San Francisco 49ers

NFL Rumors: 49ers Won't Fire GM Trent Baalke, per Report

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The San Francisco 49ers aren’t going to fire general manager Trent Baalke after the 2016 season is finished, according to a report from Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole. But how much faith should we put into this statement?

Citing a source, Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole reported on Wednesday the San Francisco 49ers would not fire general manager Trent Baalke after this season which, of course, has been nothing short of a disaster.

David Fucillo of Niners Nation transcribed the notable portion of Cole’s report, which you can read below:

A 49ers source strongly indicated that general manager Trent Baalke is safe to remain with the team after this season, despite the team’s poor play so far. The 49ers defense has allowed more than 30 points in four of its past five games, but the belief by 49ers management is that Baalke is the right person to pick players for coach Chip Kelly going forward.

And here’s the video from Cole:

Cole’s reporting has been suspect to say the least. Last year, he reported former head coach Jim Tomsula’s job was safe if the Niners remained competitive over the rest of 2015.

One could argue the second-half 49ers were better than was shown the first half last season.

And yet Tomsula was canned immediately after Week 17.

Who could forget Cole’s reporting of retired linebacker Patrick Willis’ possible return to the NFL? Willis vehemently denied the rumor shortly after the report went live.

Basically, all this is right now is another leak from the front office. Nothing more.

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While we can probably assume Baalke won’t be canned between now and the end of the season, it’s hard to speculate any merit from the report beyond this year.

Especially if the Niners’ current woes continue.

There’s little doubting San Francisco’s general manager is largely responsible for things now.

So make of it what you wish. That’s about it.

All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com, Sports-Reference.com and ESPN.com unless otherwise indicated.

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