49ers Make It Official: Name Trent Baalke General Manager

The 49ers went and made the announcement official. From the official 49er website/press release comes this information:

"Trent has done an exceptional job in his role as Vice President of Player Personnel and throughout his tenure with the 49ers," said 49ers President & CEO Jed York. "I have had the benefit of watching Trent closely in the recent months and have been very impressed with his knowledge and leadership. I am confident that Trent will find the 49ers an excellent head coach who will lead us to great success in the coming years."

"I would like to thank Jed York and the York family for this tremendous opportunity," said Baalke. "It is an honor to be named the General Manager of the San Francisco 49ers, a franchise with a history filled by some of the game's greatest players, coaches and executives. I look at this role as one of great responsibility - to not only the history of the franchise, but also to the 49ers Faithful. My entire focus is now dedicated to finding the next head coach of the 49ers."

Also from the press release:

Baalke, 46, enters his seventh season with the 49ers and 14^th in the National Football League. Baalke most recently served as the 49ers Vice President of Player Personnel, overseeing all aspects of player personnel.

Over the last nine months, Baalke was responsible for all player acquisitions. His first order of business was orchestrating a trade with the Miami Dolphins for WR Ted Ginn Jr. He then commanded the 49ers draft process for the first time. All eight of the 49ers 2010 selections made the active roster, including first rounders T Anthony Davis and G Mike Iupati, who each started every game on the offensive line last season. Baalke also played a role in extending the contracts of Pro Bowlers LB Patrick Willis and TEVernon Davis and signing veteran RB Brian Westbrook.

Prior to his promotion to Vice President of Player Personnel, Baalke was the 49ers Director of Player Personnel from 2008-09, where he oversaw both the college and pro personnel departments. He first joined the franchise in 2005 as the team's Western Region Scout, a position he held through 2007.

Baalke spent four years on the Washington Redskins scouting staff, serving as the College Scouting Coordinator in his final season. From 2001 to 2003, he served as Washington's National Scout and traveled throughout the country in search of rising talent. Before joining the Redskins, Baalke spent three seasons (1998-2000) as a scout with the New York Jets.

From 1990 to 1995, Baalke held the position of defensive line/strength and conditioning coach at South Dakota State. In that role, he helped promote players such as former Pro Bowl guard Adam Timmerman and current NFL kicker Adam Vinatieri to NFL scouts. Baalke then spent time as the athletic director at Shanley High School in Fargo, ND, before moving on to the Jets.

Baalke began his coaching career as a graduate assistant defensive line coach at North Dakota State, in 1989. The team finished with a 14-0 record and a Division II National Championship.

BAALKE'S NFL BACKGROUND

Baalke clearly has lots of experience as a personnel guy, and I think he did a pretty good job in last year's draft. the next move is to get a HC. Interviews have been announced with Hue Jackson (OC of the Raiders), and Perry Fewell (DC of the Giants). It's no secret that the primary candidate is Jim Harbaugh, who was rumored to be in strong contention for that job. It was rumored that Rich Rodriguez would be fired from Michigan with the presumption that Harbaugh would take over, but that was walked back.

Jason LaConfora reports that the 49ers fully intend to have the new HC chosen by this Friday.