2012-GameRelease-Divisional

Baalke brilliant in quickly building a winner
By The Associated Press, Scout.com
Front Office Feature Story
Trent Baalke has been practically an invisible figure around the 49ers this season, but the product of his
work is out there for all to see. In his first year as San Francisco’s general manager, Baalke has become
a candidate for NFL Executive of the Year honors after making the moves and adding the parts that have
transformed the Niners into a winner and team to be reckoned with in the playoffs.
Within days of being promoted last year, Baalke faced the daunting task of landing Jim Harbaugh as the
team's new head coach.
People around the 49ers were losing patience with all the losing – and demanded an immediate
turnaround after an eight-year drought without a winning season or playoff berth.
Amid speculation that Harbaugh might leave Stanford for the Miami Dolphins or even his alma mater,
Michigan, Baalke delivered the Niners' high-profile new man. It brought Baalke some instant credibility,
just as all the other spot-on moves along the way has since then.
From landing free agents such as cornerback Carlos Rogers and safety Donte Whitner to center
Jonathan Goodwin and kicker David Akers, Baalke fit all the right pieces into an already talented roster
that has bought into Harbaugh's style.
Baalke and Harbaugh also had the wherewithal to bring back quarterback Alex Smith on a one-year deal
as a free agent even after the years of boos and inconsistency that characterized Smith’s first six seasons
in San Francisco. Now they have plans to re-sign Smith for 2012, too, after his poised and confident play
guiding the offense produced San Francisco’s best regular-season finish since 1997.
“It's great to see Trent," Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott said. "We haven't talked a lot about Trent. A lot of
people haven't really acknowledged that bringing in Rogers, bringing in (NaVorro) Bowman, going with
(Aldon) Smith in the first round. The team is faster than what it was. It's more aggressive than what it was.
So Baalke saw something that I didn't see and that the average fan didn't see. He replaced a couple of
components that needed to be replaced."
Those tweaks worked, all right. San Francisco (13-3) won the NFC West and earned the NFC's No. 2
seed and a first-round playoff bye, going 6-2 on the road with four of those victories in comeback fashion.
How about that for silencing critics who questioned whether Baalke made enough splashy moves in free
agency to improve his roster after the lockout?
"Now it's a splash," Whitner said. "It's not a splash when everybody else is looking. But once you make
the playoffs and you're sitting at home with a bye week and you have an opportunity to win two games
and be in the Super Bowl, then it's a splash. That's how success happens. A lot of times, people aren't
going to believe until they actually see it."
Before this season not many outside team headquarters knew much about Baalke – just the way he likes
it as an anonymous figure doing his job to help run a franchise.
Walk past him and he practically disappears, finding ways to avoid the public eye aside from the
occasional casual conversation. He declines interview requests and keeps to himself on the sidelines
during practice. He is so focused before games it's as if he hardly notices his surroundings.
"Trent's done a great job doing his job," tight end Vernon Davis said. "I commend him. He's doing great
for us and he definitely deserves everything that comes his way. I give him high praise."