CATEGORIES

SEASON IN REVIEW

Did somebody say Super Bowl hangover?

ROOKIE REVIEW

After building the 49ers into NFC champions with young talent during their first three years together — when San Francisco had a total of 40 rookies see action from 2017-2019 — the team’s leadership tandem of general manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan found themselves with considerably less draft capital at their disposal in the fourth year of their partnership.

GOOD MOVE OR BAD MOVE?

Revisiting 49ers’ 2020 personnel decisions

STOCK UP STOCK DOWN

STOCK UP STOCK DOWN

SOLD ON SALEH

Highly regarded DC likely to leave San Francisco after season for higher position

SHOPPING FOR A NEW DC

With the imminent departure of Robert Saleh during the offseason to a head coaching position elsewhere in the NFL, the 49ers will find themselves searching for a new defensive coordinator for the first time since 2017. With the defensive talent the 49ers have on hand, and San Francisco possessing a playoff-ready roster and one of the NFL’s most respected coaching staffs, the position will be attractive to a wide variety of candidates, including several veteran coaches who have had previous success in the league. Here’s a look at some top candidates who could be in the running to become San Francisco’s new DC in 2021.

TOP 10 Team executives

Achieving the highest level of success at every stop of his football lifetime, John Lynch climbed the ladder from collegiate star to nine-time NFL ProBowler to respected television analyst before he joined the 49ers as a first-time general manager in 2017. Since then, he’s become one of the men most responsible for building the franchise back into a champion with his shrewd moves and organizational acumen. Named the NFL’s 2019 Executive of the Year by the Pro Football Writers of America, Lynch has quickly earned his place on this list of the greatest team executives in 49ers history.

HOME ON THE ROAD

Latest bizarre twist relocates 49ers to Arizona

DOWN THE STRETCH

49ers under microscope as season comes to close

GETTING THE BEST OUT OF THE REST

Saleh’s understudies step into big-time roles

DOUBLE TROUBLE

Samuel, Aiyuk among NFL’s most dynamic young duos

TOP 10 Greatest LB units

When the 49ers traded veteran Kwon Alexander to the New Orleans Saints, Nov. 2, they broke up one of the best young groups of starting linebackers in today’s NFL, a group including Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw that played a significant role in lifting San Francisco into Super Bowl LIV last season.

MULLING OVER MULLENS

Time for 49ers to determine what they have in gritty QB

DEADLINE DECISIONS

Alexander trade a harbinger of tough choices looming for 49ers

STOCK UP STOCK DOWN

The third-year veteran continued to establish himself as the best player on the San Francisco

Does Jimmy G still have future with 49ers?

San Fran must consider moving on from QB

BYE WEEK CHECKLIST

49ers have plenty of work to do during late break in schedule

THE WARRIOR

Warner’s willpower setting standard for 49ers defense

TOP 10 Turnaround seasons

With the 49ers experiencing a turnaround season of the wrong kind this year through the middle of October, let’s take a look at the bright side. San Francisco is coming off one of the very best turnaround seasons in franchise history, as the 2019 49ers made one of the greatest single-season improvements in NFL history for a team that had such a poor record the season before. That earns last year’s team a high place on this list of the best turnaround seasons in 49ers history.

Stock Report

Stock Report

DEAN OF A DYNASTY

49ers all-time great passes away at 68

INJURY IMPACT

Season on the brink due to decimation of 49ers roster

Down, but definitely not out

The San Francisco 49ers sure know how to take a punch.

49ERS REPORT CARD

Handing out grades to the 49ers as they close in on the midpoint of their 2020 season along with the bottom line at each positional area of the team.

AROUND THE NFC WEST

The NFC West division was tough enough already. But after the 49ers and Seattle Seahawks combined for three playoff victories last year — and the Los Angeles Rams also would have advanced to the postseason if the NFL’s new expanded playoff format had been implemented last year — the wild West looks even tougher this year, universally considered as the toughest division in the entire league with the Arizona Cardinals also an up-and-coming team. The NFC West promises to be a veritable battle royale this season, and here’s a look at what’s new and what’s different from last year while reviewing San Francisco’s three divisional rivals moving into the early stages of the 2020 season.

SAME OLD JIMMY?

49ers, Garoppolo still strong in belief QB will be better

TOP 5 Rivalries

Over the course of the team’s 75-year history, the 49ers have developed and cultivated some of the more heated and iconic rivalries in NFL history, several of which have remained strong over many decades. In an unusual scheduling quirk, San Francisco will face each of its top five historic rivals during the 2020 season, and several of those games could have playoff implications while each promises to add another memorable chapter to storied competitions. Here are the greatest rivalries in 49ers history, each of them featuring unforgettable moments in team lore, with the week San Francisco plays those rivals this year in parentheses along with the best games ever in each rivalry.

STOCK UP STOCK DOWN

STOCK UP STOCK DOWN

STARTING OUT

Defending NFC champs have big turnover in opening lineup

Resilient 49ers have been here before

FIRST DOWN