(08-29-2022, 04:14 PM)NewJagsCity Wrote:

(08-29-2022, 03:45 PM)TheDuke007 Wrote: Fans clowned Baalke because he didn't deserve the job.  His record as San Francisco's gm was the following:

Year 1:  13-3
Year 2:  11-5
Year 3:  12-4
Year 4:  8-8
Year 5:  5-11
Year 6:  2-14

Can you not see the trend?  As second in charge of the Jaguars front office, he was 1-15.  As gm, he was 3-14.  He was hired as gm by Meyer.  When Meyer was fired, it made all the sense in the world to fire his partner in crime as well.

Ask yourself what would have happened if Baalke was let go?  Do you really think any other team would have hired him as their gm?  Not a chance!  It's highly doubtful that a single team would have even granted him an interview.  Why should the Jaguars have to settle for a guy no one else would want?

That being said, I hope Baalke does well.  I am a believer that people can improve at their job.  Some people learn from their mistakes.  However, there's nothing wrong with wanting a candidate with a good proven track record versus hiring someone with a lousy record and then blindly hoping that he improves.

First of all, they were 11-4-1 in Yr 2 above.  That year, they went to the Super Bowl.

Per Wikipedia, "In January 2012, Baalke was named PFWA Executive of the Year for the 2011 season, after being credited for transforming a 6–10 team into a 13–3 team in his first season as general manager.[6] The next month he received a contract extension through 2016."

So, he got them primed to compete for, and get to, the Super Bowl.  After that, per Wikipedia "After a 2014 season filled with reports that Baalke and then-49ers coach Jim Harbaugh had been clashing, the 49ers parted ways with Harbaugh and promoted defensive line coach Jim Tomsula to the head coaching position."

So, they fired Harbaugh.  Why not Baalke, if he was such a big problem?  Harbaugh has since been found to be a divisive 'my way or the highway, ego-driven' coach, much like Meyer was.  That's a big reason why he and Kelly returned to college coaching, and why Meyer will eventually, There are parallels here.

Finally, he was fired with Chip Kelly, another allegedly 'difficult' coach to work with (remember the racist allegations made against him by his own players in Philly? along with the 'smartest guy in the room' syndrome, which is fine, but its how you display it).  Baalke's contract had been fulfilled.  In that case, its natural to move on from the Coach/GM package.

How do you know Meyer hired him?  This link says the exact opposite, that Meyer agreed to Baalke staying on as a concession for other 'promises'.
"That call wound up being to hire Urban Meyer, and as the Jags courted Meyer, Meyer’s focus in negotiations was on getting promises on facility upgrades, support staff hires, and budget for his coaching staff. So, as I understand it, he was willing to give on the Khans’ desire to retain Baalke as GM."
https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/12/31/mailba...yer-firing

So, the 'trend' I see is that he's gotten saddled with either lousy or megalomaniacal coaches (with Meyer, both attributes apply).

If he can partner effectively with Pederson to get this team to a SB as quickly as he did with SF, I'll take that any day over what we've had here over the last 22 years.

You touched on something there, and ownership is partly why I get uptight when people only look at the record to suggest that the failing was solely on the GM. From Jed York's wiki:

Quote:Commenting on York's ability to manage the critical relationship between the general manager and the head coach, Michael Rosenberg wrote in Sports Illustrated, "he failed completely."[10] Rosenberg also described York's impact on the broader 49ers organization, noting that "York has created a culture that encourages selfishness, weakness and back-stabbing." Throughout the season, there were numerous leaks to the media from within the 49ers organization criticizing Coach Harbaugh. San Jose Mercury News columnist Tim Kawakami noted "York and [General Manager, Trent] Baalke were the primary sources for the off-the-record disclosures that undercut Harbaugh's tenure."[11]

As with the interaction between Meyer and Baalke, we really don't know the depth of his interaction with York. Was he simply carrying out marching orders in doing what he did? People criticize his prior coaching hires, but those same hires were praised by York, and did nothing to undo the chaos that led to Harbaugh's departure. If you read the wiki, York was doing everything possible to sour his coach's relationship with the team.

Jury's still out on whether the current Baalke can right the ship. So far, nobody can deny that we have improved over the past 9 months. Give it time.

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