One of many big San Francisco 49ers talking points this season has been the future of head coach Jim Tomsula. The team is 4-8. They are coming off a win over the Chicago Bears, but this team is struggling with consistency, and people are not pleased.
However, in spite of the chatter, Tomsula is not going anywhere. I think a lot of people get this, but I figure it's probably useful getting it down in writing. And I bring it up now because the chatter is slowly picking up steam as to Tomsula's future. On Thursday, Kevin Lynch put together a column listing ten reasons why the 49ers should not fire Jim Tomsula. Several were repetitive, and a couple were not really what I'd qualify as good reasons, but ten were listed. Later in the day, Steve Berman followed up on that with ten reasons why the 49ers simply will not not fire Jim Tomsula.
Friday afternoon, Tim Kawakami released his latest podcast, featuring Matt Maiocco. They had plenty to discuss about the 49ers, but one of the more notable parts was the discussion about Jim Tomsula's future. Matt Maiocco's suggested the 49ers could lose their final four games, and Tomsula would retain the job, so long as the team showed fight in those games.
I have to agree with that. The only way I see Tomsula getting fired is if the team loses each of the remaining games by 20+ points, and we see a team that looks to be quitting on the coach. Fortunately for Jim Tomsula and company, the 49ers schedule provides some winnable games, starting this weekend. They face the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, then host the Cincinnati Bengals, travel to face the Detroit Lions, and close out at home against the St. Louis Rams. The 49ers are going to win at least one game in that group, and I strongly believe three of the four will be close games. The Bengals game is a tough one to call, but the other three are going to be sufficiently competitive.
All of that adds up to Jim Tomsula returning as head coach in 2016. Of course, whether he completes the 2016 season is a whole other question entirely. The 49ers have the excuse of injuries, retirements and free agency losses to blame for their struggles this year. If they head into next season with more of their guys in place, and can remain relatively healthy, then it gets interesting with Tomsula. And so, I have added a poll to see what people think about the 2016 season and Jim Tomsula.