Jim Tomsula was on KNBR Tuesday morning, and naturally he got questions about the issues in the locker room that Jay Glazer, Matt Maiocco and others have reported. He mentioned the Kap thing was a non-story, but then got into some detail about the reports of a heated locker room meeting. He effectively confirmed what Maiocco reported, and then went into some details:
Well, the biggest thing I said to them ... it's like an Italian dining room table. Everybody sitting around the table, and sometimes it gets heated, dishes get broken, people leave. But everybody's gotta come back to the table to eat. And when it's all said and done, there's hugging and kissing, and we're eating good food again.
How many people have seen Goodfellas? There's the scene where Joe Pesci, Robert De Niro and Ray Liotta are at Pesci's mom's house eating spaghetti. They had just gotten finished killing a guy, and they then got a knife from Pesci's mom to cut up and bury the body they had in the trunk. The joke being that Kap is the body in the trunk. It's not an easy joke to translate, but when Kyle McLorg tweeted this out, it made me snicker.
On Tuesday schedule:
Well yesterday, the guys were in. Spent the better part of yesterday on us. Making sure that we were looking at ourselves and going through those things. Coaching staff-wise, we spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday looking at ourselves, and then had meetings yesterday with the guys, addressing the things that we need addressed. Today we'll get moving on to St. Louis.
Whether meeting was team-wide of position-specific:
We start with a team meeting, and then from the team meeting we go to offensive, defensive meetings, and then we break out into more group meetings. And then from there, convene in a special teams meeting.
On keys going into St. Louis:
One of the key things that we're talking about is coming out, don't feel your way. Get on the field, and let's go. And just attack it from the beginning. Not that the guys aren't physically attacking it, but just the point of that mindset. So that's one of the things, for me, coming out with that tempo, and getting things rolling, and staying on it. That's one big thing.
On Carlos Hyde's status and needing rest:
Yea, again, when it comes to the medical side of it, I don't diagnose, I don't do any of that stuff. I completely listen to our doctors and our medical staff. I have a lot of faith in them, as do our players. We've got really good people that are extremely qualified, so we stay on the program that they present to us when it comes to injuries.
On if he'll play Sunday:
Yea, right now, that's exactly where it is.
On Bethea injury:
Well, and again, with Antoine, what you see on the field, it's as big or bigger off the field with that guy. I mean you talk about, just exactly what you want, exactly the kind of guy that you want. And yea, you hate that for him. You hate that for us, but here we go. He was in here yesterday, and he's right with the guys. We've got some other guys here, and let's go.
On Tartt starting for him:
Well, you've got Jaquiski there, and you do have Jimmie Ward. And Jimmie plays the safety. He's also in there in our nickel position. So, we're looking at that right now with the guys. We feel really good about both those guys.
On development of Hayne/Davis with Hyde's injury:
We're gonna definitely look at mixing guys and finding out...we've got, basically you're talking about two rookies. Jarryd's a little older, but basically you're talking about two rookies. And we like where Michael Davis is going. Michael's had some nice work in practice, and obviously Michael's played the tailback position a lot longer in his life. We're looking at both those guys, and we'll continue to look at both those guys. Now, Reggie's taking a step forward. His health is looking good. So, we're feeling good with Reggie, too.
On Kaepernick locker room reports:
Ok, well I'm gonna go with both of those. First of all, with Kaepernick on an island, I don't know where that's coming from. That's definitely not reality, ok? So, there's that one. The other one, with the players-only meeting that you're talking about, that was, they must be referring to the meeting that I had after the Green Bay game. I had a very pointed meeting, I'm obviously not going to use the language that I used in the meeting, and I'm obviously not going to get into the particulars of the meeting. But I did have a heated meeting. And that happens in this business. Now I guess when you're 2-5, that starts to become headlines. But it was a very productive meeting. It was a meeting where it was truthful, and dealt with facts and reality. And as I finished what I had to say, and the conversations we were having, I walked out and said, now you guys, get talking.
So, I think that was a heck of a meeting. I think the guys, that's what I do really appreciate about these guys. We deal with the truth, we deal with reality, and they keep working. They keep staying on top of it. And they are giving you everything they've got in the preparations going into a game. And that's what excites me about this group. Now, we're 2-5, that's the facts. We've got to correct that. But we've got people that are working for that. And I just have to believe in that. I do.
On goal of having the meeting:
Well, the biggest thing I said to them, guys, it's like an Italian dining room table. Everybody sitting around the table, and sometimes it gets heated, dishes get broken, people leave. But everybody's gotta come back to the table to eat. And when it's all said and done, there's hugging and kissing, and we're eating good food again.
On where things are at in the locker room:
Well, I'll give you a fact. I looked out the window yesterday, and I'm watching them out here working out. And a couple o-linemen with him there, and they're all out running around, and working here on the field. I look out the window right here, and this is where the weight room is, and you guys have been here, and they're all out there running around and lifting and sprinting, and racing each other. Very good to me.