1999–2010: Going downhill
Ownership change: Eddie out, the Yorks in
In the late 1990’s, Eddie DeBartolo Jr., was involved in a corruption investigation regarding Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards and one of his Mississippi riverboat casinos. DeBartolo later pleaded guilty to a failure to report a felony charge in 1998. He was suspended from active control of the 49ers for one year. His sister Denise DeBartolo York, and her husband, Dr. John York, took over operations of the team.
Eddie DeBartolo returned from his suspension in 1999, but a series of lawsuits over control of the family’s vast holdings led him to surrender controlling interest to the Yorks as part of a 2000 settlement. Denise is now chairwoman of the board, while John York was named CEO.
1999
On the field, the 1999 version of the 49ers got off to a 3 – 1 start, then in a nationally televised Monday Night Football game against the Arizona Cardinals, Steve Young suffered a blindside hit from cornerback Aeneas Williams that would eventually force him to retire.
Without their future Hall of Famer, the 49ers lost 11 of their last 12 games, and suffered their first losing season in a non – strike year since 1980, which was also the last time that the 49ers failed to win at least 10 or more games in a season.
Bobb McKittrick, the 49ers offensive line coach since 1979, also died of cancer of the bile duct, following the 1999 season. His doctors had previously canceled a liver transplant he needed after exploratory surgery showed his cancer had spread to his abdomen.(4)
In their first season without Steve Young, Jeff Garcia in just his second season, had his best season throwing for 31 touchdowns, but the 49ers ended the year at 6 – 10. This season marked the end of an era as Jerry Rice, who played 16 seasons with the 49ers, left the team at the end of the season.
With a 12 – 4 record, the 49ers returned to the playoffs for the first time since 1998, but lost to the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card round. The defense, who ranked 28th last year, improved to 9th for the season. The season also marked the return of running back Garrison Hearst, who missed the previous two seasons due to an ankle injury suffered in the Divisional Round against the Atlanta Falcons.
the correct decision to fire Mariucci, but could have handled it better; for instance, he admitted he should have made the announcement himself rather than hand that responsibility to general manager Terry Donahue. The replacement, former Seattle Seahawks and Oregon State head coach Dennis Erickson was signed to a five – year contract. The hiring of Erickson was highly criticized by the fans and the media. During the coaching search, three defensive coordinators emerged as candidates for the job, but the offensive – minded Erickson was chosen despite the fact that Erickson’s offensive philosophy was very different from the West Coast Offense.
The period since the 2002 season has been disastrous for the 49ers: injuries, a weak offensive line, and an inconsistent defense. Although they finished the 2003 season with a losing record of 7 – 9, Erickson was retained as coach for the 2004 season. The 2003 season also marked the end for volatile wide receiver Terrell Owens with the 49ers. Owens scored 85 touchdowns in eight seasons for the 49ers, including four in the playoffs. But his on and off – field antics led to the 49ers trading him to the Philadelphia Eagles during the off – season.
On September 26th, 2004, the 49ers were shut out 34 – 0 by the Seattle Seahawks, their first such loss in 420 regular season and 36 playoff games, a league record. The last shutout had been 27 years prior in 1977 when they were defeated 7 – 0 by the Atlanta Falcons at what was then known as Candlestick Park. The 49ers had several chances to score in the fourth quarter, but an interception and a fumble recovery sealed their fate in this game.
During the 2004 season, rumors that the Yorks might sell the team began spreading. Larry Ellison and Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young have been the names most commonly rumored as potential buyers. The 49ers would finish that season with a record of 2 – 14, and thus finished last in the NFC West division for the first time since 1979, ending what had been the NFL’s longest active streak for not finishing last in a division. It was also the worst record that season among the 32 NFL teams, securing them the right to the first pick in the NFL Draft. Erickson and the man who hired him, general manager Terry Donahue, were fired.
After an extensive coaching search, the 49ers announced the hiring of Mike Nolan – defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens – as their head coach for the 2005 season. He is the son of Dick Nolan, who led the team to three consecutive playoff appearances in the early 1970’s. Among many NFL franchises, the general manager makes strategic, player and coaching personnel decisions; the 49ers hired a head coach without hiring a GM, indicating that Nolan will likely exert substantial control in all of those areas. In his inaugural draft as head coach, Mike Nolan selected with the first pick of the draft quarterback Alex Smith of the University of Utah. It was a pick predicted by most, though many predicted the 49ers might select local product Aaron Rodgers of the University of California, Berkeley.
Tragedy struck the 49ers on August 20th, 2005, when offensive lineman Thomas Herrion died immediately following a preseason loss to the Denver Broncos at Invesco Field at Mile High. Head coach Mike Nolan had just finished addressing the players in the locker room when Herrion collapsed. He was taken to a local Denver hospital, where he died several hours later. An autopsy revealed that Herrion died of heart disease, which had not been previously diagnosed.
In 2005, the 49ers finished fourth in the NFC West for the second year in a row, but were able to double their win total from 2004, ending the season with a 4 – 12 record. They ended the season on a high note with two consecutive wins; their first two – game winning streak since 2003. Also, they swept their division arch – rival, the St. Louis Rams for the first time since 1998.
The 49ers finished the 2006 regular season with a 7 – 9 record and third in the NFC West, their fourth consecutive losing season. The team displayed vast improvement, however. The most impressive victory of the season came in the last week versus the Denver Broncos. The 49ers managed to come back from a 13 – 0 deficit and knock Denver out of the playoffs in an overtime win (26 - 23). They also defeated division rival, and defending NFC Champion, Seattle Seahawks in both meetings on the season.
At the beginning of the 2006 season, the team made perhaps their most important decision, awarding the top running back spot to second year veteran Frank Gore from Miami. Gore ran for a franchise record of 1,695 rushing yards, which led the NFC, along with 8 touchdowns. He was awarded his first Pro Bowl appearance as a starter.
Before the beginning of the 2007 season, former coach Bill Walsh died from complications from leukemia. In the off – season, cornerback Nate Clements was signed as a free agent from the Buffalo Bills. Clements’ contract was worth $80 million for 8 years, the largest contract given to a defensive player in NFL history at the time.
In the off – season, the 49ers signed quarterback Shaun Hill to a three – year deal and quarterback J.T. O’Sullivan to a one – year contract, they also signed Issac Bruce to a two – year contract. That raised questions about the future of Alex Smith, whose first three seasons had been plagued by inconsistent play, injuries, and not having had an offensive coordinator remain on the team for consecutive years. Head coach Mike Nolan and new offensive coordinator Mike Martz state that a competition between Smith, Hill, and O’Sullivan would run through the first two preseason games of 2008, with the hope of naming a starter soon after. O’Sullivan was named the 49ers starter after performing better than Smith or Hill in the first three preseason games. Seven games into the NFL season, the San Francisco 49ers fired head coach Mike Nolan on October 20th, 2008. Mike Singletary was named interim head coach. After a poor performance against the Seattle Seahawks (2 interceptions, 4 fumbles) on October 26th, O’Sullivan was benched and replaced by Shaun Hill by interim coach Mike Singletary. The 49ers finished the 2008 NFL season with a record of 7 – 9.
On the night of October 20th, 2008, head coach Mike Nolan was fired and assistant coach Mike Singletary, a Hall of Fame linebacker with the Chicago Bears, was named Nolan’s successor. Despite positive signs of improvement of the offense from the 2007 season, there were too many turnovers, and the defense did not live up to its potential causing the need for change.(5)
Also on December 28th, the 49ers announced that Jed York, oldest son of John and Denise DeBartolo York (and nephew of former team owner Edward DeBartolo Jr.), was promoted to team president from his previous post of Vice President of Strategic Planning, and would assume responsibility for all day – to – day team operations, with general manager Scot McCloughan and other top staff reporting directly to him. The elder Yorks will assume the roles of co – chairman, and will continue to represent the organization in various official ways with the NFL.(9)
On April 25th, 2009, the 49ers selected Texas Tech wide receiver Michael Crabtree with the 10th pick in the first round of the 2009 NFL draft. This was the first and last pick of the first day for the 49ers. After selecting Crabtree, they traded their next and only first day pick along with a 4th – pick to the Carolina Panthers. From this trade they received a first – round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. Other selections for the 49ers included Glen Coffee, Scott McKillop, Nate Davis, Bear Pascoe, Curtis Taylor, and Ricky Jean – Francois.
On May 19th, 2009, Walt Harris tore his ACL during Organized Team Activities (OTAs), forcing the 49ers to quickly sign former Rams, Lions and Broncos cornerback Dre Bly who can be viewed as a Pro Bowl replacement for the lost Pro Bowler.
Draft(14). However, Crabtree’s agent, Eugene Parker, went on record to state that he never threatened the 49ers with the possibility of Crabtree sitting out the season and reentering the draft.(15)
By September 9th, 2009, Crabtree set a San Francisco 49ers record by becoming the longest rookie holdout in franchise history(20). The last first round draft pick to hold for an entire season was quarterback Kelly Stouffer in 1987 when he refused to sign with the Cardinals(19)(20). Stouffer was eventually traded in April 1988 to the Seahawks for three draft picks, including a first pick in the 1989 draft(20). The 49ers would have had the option to trade the rights to Crabtree only after March 1st, 2010, and up until the next draft. If a team were to trade for the rights, that team would not be able to sign such a player before the 2010 NFL draft. If he was not signed by the 49ers and then traded to another team, his contract would have then counted against that team’s 2010 rookie pool.(20)(21)
On September 21st, 2009, the 49ers filed charges against the New York Jets for attempting to tamper with their negotiations with Crabtree. The 49ers may believe the Jets contacted Crabtree’s agent to let him know they would be interested in trading for his rights, or in drafting him in 2010 with a better salary than the 49ers were offering(22)(23). The 49ers had until November 17th to sign Crabtree or he would not be allowed to play in the 2009 season along with it being considered a non – accrued season for contract purposes.
On October 7th, 2009, ESPN reported that Crabtree and the 49ers had agreed to a six – year contract. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the deal would be worth $32 million dollars, with $17 million dollars guaranteed, $8 million dollars more than offered by the team in August 2009, but also a year longer.(24)
On October 25th, 2009, Crabtree made his first career NFL start against the Houston Texans.(25)
2009
2010
After giving the winless Panthers a victory in week seven, the team headed to London for an international game with Denver, which they won 24 – 16. After this, they beat St. Louis in overtime 23 – 20 and then suffered a home shutout (21 – 0) for the first time since 1977 while playing Tampa Bay. Next, they beat the Cardinals 27 – 6 on Monday Night Football before losing to Green Bay 34 – 16. Despite having only won four games, San Francisco’s chances of winning their weak division remained alive and remained so after beating Seattle 41 – 30 in week 15. However, the next week saw them blown out in San Diego 34 – 7. Another defeat in St. Louis finally removed San Francisco from playoff contention and Singletary was fired after that game. With Jim Tomsula as interim coach, the team won a meaningless season ender against Arizona to end 2010 with a final record of 6 – 10.
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