San Francisco 49ers

49ers' Tomsula not ready to yank starting job from Ellington

Published Dec. 3, 2015 3:58 p.m. ET

foxsports

San Francisco 49ers punt returner Bruce Ellington may not be on as short a leash as one of his coaches suggested.

One day after 49ers special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey said that Ellington would lose his job if he fumbled another punt, he was overruled by head coach Jim Tomsula.

“I hope he didn’t say that,” Tomsula said Thursday at his media briefing. “That would be ... I would not want him to have said that. I’m sure he didn’t say it like that.”

In discussing Ellington's fumble issues on Wednesday, McGaughey referenced former New England Patriots punter Chris Harper, who was released by the team Monday after muffing a punt in Sunday's loss at the Denver Broncos.

"He ain’t got a job," McGaughey said of Harper. "If Bruce were standing right here next to me, I’d say the same thing: ‘You got to take care of the ball. Everybody’s got a job to do. Do your job.’”

Tomsula responded by saying Ellington is the team's punt returner and pointed to technique as the root of his problems. “We just need to catch the ball the proper way. Get the hands down,” Tomsula said.