It really was only a matter of time before this happened. It has been a rough season for the San Francisco 49ers, and general manager Trent Baalke has gotten the lion’s share of the blame. Well, the lion’s share if we subtract Jed York from the equation.
It should surprise nobody then that the 49ers are leaking out support for the embattled general manager. Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole reported on Wednesday that Baalke remains safe, and management believes he is the right person for the job. Here’s a transcript of Cole’s comments, and you can listen to it here:
“A 49ers source strongly indicated that general manager Trent Baalke is safe to remain with the team after this season, despite the team’s poor play so far. The 49ers defense has allowed more than 30 points in four of its past five games, but the belief by 49ers management is that Baalke is the right person to pick players for coach Chip Kelly going forward.”
I am not surprised the 49ers would try and push back on the leaks for a favored member of the organization. In fact, 11 months ago on November 18, 2015, Cole was reporting that Jim Tomsula’s job was safe if the team remained competitive. That one did offer an out for the team however, with the report stating that if the team nosedived, then all bets were off. So this report about Baalke is a little more firm in his favor for the time being.
This is about what we can expect for at least the next two and a half months. So long as Trent Baalke has his job between now and the end of the season, we’ll only hear about his status through leaks. I do not expect Jed to formally address the situation with the media during the season. If Baalke is still general manager when the season ends, it will be interesting to see if Jed has a press conference to review the season. The whole situation is a mess right now, and we’re going to be left waiting for more leaks to the media.