After listening to Tomsula's interview on KNBR and PC here, I'm literally floored and trying to figure out just what the heck Jed York is thinking. My best friend in the world is a 49ers fan ... and I'm going to make it a priority to call him today because he's liable to be on suicide watch.
You know, I hear what Kip and Scott are saying ... but there is far more to being a head coach in the National Football league than simply having football smarts. Do I believe Tomsula is a smart X's and O's guy? I actually do. I'd say in terms of that, he's Rain Man. But using that analogy (if you were the owner of an NFL franchise) would you put Rain Man in charge of the whole thing? Absolutely, positively not.
The man may know how to draw up a chess plan of attack that would absolutely trounce Bobby Fischer. The question I have is -- can he effectively COMMUNICATE that to his players? Football at this level is about so much more than being able to scheme and game plan. It is about so much more than what he can draw up on a chalk board. It's about being able to INSPIRE those around you. It's here that I totally disagree with Kip and say that I don't see great communication skills whatsoever. He may know how to talk to players 1:1 ... but managing a group ... getting them all to buy in -- to truly BELIEVE in the same vision ... keeping them all rowing in the same direction ... and to be able to raise their chins back up when they fall flat -- that's a whole different animal. I don't see any evidence from what I've heard that Tomsula has that.
Compare that with Pete Carroll's first press conference? Night and day. Thanks to HunnyBadger for re-posting that. I re-watched the first few minutes of that just for reference ... and Pete Carroll literally talks for the first 12 minutes he's up on the podium straight. And what do you hear? You hear passion. You hear excitement. You hear clearly about his visions for this football team, the connections to the fan base, and for everything that it could be. And everything that Pete Carroll laid out for us all in his press conference right there from Day One -- has come true.
As a Seahawks fan, I'm solidly on the "dancing as Rome burns" side of things. As a pure football fan though, I can't see this as anything other than a massive mistake that York, Baalke, and the 49ers will very quickly live to regret. I'd say this move right here firmly cements Jeff Fisher and the Rams as our #1 Rival in the NFC West as we move forward.