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Cardinals coach Bruce Arians could be example for the 49ers[/h1]
Wednesday’s traditional news conference with Jim Harbaugh had a certain bon voyage feel. Harbaugh joked about his birthday, which was Tuesday, and answered questions about the contributions of defensive end Justin Smith and running back Frank Gore with reverence.
Afterwards, he later shook hands with media members who wished him a happy birthday, but it felt like more than that. It felt more like a good bye.
Whether the 49ers are making the right move in splitting with Harbaugh is now nearly irrelavant, what’s far more pertinent, is what does the organization do next?
They could learn from the example of the Cardinals, the team they play Sunday in the season finale at Levi’s. The Cardinals hired career assistant Bruce Arians as their coach, after he subbed for the ailing head coach Chuck Pagano in Indianapolis in 2012, and led the Colts to a 9-3 record. Before that, the now 62-year-old Arians never got so much as a call from another team about a head-coaching position.
Not surprisingly, Arians hails from the old-guys-rule school of coaching, and he believes experience holds great value.
“I think so many times, owners, general managers get caught up in who is being touted by the press. But
the problem with a young, hot, energetic coach is usually he has been in one system,” Arians said. “If that system fails, he doesn’t have any answers for it. He fails. It helps to have a guy who has experience in two or three general manager systems.”
Arians has coached in the NFL since 1989 with six different teams and has worked under plenty of different general managers and approaches. The 49ers have plenty of long-time assistants on their current staff. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, like Arians, has been with six teams in his 28 years coaching in the NFL.
“I think he has a great repoire with his players, that’s the big thing,” Arians said. “We have worked together a number of times. I have a lot of respect for him, and I think he would do a heck of a job.”
Fangio is the most obvious coach to get a promotion to the big chair, but there are others including secondary coach Ed Donatell (22 years in the NFL, five different teams, including four seasons as the Packers defensive coordinator from 2000-2003). Defensive line coach Jim Tomsula has 28 years of experience coaching at the high school, college and pro level and has been a successful coach in NFL Europa. Offensive line coach Mike Solari started in the NFL in 1987 and has been with four different teams, including two stints in San Francisco. Running backs coach Tom Rathman started with the 49ers in 1997 and has coached in Detroit and Oakland before returning with the 49ers in 2009.
The resumes of these men bulge with accomplishment and one of them could be the next Arians. Promoting from within has the advantage of keeping this excellent staff largely in tact for next season when the 49ers throw another draft class on top of an already talent-laden roster.
If the 49ers promote from their current staff, who would you like to see as the next head coach?
Did my dude Pcox wrong.
