Nolan, Singletary, Harbaugh & the early-'10s Niners

[74_75_78_79_]

Do any of you in here feel that Nolan & Singletary, a la Prothro/'70s Rams & Chargers, should get as much credit as Harbaugh if not more for SF's recent little playoff era? 'Setting the table' for Jim, of sorts?

[JuggernautJ]

"As much credit?" No.
Some credit? Yes.

It was Singletary who drafted Iupati and Davis to set up the 49ers line for their run.
And Bowman came along during his tenure, also.

But Harbaugh, as can be seen by the state of the franchise since his departure, was the heart and soul of the Niners' championship caliber teams of 2011-13.

I do not wish to denigrate anyone but Nolan made no contribution of which I am aware.

[74_75_78_79_]

Alex Smith & Vernon Davis were drafted under Nolan's watch. Yes, they passed up on Aaron Rodgers but Alex Smith certainly was a contributor - winning games the entire '11 campaign and most of '12 - before he got (now even more controversial with more hindsight) benched for Kaep.

[Bryan]

Singletary didn't "draft" anyone. The worst thing to happen to Niners franchise at that time was they surprised everyone by naming Singletary the interim coach (over Mike Martz, who was also on the staff at that time IIRC) and then the Niners miraculously won a few initial games under Singletary. The Niners compounded their error by giving Singletary the full-time HC job. They had been stockpiling talented players, and continued to do so under Singletary, even though the Niners' overall record did not reflect this. By the time they fired Singletary, Harbaugh was inheriting a team that was amongst the most talented in the league. I give Harbaugh credit for winning, but I think now that we are a few years removed from the situation, the Niners losing to the Ravens in the Super Bowl has to be considered a huge disappointment. The Ravens weren't all that great, and the Niners were probably at the peak of their power.

Kaepernick's regression under Harbaugh, losing some key players on defense, and Harbaugh's own lack of an even-keel contributed to kind of a meltdown 2014 season. I don't really understand how Harbaugh gets so much credit for "developing" Kaepernick, unless that development was so short-term that it wore off after the 2013 season. It seemed like Kaepernick's value was his running ability, which Harbaugh curbed after the Super Bowl season.

[mwald]

Alex Smith & Vernon Davis were drafted under Nolan's watch. Yes, they passed up on Aaron Rodgers but Alex Smith certainly was a contributor - winning games the entire '11 campaign and most of '12 - before he got (now even more controversial with more hindsight) benched for Kaep.

Smith and Kaepernick will probably be tied at the hip as long as they're in the league, unfortunately for them.

Smith enjoyed a bit of a "told you so" moment this year in KC, but anyone who watched the Chiefs game Sunday can see the ceiling with this guy. How many times did he NOT get his team in the end zone? If you want nine yards, though, he's your man.

Kaepernick could have a renaissance next year under Kelly...or we may never see him again.

Have a feeling this story isn't over.

[Ness]

Singletary didn't "draft" anyone. The worst thing to happen to Niners franchise at that time was they surprised everyone by naming Singletary the interim coach (over Mike Martz, who was also on the staff at that time IIRC) and then the Niners miraculously won a few initial games under Singletary. The Niners compounded their error by giving Singletary the full-time HC job. They had been stockpiling talented players, and continued to do so under Singletary, even though the Niners' overall record did not reflect this. By the time they fired Singletary, Harbaugh was inheriting a team that was amongst the most talented in the league. I give Harbaugh credit for winning, but I think now that we are a few years removed from the situation, the Niners losing to the Ravens in the Super Bowl has to be considered a huge disappointment. The Ravens weren't all that great, and the Niners were probably at the peak of their power.

Kaepernick's regression under Harbaugh, losing some key players on defense, and Harbaugh's own lack of an even-keel contributed to kind of a meltdown 2014 season. I don't really understand how Harbaugh gets so much credit for "developing" Kaepernick, unless that development was so short-term that it wore off after the 2013 season. It seemed like Kaepernick's value was his running ability, which Harbaugh curbed after the Super Bowl season.

To be fair, the front office seemed to be gunning for Harbaugh. Every week that entire season there seemed to be a new rumor that popped up Sunday morning about the future of Jim Harbaugh or some ridiculous leak. Then there was the infamous tweet from Jed York on Thanksgiving after the loss to the Seahawks. Even before 2014 the rumors of a potential trade of Jim Harbaugh to the Browns after the 2013 season set in motion what some people think was a whisper campaign to oust him out of San Francisco. I do agree that the talent started to shore up as time went along. But Jim deserved another season after going 8-8 following three straight NFC Championship games and a Super Bowl appearance. But tensions from within the organization weren't going to allow that. To this day I still hate how Trent Baalke isn't held to the same standard as Jim Harbaugh was and still has a job. Aldon Smith was probably Trent's best selection as GM and that went sour real quick.

As for the Super Bowl, the 49ers underachieved, but the Ravens did beat the Broncos in Denver and the Patriots in New England. They were hot at the time. The 49ers defense started to crumble over the final month of the season in 2012. It was really the offense that was doing the heavy lifting. The height of their powers was definitely that 2011 team. Unfortunately the 2012 offense was a year too late.

[Ness]

Alex Smith & Vernon Davis were drafted under Nolan's watch. Yes, they passed up on Aaron Rodgers but Alex Smith certainly was a contributor - winning games the entire '11 campaign and most of '12 - before he got (now even more controversial with more hindsight) benched for Kaep.

Smith and Kaepernick will probably be tied at the hip as long as they're in the league, unfortunately for them.

Smith enjoyed a bit of a "told you so" moment this year in KC, but anyone who watched the Chiefs game Sunday can see the ceiling with this guy. How many times did he NOT get his team in the end zone? If you want nine yards, though, he's your man.

Kaepernick could have a renaissance next year under Kelly...or we may never see him again.

Have a feeling this story isn't over.

Nah. Alex Smith had his chance in 2011 with a fantastic 49ers team. People love to blame Kyle Williams for that NFC Championship game loss, but forget that the offense was 1/13 on third down and Alex had one receiver catch a pass the entire game.