Trent Baalke is back with an NFL team for the first time since the 49ers fired him in 2016. Ian Rapoport of NFL Media on Tuesday reported Baalke will be the Jacksonville Jaguars’ new Vice President of Player Personnel.
Baalke held that position for the 49ers in 2010, before getting a promotion to general manager for the 2011 season. He oversaw seven drafts for San Francisco and had mixed results while leading the front office.
For the most part though a look back through his draft history is a sad journey that explains how the 49ers collapsed so quickly after three consecutive trips to the NFC championship game from 2011 to 2013.
His failure to identify quality players at several positions, while also adhering strongly to a philosophy that involved picking injured players and stashing them on IR for a year ultimately led to San Francisco’s downfall. He survived the firing of Jim Harbaugh, then stuck around through two disastrous seasons in 2015 and 2016 with Jim Tomsula and Chip Kelly as the two head coaches.
He did win the NFL Executive of the Year award in 2012 for his work helping the 49ers reach the postseason in 2011, but he wasn’t able to match that success at all beyond that year.
Seven players he selected in drafts were on the 49ers’ roster that went to the Super Bowl this year, including DeForest Buckner, Arik Armstead, Jaquiski Tartt, Jimmie Ward, and Ronald Blar. Mike Person and Dontae Johnson were also on the team, although they left and returned under the current regime.
Baalke heads to a Jacksonville team in need of a pretty significant roster overhaul. He’s shown an ability to get a club going in the right direction. Now he needs to sustain it in a way he couldn’t in San Francisco.