The San Francisco 49ers were formally eliminated from playoff contention on Sunday, and Jim Tomsula really did not have any answers after the game. This is not surprising when you get hammered by a team as bad as the Cleveland Browns. It was an embarrassing effort on virtually all fronts.
When the 49ers announced Jim Harbaugh's departure from the organization, Jed York repeatedly told the fans to hold him accountable for the team's failures. He talked about how the 49ers only raise Super Bowl banners, and when the team does not do that, he should be held accountable.
Well, the 49ers are not going to be raising any sort of banner this season, but I don't really know what kind of accountability there will be for Jed. He could come out and talk to the press, or even have a town-hall with fans, but it would not help anything. The only thing that would make some fans happy is if he announced someone else was taking over as CEO of this team. And that's just not happening. He's not going anywhere, and people need to learn to live with that.
That being said, I do think some fans would at least welcome Jed going out there and facing the media. He can't really offer anything, but for a frustrated fan base, there's something to be said for just wanting to see him squirm. That's mostly a useless option to some degree, but this team was thoroughly embarrassing today. People are pissed and there's not much else that's going to be done anytime soon.
Blame can be spread to a lot of people, but at the end of the day, the buck stops with Jed York. He's the CEO, he's demanded to be held accountable. Of course, it often feels like when someone feels the need to say to hold them accountable, you often cannot in fact hold them accountable. Welcome to the wonderful world of corporate buzz words.