The San Francisco 49ers decision to fire Trent Baalke and Chip Kelly as part of a massive overhaul has brought up some discussion about the 49ers recent history. We have heard multiple stories about Adam Gase, Jim Tomsula, and the 2015 interview process. On Wednesday, Gase made an appearance on Matt Maiocco's podcast to discuss what went down.
Reports over the past two years have suggested Gase was offered the job, but he turned it down when thw team came back and said he had to hire Jim Tomsula as his defensive coordinator. There has been speculation that either Jed York or Trent Baalke made the demand, but none of the participants has ever gone on record with an answer.
Back in November before the 49ers faced the Dolphins, Gase was complimentry of the process and Trent Baalke. On Wednesday with Maiocco, Gase went into more detail about the interview. He talked about meeting with Baalke, York, Paraag Marathe, and Dr. John York in the first interview. He said it was made clear to him that Baalke was making the final decision, and his second interview, in Denver, was only with Baalke. Gase would not say he was offered the job, but did say he felt very good about his chances. However, the next day the 49ers made the call to go with Tomsula.
Maiocco did ask Gase about the reports that Jim Tomsula would need to be defensive coordinator. Gase said he and Baalke discussed various possible combinations during the interview, but did not say such a requirement was stated.
Gase kept his answers fairly neutral while still providing some information about the situation. What are the more interesting aspects of the interview was when Gase talked about his previous relationship with York and Paraag Marathe. Gase spent the 2008 season with the 49ers as an offensive assistant. York was beginning to climb in power at that point, and Marathe was a significant figure in the organization. Gase talked about how he interacted with both of them, going into some detail about his interactions with Marathe regarding analytics and free agency and draft additions.
It was that relationship that partially attracted him to the 49ers. He liked where things had been going under Harbaugh, and felt they could keep building based on part on their previous relationship.
“The main reason was because of Jed. I wanted to do whatever I could to help him. And felt like he knew I’d be invested in that organization because between Jed and Paraag, my relationship with them was really good with them when I was there previously. That’s why I was heavily interested in getting that job because I wanted to do something to help those guys. With them there, that was very positive for me.”
Every story has five different sides, so I know some people will never fully buy the whole thing minus scandalous details. I imagine this is not the complete story, but it’s the most notable character in this drama to go on the record with details. So, make of it what you want, but the whole podcast is worth a listen.