The San Francisco 49ers ended the season with an overtime win against the divisional foe St. Louis Rams. But that proved not enough to save head coach Jim Tomsula’s job.
The 49ers fired their rookie head coach a year after the team’s divorce from Jim Harbaugh. Tomsula went 5-11 this season. His only experience as a head coach prior to landing the San Francisco job came during a single game as an interim head coach for the 49ers and for a single season in NFL Europe for the Rhein Fire.
Tomsula inherited a mess in San Francisco. The team lost Frank Gore, Chris Culliver, and Michael Crabtree to free agency, starting right tackle Anthony Davis, linebackers Chris Borland and Patrick Willis, and defensive lineman Justin Smith to retirement, and talented but troubled outside linebacker Aldon Smith to release due to his third DUI.
Colin Kaepernick, who led the 49ers to the Super Bowl in his sophomore season in the league, continued regressing this season. Kaepernick’s struggles forced Tomsula to pull him for Blaine Gabbert, a QB castoff from the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“Jimmy has been a valuable member of the 49ers organization for the last nine years,” 49ers CEO Jed York explained in a release. “We all know he is a man of high character, and his contributions on the field and in our community have always been greatly appreciated. This entire organization is proud and grateful to have worked so closely alongside Jimmy. We all wish him and his family great success in the future.”
The 49ers pick seventh in the upcoming draft.
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