So it is late Friday morning and the 49ers still haven’t addressed the reality – reported everywhere in the universe by now – that their general manager Scot McCloughan has left the team for “personal reasons.” This story first broke on Wednesday night – almost 40 hours ago.
And the 49ers response? Utter silence.
But, hey, how do you like that ticket price hike?
And, could you give us some money Mr. Joe Q. Public for our new stadium?
Because we clearly know exactly what we’re doing. Yes siree – a team with a clear direction. No general manager. No decent quarterback. No realistic stadium financing. But a clear direction.
I don’t know what happened with McCloughan but there have been rumors swirling for a couple of years. They aren’t substantial enough to print but an indication that whatever happened – one month before the NFL draft – probably didn’t come to the 49ers as a complete and total shock.
Yet the 49ers are acting like they’re blindsided. They’re in the quiver and hide mode. They’re apparently reading the Ari Fleischer PR handbook (he did consult with them a season ago) – the one Fleischer so ineffectively used for Mark McGwire and Tiger Woods. In McGwire’s case: hide for years then confess and say utter nonsense. In Woods case: hide for weeks then utter a robotic statement in a vaccum. They are definitely not taking the Ron Washington approach – face the problem, be honest, deal with it and move on.
Who will succeed McCloughan? Who knows. There’s no one in the organization who would inspire any confidence. Nor are the 49ers likely to hire someone – both the timing and their unwillingness to cultivate NFL expertise prohibits that. They’re an insular group full of middle management and yes men. When someone comes along who tells them something they don’t like, the 49ers aren’t happy.
Which makes me think it might be nice if Andy Dolich was around to handle this mess. Hmmmm.
The jury is still out on McLoughan’s tenure – way out. Clearly he did some good things, like the Crabtree deal. But overall the 49ers have been away in mediocrity. Mike Singletary – by his own admission – isn’t exactly a personnel guru. There’s nobody who is an obvious successor.
The 49ers have atrocious timing in these matters. They fell in love with Singletary and gave him a contract weeks before Mike Shanahan and Jon Gruden became available. The sensible choice for an experinced GM – a man with 49ers roots and a native of San Francisco – Mike Holmgren, is now in that job in Cleveland. The 49ers have no GM a month before the most important draft in years. Who has the trigger? No one is saying. Maybe McCloughan packed it in a box with his files.
The situation doesn’t give an onlooker much confidence. Or the inclination to give the 49ers more of your money.
Couldn’t say it better myself, Ann…