The San Francisco 49ers appeared to have one of the best head coaches in the league with Jim Harbaugh, though tension between he and the 49ers front office lead to his firing and the hiring (rather promotion) of Jim Tomsula.
Sure, there were a handful of big names linked to San Francisco’s head coaching job. From Mike Shanahan to Josh McDaniels, many figured the team would bring in another popular act to follow Harbaugh. And if they did decide to go with an in-house option, the obvious choice was defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, right? Apparently not as Jed York and company wanted somebody who not only knew the 49ers current roster but also reportedly wanted somebody who wouldn’t be a thorn in their side.
They dealt with that in Harbaugh and we already saw Vic Fangio exhibiting similar behavior, all but requesting his release if he was passed up for by Jim Tomsula.
So who is the man of the hour? Well, oddly enough, this won’t be Jim Tomsula’s first head coaching experience as he actually coached the 49ers for a single game in 2010, a win in the season finale. More than that though, Tomsula was also the head coach of the Rhein Fire of NFL Europe in 2006.
From an NFL standpoint, the San Francisco 49ers are all Jim Tomsula knows and it seems as if the front office and ownership really appreciated that, odd as that may sound.
It was a unique hire and one many fans of the 49ers didn’t appear overly thrilled with considering the circumstances and other available candidates, though it’s one they’re going to have to get used to.
