49ers Blog and Q&A

Before the most recent free-agency period began, everyone thought that David Baas and Takeo Spikes would be back with the 49ers and that they'd probably lose safety Dashon Goldson to a big free-agent deal elsewhere. It didn't happen that way, which goes to show that no one - not even the teams themselves - knows exactly what's going to happen beginning on March 13 at 1 p.m.

Instead the following reading of the tea leaves is meant to give a sense of what is most likely to occur during the offseason. We'll start with the safeties.

Safety

The 49ers have three safeties -- Dashon Goldson, Reggie Smith and Madieu Williams - who will be unrestricted free agents, and a fourth, C.J. Spillman, who is a restricted free agent. Goldson is the priority here and is perhaps second only to quarterback Alex Smith in terms of free agents the team most wants to re-sign. He emerged this year as one of the top safeties in the league, came away with six interceptions, made the Pro Bowl and is only 27 years old.

The 49ers have leverage in this case. Goldson either can sign a five-year deal similar to the one that was offered, but rejected, by Goldson and agent Drew Rosenhaus last year or they can make him their franchise player, which the 49ers could do as early as Feb. 20. That would cost San Francisco roughly $6 million. The other bit of leverage is that there will be a ton of free-agent safeties on the market (see below) which, like last year, will dilute their individual worth. That is, there's a good chance Goldson will be back.

The Rams plan to interview Tom Gamble, the No. 2 man in the 49ers' scouting department behind GM Trent Baalke, for their opening at general manager, according to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Gamble has spent seven seasons with the 49ers. A year ago he was promoted from Director of Pro Personnel to Director of Player Personnel, which allowed him to oversee both the college and pro personnel departments. Director of college scouting Joel Patten currently is third in line behind Baalke and Gamble.

Gamble worked alongside new Rams coach Jeff Fisher when they were in Philadelphia - Fisher as defensive coordinator and Gamble as a college scouting administrator, area scout, contract negotiator and ultimately the director of pro scouting.

The Rams are considering a number of candidates for the job, including: Vikings Director of Player Personnel George Paton, Jets Vice President of College Scouting Joey Clinkscales, Dolphins Director of Player Personnel Brian Gaine and Cardinals Director of Player Personnel Steve Keim.

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The 49ers are giving Brad Seely an assistant. According to Fox Sports, the 49ers plan to hire Tracy Smith, who was Seeley's assistant special teams coach in Cleveland in 2010. Smith last year was an assistant for the Seahawks. Offensive quality control coach Ejiro Evero filled as Seely's assistant last season.

-- Matt Barrows

Lessons from the Super Bowl? The most important one is something the 49ers already knew going into the game - they were oh-so-close to winning a championship this year and that their biggest priority for the offseason should be keeping the current squad together.

That starts with the coach staff. Remarkably, the 49ers have had no major defections since the season ended on Jan. 22, and the coaches I've spoken with have said there's been a concentrated effort to keep everyone together. That, of course, can change quickly. If an assistant gets a high-ranking job on another team, he often will leave with several other coaches. So far, however, the only coach to leave is offensive quality control coach Bobby Engram, who was hired by Pitt to coach its wide receivers. (Side note: The Raiders' defensive coordinator position was filled with former 49ers linebackers coach Jason Tarver. Last year Tarver was Stanford's defensive coordinator).

The tougher task will be retaining the team's unrestricted free agents, six of whom were starters in 2011. The 49ers can begin going about that at on Feb. 20, which is the first date to assign the franchise tag (see calendar below).

On a related note, it must have been painful for the 49ers players - especially the defensive players - to watch the Giants win the Super Bowl. Eli Manning now has two titles, and he's not only attracting the word "elite" but the moniker, "Hall-of-Fame quarterback." The 49ers, of course, squandered two, perhaps three, chances at interceptions of Manning in the NFC Championship game. Had they taken advantage of those opportunities, the Manning rhetoric would be subdued.

The Super Bowl also was interesting because, like the 49ers, the Patriots needed at least one more dependable pass catcher. Tight end Rob Gronkowski was obviously limited throughout the game, which left Tom Brady and the offense with fewer options than he had in the regular seasons. Like the 49ers, New England could stand to add a young receiver or two in the draft. They'll have the 31st pick in the draft - one selection behind the 49ers.

NFL calendar:

Feb 20-Mar 5: Teams may designate franchise or transition player
Feb 22-28: Scouting combine
March 13, 1 p.m.: Start of league year (beginning of free agency)
April 26-28: NFL draft

-- Matt Barrows

Aaron Rodgers grew up in Chico idolizing Joe Montana and the 49ers, and he wore a Joe Montana T-shirt under his Cal uniform when he played for the Bears. But it wasn't until today at the NFL Honors ceremony in Indianapolis that Rodgers had a chance to meet Montana.

Rodgers was named the league's MVP at the ceremony, and it was clear that having a chance to chat with Montana and Steve Young - whom Rodgers called "a good friend" - were still on his mind as he accepted the award.

"I was a big Niners fan as a kid - thanks for drafting me," said Rodgers to laughter from the crowd, which included the player the 49ers did draft No. 1 overall in 2005, Alex Smith. Smith, meanwhile, finished third in the "Comeback Player" category, but he had his own turn on stage in accepting the Coach of the Year award for Jim Harbaugh.

Judging from shots of the crowd, at least two other coach-of-the-year candidates, New Orleans' Sean Payton and Detroit's Jim Schwartz, were on hand. Harbaugh and brother John were not.

"He probably would say that he doesn't deserve this," Smith told the crowd. "That's the type of guy he is. He'd give all the credit to the players, to the assistant coaches. From someone who's had one or two coaches in my career, I'd just like to tell you this is well-deserved. Congratulations, coach."

-- Matt Barrows

Jim Harbaugh is making good on his desire to follow in the footsteps of Bill Walsh. Harbaugh on Saturday became the first 49ers coach since Walsh in 1981 to win the "Coach of the Year" award given by the Associated Press. Like Walsh three decades ago, Harbaugh took a team that finished 6-10 the previous year to a 13-3 record and the NFC Championship game.

Upon being hired last year, Harbaugh said he long-admired Walsh, who like Harbaugh coached at Stanford before being hired by the 49ers. Harbaugh spent six months learning from Walsh before Walsh's passing in 2007. "Everything that came out of his mind, his heart, his mouth -- I hung on every single word," Harbaugh said upon being hired.

Walsh's squad ended up winning the 1981 championship game as well as the next one, Super Bowl XVI, Harbaugh's 49ers fell short, losing to the Giants in overtime. Still, the turnaround in San Francisco was enough to convince voters he deserved the top honor among coaches. He received 45 of 50 possible votes. Green Bay's Mike McCarthy, whose team went 15-1 in 2011, finished with three votes; Denver's John Fox had two.

Eddie DeBartolo, Jr. may have five Super Bowl rings, but he is still looking for one hall-of-fame nod.

The former 49ers owner last month ventured as close as he's been to the Pro Football Hall of Fame when he was named one of 15 modern-day finalists. On Saturday, however, DeBartolo didn't make the first cut as 44 NFL writers ultimately pared the list to six names.

Defensive end/linebacker Charles Haley, who won five Super Bowls with the 49ers and Cowboys, made the cut from 15 to 10 players but will not be part of the 2012 class either. That class contains one former 49er, defensive end Chris Dolemen, who played in San Francisco in 1996-98 but who spent most of his career with the Vikings.

Former Raiders receiver Tim Brown also was a finalist but was not voted in this year. DeBartolo, who was in Tampa, Fla. Saturday, said through a spokeswoman that he was "truly humbled to have made it to the top 15 and that he's proud of his and his teams' accomplishments over the years."

In addition to Doleman, the other members of the 2012 class are:

• Steelers C Dermontti Dawson
• Seahawks NT Cortez Kennedy
• Jets RB Curtis Martin
• Saints OT Willie Roaf
• Steelers CB Jack Butler

The battle between the 49ers and Giants rages on. In a meeting room of the Indianapolis JW Marriott on Saturday, 44 NFL writers from around the country will debate which of 15 modern-day Pro Football Hall of Fame finalists deserve a bust in the hall. Two of the most recognizable names: former 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo, Jr. and Bill Parcells, the former Giants coach.

The problem is that neither man played in the NFL, and getting a single non-player - much less two - into a hall-of-fame class is difficult. One voter predicted Friday that either Parcells or DeBartolo would have to be eliminated in the first round of voting or they would end up cancelling each other out in the final vote. Another said that DeBartolo's chances are "probably better than 50-50." Others are more skeptical.

Adding to the debate is a provincial split that pits West Coast voters who favor DeBartolo against East Coast voters who will side with Parcells.

Parcells, who compiled a 183-138-1 record as head coach, was the first coach to take four separate teams to the playoffs, and he won two Super Bowls with the Giants. Parcells also was a finalist in 2001 and 2002 but was not selected because voters suspected - correctly - that his retirement at the time would not last.

This is the first time that DeBartolo, the 49ers' owner from 1977-2000, is a finalist, and thus the first time that voters will debate his candidacy. The argument against him is threefold, according to voters.

The NFL is trading in shoulder pads and chin straps for tuxedos and cummerbunds Saturday. It used to be that the league's biggest awards were announced with a series of press releases.

This year, however, the NFL has gone Hollywood with an Oscars-like award show. Alec Baldwin - in an episode of "30 Rock," his character was disappointed to learn he owned the Buffalo Bills -- will host. The show will be taped Saturday night in Indianapolis and will run from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. simultaneously on NBC and NFL Network.

Several 49ers, including quarterback Alex Smith, linebackers NaVorro Bowman, Aldon Smith and Patrick Willis, and tight end Vernon Davis are expected to attend. Here are the main awards, which are chosen by The Associated Press.

Most Valuable Player
Top candidates: Drew Brees, New Orleans; Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay; Tom Brady, New England.
Lowdown: The awards are for the regular season, so Rodgers' flameout in the divisional round of the playoffs should not count. That Brees broke Dan Marino's single-season yardage record is likely to ring loudly in voters' minds. But the fact that Rodgers followed up a Super Bowl title with a one-loss season is the bigger feat. The last player other than a quarterback or running back to win this award - Lawrence Taylor in 1986.
Who should win: Rodgers
Who will win: Brees

Walls are coming down and funds are coming in in preparation for the 49ers' billion-dollar stadium in Santa Clara. Team President Jed York announced, via Twitter, that the NFL had given the green light for $200 million to be spent toward the 49ers' 68,000-seat venue, which will be ready before the 2015 season and perhaps a year earlier.

"With the NFL's muscle now behind the new stadium, we are moving forward," York said in a statement. "I expect an official ground-breaking ceremony very soon. Get your hard hats ready; we are embarking on the path to the next generation of 49ers football."

The 49ers' facility is the first to be funded under a new loan program that came about as part of the new collective bargaining agreement last year. Under the old program, teams received $150 million in loans.

In early December, the team secured $850 million in loans from Goldman Sachs, U.S. Bank and Bank of America. That money is expected to be repaid from revenue generated by ticket sales, suite sales, sponsorships and naming-rights deals. In addition, the city of Santa Clara's redevelopment agency will contribute about $40 million. A hotel tax will add another $35 million.

Work already has begun on the project as surveyors have been busy measuring distances on the parking lot on which the stadium will be built. Earlier this week, a wall at the 49ers' current practice facility, which will be built into the new stadium, was demolished. Groundbreaking on the stadium is expected to begin later this year.

-- Matt Barrows

Shawntae Spencer is a good example of how two coaches can look at the same player and see something entirely different. In 2009, Spencer was the dark-horse winner of a three-way competition to be the 49ers' starting cornerback opposite Nate Clements. Observers figured the job either would go to Tarell Brown or Dre Bly. However, the defensive coordinator at the time, Greg Manusky, picked Spencer, who was returning from an ACL injury that year, based largely on his form, technique and knowledge of the defense.

Spencer started the next 32 games and was penciled in as the starter this past season until he suffered a hamstring injury early in training camp. He aggravated the injury after trying to come back too soon, then never was able to convince defensive coordinator Vic Fangio that he deserved to start. Spencer, who turns 30 this month, only was active for nine games this season and was inactive for both playoff games. He finished the season behind Carlos Rogers, Brown, Chris Culliver and Tramaine Brock on the depth chart.

The day after the season ended, Spencer sounded like a guy who believed he has played his last game in San Francisco. He is due to make $3.2 million in base salary alone in 2012 and is likely to be released and become a free agent just as Nate Clements was last season.

"I've been on that right corner since I've been here," Spencer said. "It's like seeing my lady with another guy." He said the best advice was from his brother, who picked up on the lady-with-another-man theme. "There's plenty of women out there," Spencer said.