Coaching Staff Maturation

Harry

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I think the Niners are the best team in the NFL. For three and two thirds quarters the Cards gave the Niners all they could handle. The Cards were tenacious. Though they fell short in end, they accomplished far more than most and I believed was possible for this team. After Deion Sanders lost to Oregon he said, “You better get me now, this is the worst we’re gonna be.”

His point was simple. He just got started creating his team. Give him some time to get more built and just wait until you see what that team can do. Gannon could have uttered the same statement. This front office is just getting started. Most knowledgeable observers would tell you this is not a strong roster. If Ossenfort does his job, Gannon just might build a juggernaut in the desert. The other thing he has going for him is that his coordinators are young. Hopefully their youth and inexperience will discourage other teams from poaching them to be Assistant Head Coaches. That’s a title designed to circumvent NFL rules and allow teams to steal coordinators by offering them “promotions.”

This is not to say Gannon and his staff are perfect. They still haven’t built a reliable 2 minute drill. The team still commits too many penalties. They are sometimes too conventional when playing defense. Nonetheless they are so vastly improved from the previous administration. It seems like quibbling to criticize them. The play design is both creative and harkens back to long underused techniques, like pulling multiple linemen. This staff knows football. On both sides of the ball their player development has been outstanding. Their ability to motivate, especially veterans, has been exceptional. Working with less than optimum athletes they’ve produced nearly optimal results.

The scary thing for the rest of the league is they appear to learn from their mistakes. They also aren’t afraid to push all their chips to the center of the table. Their first 2 games were played conservatively. The last 2 were among the most aggressive games coached this year. They now play to win.

I don’t know how the Murray experiment will workout. I don’t know how quickly they can get the roster to playoff contention level. They will likely have substantial roster turnover, which always means challenges in player integration. On the other hand more internal competition could lead to improved production. It’s a process, but often not a swift one. Still I’m totally confident they will be a force in years to come.

The nice thing about not having heavy pressure to win means the staff is free to try anything. They can experiment as much as they desire. What ideas have they always wondered would work, if tried? They now have the power. There is literally nothing to lose. They can just tell themselves this is the worst we’re gonna be.
 

urs

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After we all got scarred from the last coaching staff, this situation even at 1-3 is filled with hope. They are doing so much "right", seems like they have actual NFL schemes and a real plan. Not just rolling the ball out to #1 and praying he does something spectacular and playing your defensive guys at the wrong positions over and over.
 

Ouchie-Z-Clown

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You make an interesting comment about the two minute drill, Harry. At the ends of both halves I thought they weren’t playing with much urgency, but in both cases they had a chance (and did, and should have) scored TDs (granted the last drive was against prevent D). So I even have to ease off that criticism because they seem to have what always eluded kliff - a finger in the pulse and rhythm of the game.
 

BritCard

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I think the Niners are the best team in the NFL. For three and two thirds quarters the Cards gave the Niners all they could handle. The Cards were tenacious. Though they fell short in end, they accomplished far more than most and I believed was possible for this team. After Deion Sanders lost to Oregon he said, “You better get me now, this is the worst we’re gonna be.”

His point was simple. He just got started creating his team. Give him some time to get more built and just wait until you see what that team can do. Gannon could have uttered the same statement. This front office is just getting started. Most knowledgeable observers would tell you this is not a strong roster. If Ossenfort does his job, Gannon just might build a juggernaut in the desert. The other thing he has going for him is that his coordinators are young. Hopefully their youth and inexperience will discourage other teams from poaching them to be Assistant Head Coaches. That’s a title designed to circumvent NFL rules and allow teams to steal coordinators by offering them “promotions.”

This is not to say Gannon and his staff are perfect. They still haven’t built a reliable 2 minute drill. The team still commits too many penalties. They are sometimes too conventional when playing defense. Nonetheless they are so vastly improved from the previous administration. It seems like quibbling to criticize them. The play design is both creative and harkens back to long underused techniques, like pulling multiple linemen. This staff knows football. On both sides of the ball their player development has been outstanding. Their ability to motivate, especially veterans, has been exceptional. Working with less than optimum athletes they’ve produced nearly optimal results.

The scary thing for the rest of the league is they appear to learn from their mistakes. They also aren’t afraid to push all their chips to the center of the table. Their first 2 games were played conservatively. The last 2 were among the most aggressive games coached this year. They now play to win.

I don’t know how the Murray experiment will workout. I don’t know how quickly they can get the roster to playoff contention level. They will likely have substantial roster turnover, which always means challenges in player integration. On the other hand more internal competition could lead to improved production. It’s a process, but often not a swift one. Still I’m totally confident they will be a force in years to come.

The nice thing about not having heavy pressure to win means the staff is free to try anything. They can experiment as much as they desire. What ideas have they always wondered would work, if tried? They now have the power. There is literally nothing to lose. They can just tell themselves this is the worst we’re gonna be.

Well put. Completely agree.

Feels weird to be this positive at 1-3 but the Commanders are 2-2 and pushed the Eagles to OT. The Cowboys are 3-1. The Niners are 4-0. We played some good teams and pushed them all to some degree.

It's no small thing that we gave the Niners their toughest game on offense so far yesterday.

It's not all roses. We should be at least 2-2, but everyone is still learning this early in the season. Mistakes will happen.
 

urs

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One of the things that is kind of minor but I love seeing, is wide open receivers. For years I've watched tons of games and see other teams scheme receivers wide open so the QB has easy passes, and always wondered why most of our receivers if they catch a pass have a dude right on them. Unfortunately, our defense is leaving guys wide open too, but I'll chalk that up to lack of talent.
 
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kerouac9

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For three and two thirds quarters the Cards gave the Niners all they could handle.

Was this before or after the 49ers went up 21-3 by halftime? Was it before or after Brock Purdy completed his first 11 passing attempts (including every attempt in the first half)? The 49ers scored a touchdown on every drive save one that didn't end with a clock expiring.

The other thing he has going for him is that his coordinators are young. Hopefully their youth and inexperience will discourage other teams from poaching them to be Assistant Head Coaches.
I don't think this is how it works. I think you can name a coordinator AHC to prevent him from moving for anything but a Head Coach position, but I don't think you can poach a coordinator by naming them AHC. I can't think of an example where it's happened; AHC is more of a title-builder for assistants who want to put themselves on the HC radar.

The reason why Kyler needs to come back is that this passing game has no juice. 6.46 YPA is pretty bad. Dobbs doesn't have the arm to stretch the field in the air, which we hope changes when kyler comes back.
 

BurqueCardFan

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Was this before or after the 49ers went up 21-3 by halftime? Was it before or after Brock Purdy completed his first 11 passing attempts (including every attempt in the first half)? The 49ers scored a touchdown on every drive save one that didn't end with a clock expiring.


I don't think this is how it works. I think you can name a coordinator AHC to prevent him from moving for anything but a Head Coach position, but I don't think you can poach a coordinator by naming them AHC. I can't think of an example where it's happened; AHC is more of a title-builder for assistants who want to put themselves on the HC radar.

The reason why Kyler needs to come back is that this passing game has no juice. 6.46 YPA is pretty bad. Dobbs doesn't have the arm to stretch the field in the air, which we hope changes when kyler comes back.
Exactly. Everything went right for the 9ers and we were still only trailing by less than a TD at the end of 3 quarters (21-16)
 

Cheesebeef

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Was this before or after the 49ers went up 21-3 by halftime? Was it before or after Brock Purdy completed his first 11 passing attempts (including every attempt in the first half)? The 49ers scored a touchdown on every drive save one that didn't end with a clock expiring.

Pretty sure it’s crystal clear Harry was talking about the fight to not give up once down 21-3.

Good lord. Some of you guys really do love to mire in misery.
 

slanidrac16

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Most on this site believed AT BEST we would be 1-3. Most here believed, for the most part, we would get annihilated throughout this season.
Most talked about the lack of talent on both sides of the ball.
Yet, we have been in every game scratching and clawing and leaving everything on the field. Hell, Connor was fighting AFTER the game.
The flaws we’ve seen is directly related to the roster talent.
Yes, hard to believe we are happy with 1-3. However, Bengal fans aren’t happy nor are the Vikings with 1-3. They have rosters that warrant better records. We don’t.
 

JohnnyCakes

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Well put. Completely agree.

Feels weird to be this positive at 1-3 but the Commanders are 2-2 and pushed the Eagles to OT. The Cowboys are 3-1. The Niners are 4-0. We played some good teams and pushed them all to some degree.

It's no small thing that we gave the Niners their toughest game on offense so far yesterday.

It's not all roses. We should be at least 2-2, but everyone is still learning this early in the season. Mistakes will happen.
aaannnddd....the team is fairly banged up as well
 

Cheesebeef

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Yeah, banging on Harry is a real annoyance to me...we have a guy that ACTUALLY knows was is going on and lived the life.
I don’t even care about banging on Harry. He’s a poster like everyone else who shouldn’t go unquestioned. It’s the inability to see the positives that are on the field because of this coaching staff despite the limitations put on the roster by the GM in the off-season.

I was a big skeptic of Gannon and I still HATE how undisciplined this team is, but questioning the fight in the team just wreaks of someone not wanting to even entertain the thought that they MIGHT not have been 100% right about Gannon and staff put together.
 

Stout

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Most on this site believed AT BEST we would be 1-3. Most here believed, for the most part, we would get annihilated throughout this season.
Most talked about the lack of talent on both sides of the ball.
Yet, we have been in every game scratching and clawing and leaving everything on the field. Hell, Connor was fighting AFTER the game.
The flaws we’ve seen is directly related to the roster talent.
Yes, hard to believe we are happy with 1-3. However, Bengal fans aren’t happy nor are the Vikings with 1-3. They have rosters that warrant better records. We don’t.
Even in the depths of my darksiderdom, I said I'd be fine with us losing because we haven't set up to win. The roster isn't good. What these coaches have done with this roster is phenomenal. Yeah, we got trucked on D this week. That's one of those things that should have happened. Just got to use it as a learning game and move on for the D.
 

kerouac9

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Pretty sure it’s crystal clear Harry was talking about the fight to not give up once down 21-3.

Good lord. Some of you guys really do love to mire in misery.
If that's the case, it wasn't clear to me.

It's not miserable to recognize the reality that this team was never really in danger of challenging anything other than beating the spread yesterday. That 5-point deficit was a result of not some kind of defensive stiffening but instead a single-drive hiccup where Purdy got sacked out of field goal range to end a drive where San Francisco marched once again mostly unimpeded down the field.

Which is fine! San Francisco is way, way better than us. With all we've invested in the offense, we should be well ahead on that side of the ball. Our defense stinks right now. Our second-round pick played nine snaps.

I just don't understand the need to valorize a game where we were more or less completely outclassed. I'm extremely excited to see Kyler return to this offense and turn Marquise Brown into something more than a grinding chains-mover.
 

lobo

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I think the Niners are the best team in the NFL. For three and two thirds quarters the Cards gave the Niners all they could handle. The Cards were tenacious. Though they fell short in end, they accomplished far more than most and I believed was possible for this team. After Deion Sanders lost to Oregon he said, “You better get me now, this is the worst we’re gonna be.”

His point was simple. He just got started creating his team. Give him some time to get more built and just wait until you see what that team can do. Gannon could have uttered the same statement. This front office is just getting started. Most knowledgeable observers would tell you this is not a strong roster. If Ossenfort does his job, Gannon just might build a juggernaut in the desert. The other thing he has going for him is that his coordinators are young. Hopefully their youth and inexperience will discourage other teams from poaching them to be Assistant Head Coaches. That’s a title designed to circumvent NFL rules and allow teams to steal coordinators by offering them “promotions.”

This is not to say Gannon and his staff are perfect. They still haven’t built a reliable 2 minute drill. The team still commits too many penalties. They are sometimes too conventional when playing defense. Nonetheless they are so vastly improved from the previous administration. It seems like quibbling to criticize them. The play design is both creative and harkens back to long underused techniques, like pulling multiple linemen. This staff knows football. On both sides of the ball their player development has been outstanding. Their ability to motivate, especially veterans, has been exceptional. Working with less than optimum athletes they’ve produced nearly optimal results.

The scary thing for the rest of the league is they appear to learn from their mistakes. They also aren’t afraid to push all their chips to the center of the table. Their first 2 games were played conservatively. The last 2 were among the most aggressive games coached this year. They now play to win.

I don’t know how the Murray experiment will workout. I don’t know how quickly they can get the roster to playoff contention level. They will likely have substantial roster turnover, which always means challenges in player integration. On the other hand more internal competition could lead to improved production. It’s a process, but often not a swift one. Still I’m totally confident they will be a force in years to come.

The nice thing about not having heavy pressure to win means the staff is free to try anything. They can experiment as much as they desire. What ideas have they always wondered would work, if tried? They now have the power. There is literally nothing to lose. They can just tell themselves this is the worst we’re gonna be.
11/10 Harry! You pointed out something that I feared from the start. When you have young bright coordinators, or any staff for that matter, you are making the big investment in time, etc and along comes say who you care to, and swoops them away to become "assistant head coach" or "head coach." My guess is that the ripest of all and will be gone is Jeff Rogers. He is one real fine coach and if a team like the Bears say decide to make a change, he would be the perfect guy as he was there and was successful too.
 

RON_IN_OC

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11/10 Harry! You pointed out something that I feared from the start. When you have young bright coordinators, or any staff for that matter, you are making the big investment in time, etc and along comes say who you care to, and swoops them away to become "assistant head coach" or "head coach." My guess is that the ripest of all and will be gone is Jeff Rogers. He is one real fine coach and if a team like the Bears say decide to make a change, he would be the perfect guy as he was there and was successful too.
It's interesting you mention Rogers...I think we can all see that Special Teams, especially the return game, seems a little down this year. I think I finally figured out why. Special Teams are mostly made up of backups and role players...so when you completely tear down a roster, as the Cards have this year where you have guys that should be backups and role players starting on O and D, you then have guys who should mostly be Practice Squad guys being relied upon to contribute to ST.

If Rogers can get these guys to improve a bit more throughout the rest of the year, it will be one of his best coaching jobs.
 

Totally_Red

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I'm not "over the moon", but by any measure this coaching staff has exceeded expectations. Considering only the special teams coordinator has previously done the job, it is remarkable and the NFL is well aware that Arizona has a real NFL coach in charge.

I'm excited for the future for the first time in forever. Get your popcorn ready!
 

Cardiac

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I think the Niners are the best team in the NFL. For three and two thirds quarters the Cards gave the Niners all they could handle. The Cards were tenacious. Though they fell short in end, they accomplished far more than most and I believed was possible for this team. After Deion Sanders lost to Oregon he said, “You better get me now, this is the worst we’re gonna be.”

His point was simple. He just got started creating his team. Give him some time to get more built and just wait until you see what that team can do. Gannon could have uttered the same statement. This front office is just getting started. Most knowledgeable observers would tell you this is not a strong roster. If Ossenfort does his job, Gannon just might build a juggernaut in the desert. The other thing he has going for him is that his coordinators are young. Hopefully their youth and inexperience will discourage other teams from poaching them to be Assistant Head Coaches. That’s a title designed to circumvent NFL rules and allow teams to steal coordinators by offering them “promotions.”

This is not to say Gannon and his staff are perfect. They still haven’t built a reliable 2 minute drill. The team still commits too many penalties. They are sometimes too conventional when playing defense. Nonetheless they are so vastly improved from the previous administration. It seems like quibbling to criticize them. The play design is both creative and harkens back to long underused techniques, like pulling multiple linemen. This staff knows football. On both sides of the ball their player development has been outstanding. Their ability to motivate, especially veterans, has been exceptional. Working with less than optimum athletes they’ve produced nearly optimal results.

The scary thing for the rest of the league is they appear to learn from their mistakes. They also aren’t afraid to push all their chips to the center of the table. Their first 2 games were played conservatively. The last 2 were among the most aggressive games coached this year. They now play to win.

I don’t know how the Murray experiment will workout. I don’t know how quickly they can get the roster to playoff contention level. They will likely have substantial roster turnover, which always means challenges in player integration. On the other hand more internal competition could lead to improved production. It’s a process, but often not a swift one. Still I’m totally confident they will be a force in years to come.

The nice thing about not having heavy pressure to win means the staff is free to try anything. They can experiment as much as they desire. What ideas have they always wondered would work, if tried? They now have the power. There is literally nothing to lose. They can just tell themselves this is the worst we’re gonna be.

I wish I could like this more than once.
Harry do you think maybe the conservative game plans were against teams they felt they could beat and they knew that they had to be creative and gamble more against teams that had more talented players.
 

lobo

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It's interesting you mention Rogers...I think we can all see that Special Teams, especially the return game, seems a little down this year. I think I finally figured out why. Special Teams are mostly made up of backups and role players...so when you completely tear down a roster, as the Cards have this year where you have guys that should be backups and role players starting on O and D, you then have guys who should mostly be Practice Squad guys being relied upon to contribute to ST.

If Rogers can get these guys to improve a bit more throughout the rest of the year, it will be one of his best coaching jobs.
A good point...not a reflection on his ability. He is a good one in my judgement.
 

Stout

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If that's the case, it wasn't clear to me.

It's not miserable to recognize the reality that this team was never really in danger of challenging anything other than beating the spread yesterday. That 5-point deficit was a result of not some kind of defensive stiffening but instead a single-drive hiccup where Purdy got sacked out of field goal range to end a drive where San Francisco marched once again mostly unimpeded down the field.

Which is fine! San Francisco is way, way better than us. With all we've invested in the offense, we should be well ahead on that side of the ball. Our defense stinks right now. Our second-round pick played nine snaps.

I just don't understand the need to valorize a game where we were more or less completely outclassed. I'm extremely excited to see Kyler return to this offense and turn Marquise Brown into something more than a grinding chains-mover.
Bizarre take when the score was 21-16 at one point.
 

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