The talk surrounding the San Francisco 49ers all offseason was all negative, but they dominated the Vikings to win their opener in blowout fashion. Now, people are changing the way they think about the 49ers - especially head coach Jim Tomsula. The sky was supposedly falling after Jim Harbaugh left, but here are four reasons why Tomsula could actually be a better coach for this 49ers team:
1) Player-friendly
The biggest knock on Harbaugh was that his coldness and cheer business-like mentality wore thin on the front office and players alike. Tomsula is the complete opposite and is characterized as a true players coach. Here's what Anquan Boldin had to say this offseason:
"I've seen how many of the defensive linemen respond to him and how good a job he did managing that group. With the defensive line, you have a lot of really out-there, aggressive personalities, and he got the most out of those guys. He did it because he knew how to treat each of those guys differently. Great coaches are the coaches who know how to work with different personalities and still find a way to get the most out of people. I don't think you can coach every guy the exact same way, and Jim doesn't do that. He has done a great job with all the different characters he has had."
2) Continued focus on defense
Harbaugh made the 49ers a true defense-first team, giving San Francisco a true identity. They developed into one of the top units in the league, and Tomsula was smart not to change that. He served as the 49ers defensive line coach from 2007 until this year, and a continued focus on that side of the ball should keep the Niners among the NFL's elite.
3) More open offensive mind
San Francisco was set in their ways offensively under Harbaugh, using the traditional ground-and-pound, between the tackles rushing attack. While that strategy was somewhat successful, it didn't utilize the 49ers' array of skill position talents like Boldin and Vernon Davis.
Tomsula is not married to one style, and while they still ran the ball 39 times against the Vikings, the offense was making a more concerted effort to get their best players the football. Boldin, Davis, and new wideout Torrey Smith were targeted on well over half of the 49ers' pass plays, and will likely see a lot more actio in the coming weeks.
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