… and this time winning it
That foundation most definitely has already been instituted, as vividly evidenced by the team’s return to prominence during a magnificent 2019 season that finished just a few minutes and a few consequential plays short of a Super Bowl championship.
That’s what it’s all about now for San Francisco — winning the Super Bowl. That’s a realistic goal now in sight. But the 49ers first have to get back to the NFL’s championship game, and that’s no easy thing for any team, not even rising young teams like San Francisco that appear built to last for the long haul and several more championship runs.
That’s what puts the 49ers in such a good position to return to play for a NFL title again next year. The team no longer is a work in progress after general manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan shrewdly and meticulously constructed a balanced roster with players that work well together and implemented proven systems on both sides of the football that gives them an opportunity for success.
The 49ers aren’t a team with many holes. They won’t need a lot of changes or roster tweaks during the 2020 offseason, unlike the past three offseasons when there was a lot of work to do blowing up the roster and then putting it back together again.
The 49ers want to hold together what they have now become. But every year brings change in the NFL, so there indeed will always be changes. But instead of massive overhaul, the 49ers this time will only need some minor adjustments, both in approach and style and the way they handle their roster and financial decisions. The Niner Report is here to help with that fine-tuning, compiling a list of things the 49ers should do to not only maintain the team’s current level — but lift it one final level higher than San Francisco finished last season.
This story is from the February 2020 edition of Niner Report.
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This story is from the February 2020 edition of Niner Report.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
EIGHT IS ENOUGH
Set 49ers lineup still has several new starters
Calling all cornerbacks
Loss of Verrett exposes 49ers’ thin depth at CB
Always finding their way to run
49ers system accomplished at developing homegrown talent
ANOTHER COMEBACK?
Resilient veteran Verrett to miss rest of season
TOP 10 Rookie running backs
THE BACK LIST
STOCK UP STOCK DOWN
DEOMMODORE LENOIR | AMBRY THOMAS
Will Mostert run for 49ers again?
Raheem Mostert was primed this year to be the centerpiece of one of the NFL’s most dynamic offenses, featured as the lead performer in San Francisco’s grinding rushing attack while making his climb among the league’s top running backs.
THE WONDER OF WARNER
49ers make All-Pro star highest-paid LB in NFL
Making the right choice at QB
In the weeks that follow after you read this — and perhaps sometime even sooner than that — Kyle Shanahan and the rest of the 49ers organization will make a titanic decision that will have present, future and perhaps even everlasting implications for the franchise. It will chart the course for the team’s pivotal 2021 season while determining whether San Francisco really does have the juice to return to powerhouse status and again be considered a legitimate contender to get back to the Super Bowl.
TOP 10 Linebacker seasons
Fred Warner vaulted to stardom with a spectacular 2020 season — and the 49ers rewarded him this summer with a $95.225 million deal that makes him the highest-paid inside linebacker in NFL history. By today’s standards, Warner’s performance last year was worth the money as he posted an Approximate Value of 19 — matching the highest score ever recorded by a San Francisco defender according to a Pro Football Reference formula that puts a single number on each player-season across all positions since 1960. Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman (twice) also had seasons with an AV of 19 as they dominate this list of the greatest individual seasons by a linebacker in 49ers history.
