Fans have confused one down season with dysfunction, and that couldn’t be further from the truth
A 6-11 record for the 2024 San Francisco 49ers feels like a massive collapse for a team coming off a third consecutive NFC Championship Game appearance and the fourth in seven seasons under Kyle Shanahan.
Who knows, 2024 could have been the start of the collapse of Shanahan’s reign, but we won’t know that until after the 2025 season or beyond. 2024 has been frequently compared to the 2020 season, but the completion of that comparison would be for 2024 to just be a blip before another several years of dominance from the 49ers.
But that one down season has been confused for dysfunction within the 49ers organization, getting as far as reports about a potential Shanahan trade that had to be shooed away. Sure, there’s a level of dysfunction going on, like how they’ve swung and missed on their last two choices for defensive coordinator or the continued malfunction that is the special teams unit.
Those are routine football problems that teams have, and the misery that has become being a 49ers fan should not be confused with dysfunction. Technically speaking, losing in late January is a good problem because it means plenty of winning is happening. I know that’s not what fans want to be reminded of, but if you want to see true dysfunction, look no further than the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The 49ers faithful are watching Jacksonville closely as the 49ers narrow-minded pursuit of Robert Saleh hinges on the Jaguars. The dysfunction for the 2024 Jaguars started back in April, as they made headlines not just for their picks – Brian Thomas is excellent – but because Chief Football Strategy Strategy Officer and All Elite Wrestling co-owner Tony Khan showed up to the war room with a neck brace after being attacked by the Young Bucks on the previous episode of Dynamite (a storyline that never had a payoff mind you).
That silliness carried into the regular season, with the Jaguars going 2-6 through October. Instead of letting go of Doug Pederson midseason despite apparent signs of disconnect between him and the team, the Jags carried on and finished 4-13.
Jacksonville finally axed Pederson after the season, but in a move that puzzled many, owner Shad Khan chose to retain former 49ers general manager Trent Baalke. Jacksonville continued their coaching search over the last few weeks, narrowing their search down to Saleh, Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Liam Coen, and Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham.
Jacksonville selected Coen earlier this week, but Coen rebuffed Baalke and Khan, returning to Tampa Bay. That turned out to be the final straw for Jacksonville, finally firing Baalke after being turned down by Coen, a level of dysfunction never seen in the NFL.
In the end, Jacksonville cleaned up enough to lure Coen back, saving the 49ers the embarrassment of missing out on Saleh, seemingly the only name San Francisco cares for their vacant position.
But in a season where a team streamed to HBO themselves, fumbling the negotiations for their franchise star, another team was found out to use Madden to determine trade value, and now the Jaguars coaching search all happened. Do not confuse the 49ers’ typical issues with dysfunction. The Niners have plenty of levels to fall before they reach that tier.