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A water stain on the red, locker-room carpet served as an initial landmark for the 49ers’ turnaround, the one that’s reversed course all the way to Super Bowl LIV. On Nov. 12, 2017, the 49ers snapped their 0-9 start under coach Kyle Shanahan, and players dumped a bucket of water on him behind closed doors amid their celebratory mosh pit.
“It validates all the things Kyle’s been selling to them: If we do this, we’ll start translating them to wins,” general manager John Lynch said afterward. “We got a win and that’s great, but we need to be a lot better.”
After winning the NFC Championship 26 months later, 49ers CEO Jed York reflected on when he first saw their culture shift, saying on Sunday night: “Honestly, that first win they had together, it was huge.” Not one game, nor one player, nor one sensational season flipped the 49ers’ fortunes. Here are top changes that paved the way:
1. Hiring Shanahan, Lynch
A 2-14 season in 2016 and a four-year playoff drought prompted the firing of general manager Trent Baalke and first-year coach Chip Kelly. York not only hired a first-time head coach in Shanahan, but he gave him a six-year contract, along with Shanahan’s hand-picked, first-time general manager John Lynch.
“We’re coming here together,” Shanahan said at their February 2017 introduction. “And it’s going to work together or we’re going to lose together, and that’s what makes it special. You know what both our intentions are. There’s no hidden agendas with any of us.”
The 49ers’ past, ego-fueled, leak-filled hierarchies have given way to a stable, well-running machine. Shanahan is never shy to credit his assistants and players. Lynch openly appreciates his front-office execs such as Adam Peters and Martin Mayhew. The 49ers’ franchise is set up to win for years – including its sixth Lombardi Trophy on Sunday.
2. Trading for Garoppolo
The 49ers’ wayward search for a franchise quarterback came to an end Oct. 30, 2017, when Bill Belichick called Shanahan and offered Jimmy Garoppolo for a mere second-round draft pick. “The 49ers are getting a good player, they are getting a good person and they’re getting a great teammate and they are getting a good quarterback,” the Patriots coach said. “And Jimmy is getting a good coach.”
Ain’t that the truth. The 49ers were 1-10 by the time he got his starting spot, then he elevated everyone, went 5-0 to cap 2017 and earned a mega-contract (five years, $137.5 million). Last season’s Week 3 ACL tear put Garoppolo and the 49ers’ rise on pause, and his remarkable comeback this season has seen him raise his record as the 49ers’ starter to 21-5.
3. Adding pass-rush studs
Before Nick Bosa’s heavenly arrival with the No. 2 draft pick, the 49ers added another threat from the edge in Dee Ford, for a second-round pick to the Chiefs. Benefiting from their ripple effect are defensive tackles Arik Armstead and DeForest Buckner, as well as the secondary. Bosa’s all-around motor is measured beyond sacks, but he’s piled up three in the playoffs after nine in the regular season. Ford missed five games due to injury and is predominantly a situational pass rusher with 6½ sacks. He and Bosa give the 49ers a previously missing championship ingredient.
4. Drafting Kittle and more
Drafting someone like Bosa is the easy part. Sometimes you’ve got to get lucky, and the 49ers did just that when they drafted George Kittle in the 2017 fifth round, after eight tight ends had gone off the board. Shanahan quickly realized how good Kittle was, to the point where he won first-team All-Pro honors this season ahead of the Chiefs’ Travis Kelce.
Other Super Bowl starters whom they drafted include left tackle Mike McGlinchey, wide receiver Deebo Samuel, and linebackers Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw.
5. Signing their arch enemy
Richard Sherman famously ate a turkey leg at midfield on Levi’s Stadium on 2014 Thanksgiving and finished off the 2013 49ers’ Super Bowl hopes, but the 49ers didn’t hesitate signing the ex-Seattle Seahawks star in 2018. Amid his recovery from Achilles surgery, Sherman self-negotiated an incentive-laden three-year contract that is paying off for all.
He reclaimed Pro Bowl and All-Pro status this season, and he closed the 49ers’ two playoff wins with interceptions. Beyond that, his intelligence, confidence and charisma are vital to the 49ers locker room, as is the case of last offseason’s free-agent acquisition of Kwon Alexander.
6. Bolstering defensive staff
Robert Saleh’s first two seasons led many to wonder about his job security, but the 49ers brass insist their defensive coordinator was never on the hot seat, and he emerged this season as a legitimate head-coaching candidate for the Cleveland Browns. Key additions to the 2019 staff were defensive line coach Kris Kocurek and secondary coach Joe Woods.
7. Lock up bro-line
Identifying offensive linemen was the first step, then securing them to multi-year deals was vital for consistency, chemistry and productivity. Joe Staley, Laken Tomlinson, Weston Richburg, Mike Person and McGlinchey comprise a top-notch unit. Injuries hit hard this season.
Backups Ben Garland, Daniel Brunskill and Justin Skule filled in admirably, with Garland still snapping in place of Richburg. That’s the “Bro-line” cohesion we saw when they partied together at a San Jose Sharks playoff game.
8. Becoming road kings
Winless last season on the road, the 49ers opened this season with victories at Tampa Bay and at Cincinnati. In between was a layover in Youngstown, Ohio, and Garoppolo called it an “awesome” way to build unity by “staying in a Holiday Inn.” The 49ers’ capped their 7-1 road record at Seattle on Dec. 29. The Super Bowl is a neutral site, but, get this: the 49ers are the designated away team.
9. Swinging deals
Acquired a week before the Oct. 29 trade deadline, wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders immediately fit in and validated the passing attack. Sanders was 32 and coming off an Achilles’ injury, but he looked good to the 49ers during joint practices in August with his then-team, the Denver Broncos.
Sanders is the most recent in a string of successful trades, both in terms of dispatching players as well as acquiring starters such as guard Tomlinson (Aug. 31, 2017), Garoppolo (Oct. 31, 2017) and Ford (March 13, 2018).
10. Roster overhaul
When cutting players and acquiring new ones, team chemistry can get jeopardized, especially if a popular player is jettisoned. Tough decisions were made amid the roster’s mass exodus. In Reuben Foster’s case, the 49ers understandably cut the 2017 first-round pick on Nov. 26, 2018, after further off-field issues. Not even contract extensions were enough to save Jeremy Kerley, Daniel Kilgore and Vance McDonald from the makeover, not with a cavalry coming via the draft, free agency and trades.
The few holdovers who’ve stuck around since 2016: Staley, Garrett Celek, Jimmie Ward, Raheem Mostert, Armstead, Buckner, Ronald Blair and Kyle Nelson.
