49ers fire general manager Trent Baalke

Jed York and the San Francisco 49ers fired general manager Trent Baalke, part of sweeping changes for the 2-14 team, including the ousting of head coach Chip Kelly as well.

“Despite my feelings for Trent and Chip, I felt the decision to change our football leadership was absolutely necessary,” team owner Jed York said in a statement. “The performance of this team has not lived up to my expectations or those of our fans, and that is truly disappointing. We all expected to see this team progress and develop as the season went on, but unfortunately that did not happen. That is why now is the time to find a new direction for this team.”

Baalke confirmed his firing in an interview with KNBR, where he accepted the move and wish the organization well.

“It was the right thing to do. This is a class organization,” Baalke said. “You know, I’ve been here since 2005 and I have a lot of respect for the organization as a whole, and the ownership, the fan base. It’s difficult, but it’s the right thing to do.”

According to Jay Glazer of FOX, Baalke was informed of the team’s decision to move on without him on Friday. Glazer also revealed that the 49ers were set to hire Adam Gase a year ago, but Baalke convinced ownership to avoid the hire at the last minute, setting San Francisco up with Kelly instead.

Baalke has shouldered the blame for the team’s struggles throughout the season, and doubled down that personnel decisions were his and his alone. There was some ‘miscommunication’ about Kelly’s role with personnel when he was with the Eagles, but he and Baalke have seemingly been on the same page.

The 49ers closed out their regular season on Sunday at home with a 25-23 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

One of the possible replacements for the position is to promote assistant GM Tom Gamble. Gamble at least should be able to move forward positively with Kelly, rather than an outside candidate being forced to work with a coach they didn’t have a hand in hiring — although not entirely impossible.

There was trouble brewing ahead of the season when quarterback Colin Kaepernick demanded a trade, before being benched for five weeks due to “arm fatigue” when he was forced to stay in San Francisco. Eventually, Baalke renegotiated his contract, removing his 2017 injury guarantee, but allowing for a postseason opt-out option — one the quarterback was reported to have expressed utilizing.

Former Niners head coach Mike Nolan spoke out in early December in Baalke’s defense, noting that some of the personnel turnover the past few seasons has been atypical, and that Baalke’s coaching choices might be the ultimate reason for his firing.

“I think they have the right guy in place to pick the players. But unfortunately for Trent, I think the choice of Tomsula hurt him, and currently right now you know, with Chip Kelly, it’s not helping him either. All of a sudden you say, “Look, we can’t keep him, he’s the one that picked the last two guys,” I guess is maybe what they’re saying.”

Baalke has been with the Niners organization since 2005 when he was the Western region scout. He followed that up with positions as director of player personnel, vice president of player personnel and earned the promotion to general manager in 2011.

His career as an executive also took him to the New York Jets and Washington as a national scout before heading to San Francisco.