Jed York said everything he was supposed to say as he addressed the San Francisco 49ers’ ugly 2015 season. He said that Jim Tomsula was a great guy but the team had to go another direction. He admitted that he missed on trying to make this season competitive for the 49ers. He didn’t even really address Jim Harbaugh. He says he gets too emotional on Twitter. He said a lot of things on Monday. None of it really matters.
What York has put the team through in the past two seasons warrants more than just a press conference with “all the right words” to make everything better. But there was nothing he could do Monday to truly salvage the ugliness the team has endured.
The press conference was a given. The speech and message to fans was a nice touch. But that’s not what the team needs at this time. York knows he messed up. His conference on Monday was only for him to admit that fact. And that is only the first step in a long process of righting the wrongs.
It’s going to take a long time before the 49ers fans can truly forgive York of all these transgressions.
The first step is to find the right head coach. York said himself that he can’t miss on this new hire. After screwing up the whole Harbaugh situation, York has to hit a home run with the next hire. Anything less is a failure.
Trent Baalke can’t afford to have a bad draft either. Baalke’s recent drafts have not turned out well and if York has to have any ounce of credibility left, Baalke has to be near flawless at the draft. Anything less is a failure.
These are the standards York says the team subscribes to as an organization.
But even after finding the right coach and making good draft picks, the ultimate indicator of success is winning. The 49ers need to make the playoffs. The 49ers have to be competitive. The 49ers, as York claims, have to challenge and win Super Bowls. He won’t settle for less. York has failed too many times already to afford another failure on his resume.
Maybe Monday was a learning point for York and he finally gets it. And that is a good thing. He realized that he has to be responsible for the errors of his ways. The team is better off if he sees it that way.
But don’t applaud him. Don’t give him a pass. Give him that when the team starts winning again — and that better be soon. Until then, he’s still cleaning up a huge mess he made two seasons ago. Monday’s press conference was only him admitting guilt and locating the mop in the supply closet.