National Football League

San Francisco 49ers: 5 Moves that Sealed Former General Manager Trent Baalke's Fate

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 1:05 a.m. ET

Fansided, Peter Panacy/FanSided via Niner Noise

The San Francisco 49ers are landing a general manager in John Lynch this offseason, which prompts a look back at the moves that got former GM Trent Baalke fired. Here are the five biggest ones.

October 23, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke before the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Levi

The San Francisco 49ers are bringing aboard Hall of Fame candidate John Lynch to fill their general manager position, per various reports Sunday evening.

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He’ll be the guy replacing Trent Baalke, whom the Niners fired after Week 17.

Baalke had been San Francisco’s GM since 2011, officially, and had general manager-like duties the year before. And, for those who remember, he managed to receive the 2011 NFL Executive of the Year award for his efforts in getting the 49ers’ roster to where it was.

But what went wrong?

Anyone who’s followed the Niners can tout on Baalke’s failures. There was the 2012 NFL Draft, which was a bust. 2013 and 2014 weren’t much better either. And it’s still a bit too early to make judgments on the last two drafts.

Remember though, CEO Jed York put his complete faith in Baalke’s ability to rebuild the roster after the team parted ways with 2015 head coach Jim Tomsula.

“Trent Baalke will remain the general manager of the 49ers,” York said during that year’s season-ending presser. “Trent understands that I’m not satisfied with the state of this team. Trent’s role is to find the next head coach and continue to build this roster and get us back to championship form. Trent has the skills to do this.”

Let’s make that our starting point and look at the five moves that ensured 2016 would be Baalke’s last in San Francisco.

Oct 16, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; San Francisco 49ers guard Zane Beadles (68) blocks Buffalo Bills linebacker Lorenzo Alexander (57) during the first half at New Era Field. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

No. 5: Zane Beadles Being the Biggest Free-Agent Acquisition

The 49ers finished 2016 with $40,814,896 in salary cap space, per Over the Cap. That number ranked higher than any other team other than the Cleveland Browns last season.

If 2015’s 5-11 record was any indication, the Niners needed plenty of offseason help between then and last year. And it wasn’t as if Trent Baalke was handicapped by limited cap resources either.

Granted, Baalke had never been much of a free-agent general manager. Yet San Francisco needed a vast influx in advance of 2016.

And the team’s biggest free-agent pickup? None other than offensive guard Zane Beadles, who was considered more of a Jacksonville Jaguars castoff than anything else.

Yes, there were a few other moves too. But Beadles was the only one of note.

Sure, San Francisco’s offensive line needed help. Yet considering Beadles finished 2016 with a 40.2 grade, per Pro Football Focus, and ranked dead last in this category among the team’s opening-day O-line starters, it’s safe to say this acquisition was a poor one.

Jun 8, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers guard Joshua Garnett (65) runs drills during minicamp at the San Francisco 49ers Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

No. 4: Trading Up for Offensive Guard Joshua Garnett in the NFL Draft

Sticking with the Niners offensive line, one could make an easy argument Trent Baalke gaffed on the idea to move up in Round 1 of the 2016 NFL Draft to take former Stanford guard Joshua Garnett.

Granted, Garnett’s 42.4 overall Pro Football Focus grade may not be an indication of what he might become. Rookie struggles are nothing new to football.

And it’s also possible Baalke absolutely wanted Garnett to fill a void and didn’t see him making it to San Francisco’s second-round pick.

So maybe this trade and pickup isn’t terrible in of itself. But here’s where one can question the move.

Fellow guard Andrew Tiller came on strong at the tail end of 2015. With a cap hit of just $600,000 in 2016, Tiller wasn’t an expensive option. And his own 72.7 overall PFF grade suggests he was a much better option than either Garnett or veteran guard Zane Beadles.

Garnett could wind up being a solid pickup for the 49ers, only one that needed time to pay off.

Still, Baalke could have made a different move here and brought in playmakers and/or upgraded other pressing needs.

Aug 20, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; San Francisco 49ers cornerback Will Redmond (23) prior to the game against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

No. 3: Drafting ACL-Injury Cornerback Will Redmond in Round 3 of NFL Draft

When fans look back on the Trent Baalke era, they’ll think of two things — his feud with former head coach Jim Harbaugh and his knack for drafting ACL-injured players.

Baalke continued that trend with his third-round pick, Will Redmond, in 2016.

The former Mississippi State cornerback was coming off an ACL injury, and yet Baalke believed the rookie would be ready to go by training camp.

And yet Redmond started off on injured reserve. He stayed there beyond the point where San Francisco could have activated him.

#49ers Trent Baalke after using No. 68 pick on Will Redmond: "He will be healthy. He will be ready to go." Redmond won't play snap in 2016.

— Eric Branch (@Eric_Branch) November 8, 2016

Like guard Joshua Garnett on the previous slide, Redmond could wind up being a solid contributor for the 49ers in coming years.

But Baalke needed to make immediate impacts in 2016. Redmond was just one more example of a wasted pick, and another major strike against the former general manager.

Jan 15, 2015; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke during a press conference to introduce Jim Tomsula as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium Auditorium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

No. 2: 49ers Not Drafting an Inside Linebacker

Just like this year, the 2016 49ers entered the offseason with a plethora of needs.

One of the most pressing was at inside linebacker. Perennial All-Pro NaVorro Bowman couldn’t do everything, and backup-types like Michael Wilhoite and Ray-Ray Armstrong were little more than stopgap options.

And yet Trent Baalke didn’t touch this position with any of his picks in the 2016 NFL Draft.

This led to speculation why — a question we tried to ask here at Niner Noise shortly after the draft.

“Who said it was the top need on the team?” Baalke commented on linebacker needs, via Chris Biderman of NinersWire.com, shortly after the draft. “I would respectfully disagree, but we feel good about that group. We really do.”

Feeling good about that group is a failure right there.

And keep this in mind — out of Baalke’s 11 picks, three were spent on cornerbacks (only one, Rashard Robinson, got significant playing time) and none were used on a linebacker.

San Francisco’s 2016 defense ranked dead last in total yards, points allowed and rushing yards given up.

January 20, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Chip Kelly (left) and San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke (right) pose for a photo in a press conference after naming Kelly as the new head coach for the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium Auditorium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

No. 1: Feuding with Former Head Coach Chip Kelly

Trent Baake’s rift with former head coach Jim Harbaugh was troublesome enough. So one could have only hoped Baalke would have gotten along with last year’s head coach, Chip Kelly.

Initially, it seemed as if this was the case.

Yet, over the season, Kelly and Baalke’s relationship was nothing close to amicable.

Remember Kelly’s move from quarterback Blaine Gabbert to Colin Kaepernick? Remember how Kelly stated it was “one of the only maneuvers we can make based on our depth”?

Yeah, that was a shot at Baalke. And it was one of just a string of reported issues between the two.