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RESURGENCE || Yorks’ hiring of Harbaugh turns 49ers around
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San Francisco 49ers owner John York of Canfield waves from the field at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. The 49ers snapped a eight-season playoff drought after the Yorks’ hiring of Jim Harbaugh as head coach. San Francisco faces the New York Giants on Sunday for a Super Bowl berth.
Yorks’ hiring of Harbaugh turns 49ers around
By Tom Williams
When the five- month NFL lockout ended in late July, pundits reasoned that the teams with established coaches would have a much better chance for success. Because the teams with new head coaches had lost spring and summer sessions to implement their systems, most figured it would take time before their players could catch up.
The experts weren’t wrong — only two of the 12 teams that qualified for the postseason had new head coaches in 2001. In the Denver Broncos’ case, their head coach, John Fox, had spent the nine previous seasons as the Carolina Panthers head coach.
The exception to the postseason party is the San Francisco 49ers (14-3) who will host the NFC Championship Game on Sunday for the first time since January 1998. Their opponent at Candlestick Park will be the New York Giants (11-7), the champions of the NFC East and winners of the Super Bowl four years ago.
Canfield’s John York, who has co-owned the Niners along with his wife, Denise DeBartolo York, since 1999, says the atmosphere surrounding the game “is really very, very exciting.
“The fact that we get to host the game in San Francisco is a very pleasant surprise,” said York in a telephone interview from team headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif.
The Niners’ turnaround has been stunning. Last season, the Niners (6-10) fired head coach Mike Singletary after 15 games then replaced him with the highly sought-after Jim Harbaugh, a rising star with Stanford University.
But in March, the lockout hit, shutting down the league for everything except the draft.
Despite the loss of offseason workouts and mini-camps, the Niners came together under Harbaugh’s brash, confident style, winning nine of their first 10 games to become the first team to win their division (NFC West) and clinch a postseason berth.
With the second seed in the NFC, the Niners surprised many last Saturday when they pulled out a 36-32 shootout victory over the New Orleans Saints (14-4) in the final seconds.
Quarterback Alex Smith, considered for most of his career to be a NFL bust after being selected number one overall in 2005, executed the game-winning drive, capping it with a 14-yard touchdown pass to tight end Vernon Davis with nine seconds remaining.
After surrendering two touchdowns to the Saints in the final 4:02, the Niners responded with scoring drives of 80 and 85 yards for their first playoff win in nine seasons.
“What a finish— four scores in the last four minutes,” said York of the seesaw battle with New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees. “There was a feeling, no matter which side you were on, of ‘now we’ve won, now we’ve lost, now we’ve won ...’ “
On Sunday, the Niners received extra frosting on the cake when the Giants (10-7) upset the top-seeded Packers (15-2), 37-20, to give the Niners homefield advantage in the title game.
Last weekend was a major hurdle climbed for the Yorks. The Niners have had just three playoff seasons in the 13 years since they assumed control of the team from Denise’s brother, Eddie DeBartolo Jr.
In 1999, the Niners were in salary-cap purgatory after mortgaging their future in the mid-90s with expensive free agents. Those players helped the Niners win their fifth Super Bowl in January 1995, but a heavy price was paid at the end of the decade.
Several seasons of low-payroll teams were needed to balance the books, but by 2001, under the leadership of general manager Terry Donohue and head coach Steve Mariucci, the Niners (12-4) qualified as wild card entry.
That season ended with a 25-15 loss to the Packers at Lambeau Field.
In 2002, the Niners won the NFC West with a 10-6 record, then won a wild game over the Giants, 39-38, at Candlestick Park. A week later, the Niners fell 31-6 to the Buccaneers in Tampa. Three days later, the Mariucci era ended when York fired him.
The next eight seasons were trying ones. Mariucci’s replacement, Dennis Erickson, was fired after posting a 9-23 record over two seasons.
Mike Nolan, whose father Dick had been the Niners head coach from 1968-75, was dismissed in the 2008 season with a record of 18-37.
The intense Singletary finished that season then went 18-22 record as head coach when he was released.
In December 2008, the Yorks promoted their oldest son, Jed, to team president/owner and adopted the roles of co-chairmen.
“He was born to be in this position,” said York of his 31-year-old son who is a graduate of Cardinal Mooney High School and the University of Notre Dame. “He’s been here now seven years, he’s [worked in] all the different departments and knows what’s going on throughout the building.
“We’re very proud of how he’s done,” York said of the team’s chief executive officer.
Last January, Jed York hired Trent Baalke as general manager then wooed Harbaugh to leave Stanford for the league where he was successful quarterback for 15 seasons.
Acknowledging that the Niners head coaches have been disappointments since Mariucci’s firing, John York credited Harbaugh for a positive attitude that has been infectious.
“What does Jim bring? Obviously something the other recent head coaches have not,” York said, “He has a belief in what he can accomplish, he has positive messages.”
In September, the Niners spent five nights in Boardman and trained at Youngstown State University. Rather than fly back to California after a 13-8 in Cincinnati over the Bengals, the Niners set up shop in the Mahoning Valley to prepare for their Oct. 2 game against the Eagles in Philadelphia.
It worked as the Niners edged the Eagles, 24-23.
Harbaugh called the extended road trip a great chance to bond and get to know his players better. The Niners didn’t lose again until Thanksgiving night in Baltimore when the Ravens (coached by Harbaugh’s older brother John) won, 16-6.
“Most people recognize that Jim Harbaugh was growing in stature,” York said of the team’s pursuit last January. “He spent 15 years as a quarterback in the NFL, then had success at the University of San Diego and Stanford. “When it was time for him move on, we were pleased and very, very satisfied [for him] to come to 49ers,” York said.
After eight seasons of no playoffs, Davis’ winning touchdown was a moment to savor.
“I saw the defender [safety Roman Harper] and he was on Vernon’s back,” said York of his view from owner’s box which overlooks the end zone where the play was made. “As the throw was delivered, there was another defender [linebacker Scott Shanle] coming from the center.
“Alex really zipped it in there, just a split second before,” York said. “Vernon got crushed but he hung on.”
Asked how Harbaugh found a way to succeed minus the offseason preparation, York cites another game against the Saints. In the first preseason game in New Orleans, the 49ers were defeated, 24-3.
“I remember after watching the Saints clobber us in preseason,” York said. “Jim and his staff weren’t scratching their heads saying we can’t handle this. Instead, they took the attitude that we’ll learn from this and go on.
“Next game, they emphasized blocking the blitzes,” York said. “I think that New Orleans game helped our offensive line as much of anything.
“It has been interesting watching the coaching staff react to games throughout the season, from the close games [we won] and even the games we lost.”
A win on Sunday would send the Niners to their sixth Super Bowl.