After a listless display against Seattle Thanksgiving night, Niners CEO Jed York (above) felt compelled to issue a public apology via Twitter (“this performance wasn’t acceptable”). Along with citing the regression of Colin Kaepernick, the tenuous status of offensive coordinator Greg Roman and the somewhat reserved ambiance at Levi’s Stadium, the San Jose Mercury News’ Tim Kawakami wonders, why, with 4 games left to play (including a rematch in Seattle, December 14) did York show up his head coach?
The only logical reason: York wanted to prepare 49ers fandom for major changes ahead, and let’s all assume that York’s main focus is on Harbaugh’s future.
York and general manager Trent Baalke set this up, intentionally or not, by tacitly suggesting that this was an all-or-nothing season for Harbaugh.
That inflated the conversation about Harbaugh’s future, that trickled into the locker room, that created a sense of doubt about this team if it all faltered and now Seattle has opened up the divide for all to see.
The last time York used words like this, it was near the end of the 2010 season and Mike Singletary was fired a few hours later.