Stock down: San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke.
I asked Baalke in March who the leaders on the Niners would be after Patrick Willis retired and Frank Gore signed with the Indianapolis Colts.
“There are leaders on this football team—they’re just not the keynote names that you’ve become accustomed to here,” he said, via the Press Democrat. “There is plenty of leadership. When leaders move on, others step up.”
Apparently, not in this case. Baalke misread his roster.
During the fourth quarter of the Niners’ 10th loss, CBS sideline reporter Jay Feely spoke about the team’s leadership issue (h/t CSNBayArea.