By Brian Murphy
Jed York. Oof.
As the years have gone on, the Jock Blog has learned that sometimes in life you just have to fall back on two words that sum most everything up:
Tough deal.
Other than embarrassment and memes and easy jokes — we’ve seen ‘em all on the Golden State Lumber and Showroom text line — the real world question is, does any of this materially affect the 49ers’ chances to beat the Rams on Sept. 10 in Australia?
You’d like to think the short answer is ‘not at all’. BodyCam footage of a cheap Yankees t-shirt has zero to do with Nick Bosa’s ability to get after Matthew Stafford, or Trent Williams’ ability to try and stifle Myles Garrett.
Today’s Jock Blog goes more macro than a third down in Melbourne.
How does Jed’s pratfall shine a light on the future of the 49ers’ front office hierarchy?
A sad revelation of the news out of Ohio this week was that Jed filed for divorce from his wife, Danielle, in May of this year. It also appears that Jed has moved to Ohio full-time. Couple all this with the news that longtime front office stalwart Paraag Marathe has left the organization to focus on the club’s European soccer clubs, Leeds United and Rangers, and things seem in flux.
In the last 18 months, the Yorks have sold up to 9 percent of the team to three families and an investment group. Hmm.
Add it all up and Jed York is still the controlling owner of the 49ers. And if Ohio seems like a problem an absentee owner, remember that Eddie DeBartolo lived in Ohio when the team won five — count ‘em, five — Super Bowl championships.
That said, times change. Hairstyles change. Interest rates fluctuate.
Also, Eddie had a pretty savvy gentleman by the name of Carmen Policy in the building in Santa Clara to shepherd the flock.
The current 49ers have very very sound John Lynch in the building, and Marathe’s departure has left Brian Hampton in charge of salary cap and contracts. Hampton has a good reputation and has been with the team since 2003. Add Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, late of the Minnesota Vikings, to the front office mix and there is a combination of what appears to be foundational competency.
At the very least, the 49ers are going through a transition in faces and places.
At the very most, the future of the ownership structure could be called into question in the coming year or so.
Nobody knows how the divorce settlement will go. Danielle York’s persona is very low-profile and family-centric, suggesting this would not be a reprise of the messy McCourt/Dodgers divorce.
But for the first time in a while, Jed’s hold and influence on the team is shakier.
The Jock Blog has noted in the past that Jed York has gotten better as an owner in the last 15 years. His public-facing profile during the Jim Harbaugh years did not always pay off in positive ways, as I just saying to my friends over at KNBR’s audio archives from 2014.
Hiring Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch has been the boon of Jed’s tenure. Jed handing the keys to this duo is his best move, and stepping back from the spotlight as the best owners do. Fans can bemoan the lack of a Super Bowl title, but the only way to lose two Super Bowls in the fourth quarter and overtime is to get to to two Super Bowls leading in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Shanahan and Lynch are the bedrocks, and are entering their *tenth* season together. As long as those two call Santa Clara home, anything that happens in a mobile home park in the Buckeye State at 9:35 am on a Sunday shouldn’t matter that much.
But this has been a strange summer. The constant theme of injury and nonsensical substation talk has lingered. The mystery surrounding the details and timing of Shanahan’s car accident didn’t always add up. Now, Jed.
Everything can be cured by a final score of — oh, say, I don’t know — 49ers 27, Rams 24 Down Under in a couple of weeks.
Until then: tough deal.
