seems to be on his way to righting the ship. I’m more optimistic now than I have been in the last few years, and I really do think that Jed might know how to do things the right way.

by foosball4949 on May 14, 2009 9:01 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I don't think the team is a trainwreck

I think they were a wreck back in the day before we drafted A Smith, and we’ve steadily been making improvements since then. The ownership hasn’t been great, but for the most part they’ve stayed out of the way and let the football people do their work – the problem is that for a while they had the wrong football people (hello Terry Donahue). The team hasn’t broken the .500 barrier yet but they’ve been getting more and more competitive and the roster is filled with a lot more talent than it was a few years ago.

The stadium issue is the real problem, and the Yorks certainly shoulder a lot of the blame for that but let’s face it – SF is not an easy city to build a stadium in and they’ve had little support in the way of public financing. The Giants did it right, by using private money, but it’s harder to do that in football methinks.

Still defending Rich Aurilia, and the Niners' classic unis

by wjackalope on May 14, 2009 9:21 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

That was then. This is now.

All of those things may be true, but it is also true that the team is looking pretty good these days. It is also clear that despite a few setbacks and Nolan’s offensive incompetence we have steadily accrued talent.
Onward.

by goatfather on May 14, 2009 9:24 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

With Jed York..

..things will be more like it was, when his uncle was running the show, you have to think they talk, about everything all the time, since he has been given the trigger, nothing but good has happened, except the Jones contract, but in hindsight, no one would’ve expectd crabs, to fall to us.. I don’t blame them for the Warner thing either, though I am happy he is not here, if the Cards don;t have Warner, who’s gonna git Fitz the ball, I have to believe, Warner’s pro bowl saeson was a big upside for his recievers, I don’t remember too many Leinart to Fitz, breathtaking plays..

by Josh G and the Shaun Hill band wagon on May 14, 2009 9:59 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I don't know

The Yorks have develop a wall with the Fans. They didn’t understand or care about the History the Fans have held for the Niners. Maybe with Jed, it might change, but this Eddie D. Sr., HOF thing is just window covering.( Why Eddie Sr.? ) It doesn’t do justice to all the great Niners players missing. I only hope Jed will come to understand how much we love this team, otherwise, he’s no better than John and Denise.

by LASVEGASNINER on May 14, 2009 11:05 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Here's one they should have considered

The " Bill Walsh " HOF Award. He did more for S.F. than anyone in the Organization. Just a thought.

by LASVEGASNINER on May 14, 2009 11:19 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Eddie Sr. Started the process when he got the team.

He hired his son, Our beloved Eddie JR. who hired the greates head coach ever in Bill Walsh. I think they left some names off the list to start with so that the first couple years would be easy. Rice will be voted in, no problem as with others over the long history of the 49ers.

I think putting Jed in as President was a smart move. He seems to have the energy for this like his uncle did. I also think that his hiring Sing as the new HC will show as a good start. Both Sing and Walsh are coaches you want to play for.

"Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, either way, YOU'RE RIGHT !"

by Eastbayjim on May 14, 2009 11:24 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yorks were terrible at first

It was apparent they didn’t know what they were doing. Deducting the cost of gatorade out of a players paycheck shows they had no idea how the NFL worked.

They have improved the last few years. They hired Nolan and stayed out his way. The got rid of Nolan but didn’t reboot the rebuilding effort by going in a different direction. They do sign free agents and let their personnel people run the show. Finally, the stadium issue was one DeBartolo couldn’t solve either, so I’m not hanging that one on them.

by bignerd on May 14, 2009 11:59 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Anybody who DOES NOT like York....

…should go to www.dumpyork.com.

Hilarious. I think I joined that site five or six years ago.

by Blank x2 on May 14, 2009 12:13 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Niners ownership

I agree with the initial assessment regarding the York’s ownership since they took over from Eddie D. I have been a niner fan for nearly 40 years and seen it all. It seems to me that giving Mike Nolan one last shot at turning the team around signaled a real desire to turn a corner into a more positive direction. When Mike N failed and ownership gave Singletary a shot ownership had the chance to really screw up by bringing in some from the outside. By going to Mike S. and allowing him a chance showed a level of commitment from ownership to do the right thing.
I am encouraged by the leadership that Jeb is now taking and certainly making Singletary the new perm. Head coach is another positive step. I am also encouraged by the way they handled the free agency moves (not going after the problem with a fist full of money) and the draft. For me the real test for commitment to the fan base and community in general is making the commitment to putting a winning team on the field.

The core of Singletary’s effort now is to instill a sense of “TEAM” and not a group of individual performers. The talent is there (even at QB) because when it is all said a done the game is won or lost by a team, not an individual player and at the end of the season, making the playoffs and winning a sixth Super Bowl will be the result of HEART AND SPIRT and some blood but nothing should be left on the field.

by WC-Ninerhead on May 14, 2009 1:09 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I would say that ranking is accurate

I HOPE Jed York turns it around, but at this point, thats ALL it is. HOPE. the Yorks have been a bane on the 49er franchise and I pray everyday they sell to someone who cares.

by GreatOden'sRaven on May 14, 2009 2:45 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

The 49ers are on their 4th Head Coach..

Since the Yorks took over the team. The first coach they fired took the team to the playoffs. The 49ers haven’t been there since.

Jed doesn’t have complete control of the team yet. He can’t even go into the Owners meetings because he isn’t the owner of the team. His parents are. Jed seems earnest at what his new role is, and it remains to be seen on how much more influence he will have with the team, but as long as he takes after Mommy instead of gutless Daddy, the 49ers should be going in the right direction.

Although hiring a neophyte Head Coach after the last disaster seems like one of Daddy’s moves.

As far as the FO: it’s pretty much the same FO that oversaw the Nolan regime, outside of Tumey leaving, and Dolich, who has been with the team for about 2 years now. ScottyMac is a guy Nolan brought in. It’s stil a bunch of Execs who haven’t played or coached Pro-Football, just a bunch of MBA types, empty suits. They are the model York Sr. installed. The problem with the 49ers is that they went away from what worked for them for years, even during Eddie’s last few years, and now they are way far removed from what Walsh established. The 49ers way, the Walsh way, is gone. They are still on the York way, and they still have Nolan guys at the helm. The “Nolan Way” was a trainwreck. That was John York’s idea, bringing in a guy who had no experience at either of the roles he played, and making him the just not the Face of the Team, but the Face of the whole organization. I don’t recall York Sr. being there during the press conference when Singletary was hired as interim HC. I don’t recall him answering any questions regarding Nolan. Guess what? He still owns the team. He just put a new face on it.

Well, we're waiting....

by drummer on May 14, 2009 4:03 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Here is another article...

Ranking NFL ownerships..

Part 1: http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/2009/04/ranking-the-nfl-organizations/

Part 2: http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/2009/04/ranking-the-nfl-organizations-2/

Part 3: http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/2009/04/ranking-the-nfl-organizations-3/

Part 4: http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/2009/04/ranking-the-nfl-organizations-4/

Well, we're waiting....

by drummer on May 14, 2009 4:12 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

This guy has little credibility to me

based on a comment like this:

But lo and behold, the Cards now have stable management with GM Rod Graves; a superbly talented coach in Ken Whisenhunt, who got just lucky enough to make the Super Bowl ahead of schedule; and a new stadium

Rod Graves has been there a decade. He was pulling the trigger when they passed on local product and perennial Pro-Bowler Terrel Suggs to trade down and draft Calvin Pace & Bryant Johnson. He passed on Adrian Peterson to draft Levi Brown. I could go on and on.

The fact remains that some of their best current players (like Fitzgerald, Dansby and Dockett) were drafted by Dennis Green. That, plus the fact that the Cards have drafted almost exclusively in the top ten for what seems like forever. When you draft that high year after year you should have some good players.

To say that Whisenhunt is superbly talented is LAUGHABLE. He’s a good coach. He also named Matt Leinart to start over Kurt Warner in both 2007 & 2008. Leinart got hurt after five games in 2007 and was replaced by Warner, who played great. (Leinart. 5 starts. 2 TD’s. 4 INT’s…….Warner. 11 starts. 27 TD’s. 17 INT’s).

Huge, huge difference in that stat line.

Stupidly, he then named Leinart (not Warner) as his starter going into 2008. Only after allowing Warner to compete for the job (and only after coming to his senses) did Whisenhunt name Warner the starter last season, AFTER the final preseaon game (a week before the regular season opener). He completely botched that process.

Also, Ken Whisenhunt has only coached the Cardinals for two season, both in the new stadium. Every coach before him in Arizona had to coach in a half empty stadium that usually had more opposing fans than Cardinal fans.

It’s been a HUGE advantage for Whisenhunt to coach in a packed stadium with a real home field advantage (unlike all of his predecessors).

He’s a good coach from a successful franchise. Superbly talented? I don’t think so.

by GeoMak on May 14, 2009 4:48 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs