On Monday morning, 49ers CEO Jed York took the podium for nearly 30 minutes in Santa Clara to discuss the firing of Jim Tomsula and the state of the franchise.
"You gotta hand it to Jed, at least on the front end -- he faced the critics, he said some of the things that people want to hear," former 49ers tight end Brent Jones said on KNBR 680-AM on Monday evening. "But we're at a point now in this ownership with the York family where words ring hollow, and I'm only gonna look at actions from now on."
The 49ers went 5-11 in 2015, their worst record since going 5-11 in 2007.
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"This season was frustrating on a number of levels," York explained at the beginning of his press conference. "We took a step back from our ultimate goal of winning a Super Bowl. For that, I want to apologize to our fans and for everybody that cares deeply about this team the way I do. I hear the criticism, loudly. Whether that’s talking to fans directly, whether that’s social media or from planes flying over my head. The results of this season rest on my shoulders squarely. It wasn’t good enough. I want you to understand that we’re going to do everything that we can and we’re working hard right now to put the pieces in place to get this team back to where it belongs."
The 49ers enjoyed immense success under Jim Harbaugh, advancing to the NFC title game in 2011, the Super Bowl in 2012, and the NFC title game again in 2013.
But as York pointed out, the franchise has not hoisted the Lombardi Trophy since the 1994 season.
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"I respect Jed for getting up and saying what he said, but talk is cheap," Jones said. "It's just like politics."
York admitted many things on Monday.
He's not happy with the state of the team, that he "didn't get this one right" in regards to hiring Tomsula in the first place, that he has taken criticism too personally, and that some of his social media posts have been a distraction.
In general, he acknowledged making a lot of mistakes.
"Jed wants to win ... I do feel like he's a guy that eventually wants to figure it out," Jones declared. "He's emotional. He's connected and this is his baby. He's gonna rise or fall on the success of this team. It's been a brutal couple years for him I'm sure. But he does seem resilient and I think that if there's ever been a time to have a wake-up call, it's now. So this year, this hiring process is gonna tell us a lot."