Firings of coaches and GM by 49ers have been messy affairs
[...] after his final game, Kelly, about two hours away from his official dismissal, was asked about his reportedly testy talk with York.
Leaks and losses have marked a fall from grace that has included the clunky recent firings of Kelly and general manager Trent Baalke.
Will York, who has maintained he’s not the source of leaks, demand a culture that protects employees by keeping information in-house?
Since the 49ers’ last winning season in 2013, it’s notable that two of the franchise’s biggest names, Jim Harbaugh and quarterback Colin Kaepernick, have been undermined by national media reports.
On New Year’s Day, Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer said on air that it was Baalke’s decision in 2015 to hire Jim Tomsula instead of now-Miami head coach Adam Gase, who expected to join the 49ers: “Gase was getting everything all packed up and in the 11th-and-a-half-hour, he was informed that Trent Baalke went to ownership and had them make an about-face,” he said.
The 49ers have since conducted and scheduled interviews with respected candidates, but New England director of player personnel Nick Caserio declined their interview request.
In 2014, when reports about Harbaugh’s shaky job status and locker room preceded his firing, York said he wasn’t the source for the stories and didn’t know from where they originated: I don’t read all of the reports.
Last week, regarding Kelly’s awkward exit, York suggested that national reporters had engaged in educated speculation, given the 49ers’ 2-14 season: “I wish that it would have been cleaner, but I think it was evident that we were considering making changes.”
During the past season, however, York matched Kaepernick’s $1 million pledge to assist underprivileged communities shortly after the quarterback’s national-anthem stance became a national story in August.