New San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Tomsula has had an interesting week on the job, especially as the calendar reads mid-February.
A couple of days after former 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh did not reject the notion that Tomsula was campaigning for his job while last season was still going on, a new report has surfaced that Tomsula is the team's new coach only because Adam Gase refused to hire him as defensive coordinator.
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San Jose Mercury News' Tim Kawakami revisited the 49ers pursuit of Gase, then the Denver Broncos offensive coordinator, as their head coach. He noted that there were reports that indicated that Gase and the 49ers had an agreement in place for him to succeed Harbaugh last month.
But Kawakami reported that an NFL source told him that negotiations between the organization and Gase broke down when they discussed his prospective coaching staff. Tomsula, then the 49ers defensive line coach under Harbaugh, was not among Gase's candidates for his defensive coordinator position.
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The morning after that discussion, Niners general manager Trent Baalke flew back to San Francisco and told Gase the head coach job was his - but only if he named Tomsula as his defensive coordinator, the source told Kawakami.
Gase refused, and the 49ers moved on to Tomsula. Tomsula reportedly asked Gase to become his offensive coordinator. If the facts behind the Gase offer are accurate, it's obvious why Gase refused. He instead rejoined former Broncos coach John Fox in Chicago as the Bears offensive coordinator.
How this report will affect Tomsula or the 49ers remains to be seen. If he is successful and the 49ers return to their spot as Super Bowl contenders, then the flirtation with Gase is quickly forgotten. If Tomsula, however, struggles, and Gase somehow manages to turn around the fortunes of Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, Tomsula and the 49ers likely will be in the crosshairs of the Bay Area media.
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