Originally posted by NCommand:
Front Office Opportunities for Improvement:
1. Ditch the moneyball department and philosophy. The ROI on this team is horrendous and it starts with targeting and extending players they can "win" in the contract negotiations (i.e. sign Garoppolo after only 5 games because you can add in annual rip cords and low GTD $, or draft red-flag players like Kinlaw later in a round, or spend millions on players like Verrett, Tartt, Alexander, etc.). The system has completely failed and in fact, has cost them way more in the end than just cap space. Add up all the cost of just losing Verrett and you could have just paid for a top healthy FA CB.
2. Find or promote a modern-day GM that has a full background in pro scout and pro personnel and who is respected enough to hold Kyle accountable for the product on the field. This includes retaining s**tty coaches and players he has personal relationships with and being ill-prepared, poor football IQ, no to poor contingency plans, getting out coached, clock and game/situational awareness, zero accountability for players, etc. This guy should be part of the younger crowd who believes in trades and actively seeks these out.
3. Hire a new strength and conditioning team and revamp the entire soft practice philosophy. Study up and learn from perennial healthy teams. Ditch the entire medical team. This has been the Achilles heel for two decades here.
Overall, the FO targets players they can "win" in contract negotiations (Paraag FTW!) and value in draft picks (Foster & Kinlaw), panics and overdrafts at the top of the draft (Aiyuk, Pettis & Wishnowsky) for specific players but lets the draft come to them in the later rounds (where they have far more success). Draft and development also seems to be a divide on this team as well and they not only invest top dollars at key positions and get low ROI but they rarely have any contingency plans for when those positions are lost to injuries; they drop off at crucial positions is enormous (Richburg and Mack to scrubs with no talents rookie developing to take over some day learning from the veterans). These ever-changing weekly lineups d/t lost snap counts lead to key losses in important games and being the 2nd most team in football for 9 straight years means the medical staff, S&C team and practice and without regime is a massive fail as is the player acquisitions they target for these systems.
There also doesn't appear to be much accountability for Kyle as he continues to make the same mistakes over and over and his loyalty to friends/coaches has cost him dearly. Kyle seems to only be able to win one way and he and his staff are lost when things go outside structure where we just saw coaches like Pete and Bill adjust to win with a poor roster or challenging weather conditions, respectively. Kyle's teams continue to find new and creative ways to lose and that's a sign of an undisciplined team and one that greatly lacks in football IQ.
PS: You can bet your ass the FO is licking their chops to resign Mike McGlinchey coming off a major career-threatening injury to win that contract. Then, pay close attention to the full ripple effect of this move going forward from cap $ spent on RT, to if he plays in the off season, to how he plays to start the season, to the development snaps of his backup, to who his backup even is, the inevitable in-season scramble when there is a medical flare up, to effects on the the weekly scheme, in-out of the lineup effects, etc.
Eventually, this has become our true culture.
I think to a certain extent, they have addressed your concerns.
1. I think they have changed their draft philosophy, Huf at round 5 vs Kentavius at round 4 (for example) Arden Key, Ebukam, Omenihu vs often injured and highly talented Dee Ford.
2. I think with the greater involvement of Kyle's dad, that's something that (I think) is going to develop further this year. I think the Front office is (to a certain extent) beginning to rely more and more on Kyle's dad to help out in them convincing Kyle to stop trading up for picks when he can (as you said) let the draft come to him like after the 4th rounds.
3. I think they can do a lot more in this area, definitely, and I think the missing component is the mental side of any injury. In the case of Bosa, how he attacked his re-hab mentally. In the case of drafting and acquiring players, they need to pay attention to more of the mental side of the talent equation. Do they work out in the offseason, do they stay in shape, do they do the things in the offseason that make them healthier during the regular season?
Re: McGlinchy, I think how they approach this player - whether they sign him, trade him, keep him and trade him or just let him go is going to be a big indicator for me, of how they have changed their way of evaluating injuries. We shall see.
Agree, I hope they go the way of the '86 draft and draft specifically for depth as another way of addressing the injury situation (in a different way than just dealing with it from the trainer/rehab diagnosis side). Yes, get the best medical personnel and definitely study the best practices with regards to injury prevention and recovery, but on the draft/player acquisition side - they have to get more depth. Again, instead of getting one Jerry Rice and two JJ Stokes, I'd rather get three Dwight Clarks. I.e. I'd rather have three good players vs one outstanding player and two mediocre ones, for *every position* on the team.
I know, a good amount of guys I love to keep, but can't keep them all, just hope they retain Key, DJ, K'Waun, & Laken on multi yr deals, then extend Deebo, Nick, & Dre, also give Al-Shaair a multi yr deal, the ERFAs aren't going anywhere(Hasty, Jennings, Givens, McKivitz, & DFF), nor are the RFAs(Brunskill & Street), if Al-Shaair isn't signed before FA, he'll get the 2nd rd tender so we don't lose him, Brunskill idk if he gets tendered, as for Street, the $2.54M tender would give us a 4th, so I doubt someone gives a 4th for Street, but I want both back anyway.