49ers Blog and Q&A

The bottom line for 49ers' radio reshuffle that was announced Wednesday: The team wants its radio duo around the facility more than Eric Davis, who has a gig with the NFL Network in Los Angeles, could handle.

"That job really is going to require more than just calling 20 games," Bob Sargent, the 49ers' director of broadcast partnerships, said on Wednesday. Sargent said the team will continue to bulk-up its in-house media this season, which will require its new radio team of Ted Robinson and Tim Ryan to be at the practice facility and next-door stadium during the week. Ryan, who lives in San Jose, is more capable of fulfilling those obligations.

Both Sargent and Davis, a former 49ers cornerback who appears on "NFL AM" starting at 3 a.m. during the week, described the parting as mutual and amiable. "It's all good," Davis told The San Francisco Chronicle. "What they want from the position is they want their guys on-site. From a logistics standpoint it's not feasible. But everything's good. Loved doing it for three years ... Nothing but good feelings from both sides."

Ryan grew up in San Jose and has been handling the television color commentary for the 49ers' preseason games the last three years. He said his contract as a FOX television commentator had not expired but that he jumped at the chance to join Robinson in the radio booth.

"Not a lot of people leave network television," he said on KNBR radio this morning. "But to be a part of the 49er family in my backyard, if you will, growing up here in the Bay Area. ... To now be a part of it, going into the new stadium with the quality people that run that organization and a quality football team. I am jacked."

-- Matt Barrows

The 49ers are replacing a defensive back with a defensive tackle when it comes to their radio booth.

The team today announced that Tim Ryan will replace Eric Davis as the color analyst next to play-by-play man Ted Robinson on game days. Ryan has handled color analysis for the team's preseason games the last three seasons. He has been an analyst on NFL on Fox and previously the co-hosted "Movin' the Chains" on Sirius XM NFL Radio.

Davis, meanwhile, spent the last three seasons in the booth with Robinson. The former 49ers cornerback will continue to serve as an in-studio host for NFL AM, the NFL Network's daily morning show.

"We are absolutely thrilled that Tim will be joining our broadcast team as we enter a new era of 49ers football at Levi's Stadium," new 49ers President Paraag Marathe said in a statement. "His deep Bay Area roots and football acumen make him an ideal fit for the organization and our Faithful fans. As we strive to develop new and exciting avenues to bring 49ers football to our fans, both Ted and Tim will contribute greatly to all facets of our multi-media content and fan outreach. By pairing Ted and Tim, we are excited to offer our fans the most accomplished radio broadcast team in the NFL."

"Tim Ryan's work on NFL Radio has, for years, been a constant accompaniment during my countless hours on the road," Robinson said. "Like Eric, Tim has taught me a great deal about the NFL. Now his instruction and insight will continue face-to-face. I know Tim will be a terrific asset to 49ers broadcasts and all media platforms, and, like Eric, will be an excellent broadcast partner."

The duo can be heard on KNBR 680 in The Bay Area and on ESPN 1320 in Sacramento.

-- Matt Barrows

Gideon Yu, the co-owner of the 49ers who was instrumental in financing the team's new stadium, is stepping down as team president, the 49ers announced today. He will be replaced by long-time Jed York lieutenant and player salary negotiator, Paraag Marathe, who most recently served as chief operating officer. Al Guido, who worked with the 49ers and the Santa Clara Stadium Authority in selling the seats and suites for the new stadium, will join the 49ers and step in as chief operating officer.

"As we move closer to the opening of Levi's Stadium, our organization will continue to evolve and grow," York, the team's CEO, said in a statement. "Gideon, Paraag and Al have been instrumental in making the new stadium a reality, and I couldn't be more excited about the future of our management team and the 49ers organization. Paraag and Al have developed a tremendous working relationship and I am deeply confident in their leadership."

Yu sent out a tweet that read: "Thanks to @JedYork for entrusting me to complete your stadium project. Looking fwd to many more years together as 49ers' co-owners!"

Yu spearheaded the financing of the team's billion-dollar Levi's Stadium, which is due to open later this year. A press release sent out about the promotions also said that Yu was instrumental in accelerating the opening date of the facility from the originally planned 2015 season to 2014.

-- Matt Barrows

Jim Harbaugh today said he expects running back Marcus Lattimore, who spent his rookie season recovering and rehabilitating from a devastating knee injury suffered in college, to be healthy for the start of the offseason and to compete for a job at running back.

Both Lattimore, a fourth-round pick in 2013, and defensive end Tank Carradine, a second-round pick, suffered ACL tears during their 2012 college seasons and essentially had red-shirt seasons for the 49ers as rookies. Lattimore also suffered tears to his PCL and MCL as well as a dislocated kneecap. Harbaugh expected that both players would compete for roles in the upcoming season.

"I have great hope for that," he said. "There's a path there. Nobody owes anyone a career in professional football. Your career is literally your business. But I have great faith that those men have what it takes."

Harbaugh also said that cornerback Chris Culliver (ACL) and nose tackle Ian Williams (broken ankle) were recovering well from their season-ending injuries. Culliver has resumed sprinting while Williams has been off crutches for several months now.

Lattimore will compete with Frank Gore, Kendall Hunter and LaMichael James for playing time during the offseason. Another young running back, Jewel Hampton, spent the 2013 season on the practice squad. Carradine will compete with other backup linemen like Quinton Dial, Tony Jerod-Eddie and Demarcus Dobbs, a restricted free agent in March.

More Harbaugh:

* He said that it may be two or three weeks before the 49ers know how NaVorro Bowman's MCL tear has healed. At that point, the team would repair Bowman's ACL tear. He said he had no way of knowing whether Bowman would be ready for the start of the regular season.

See what Matt Barrows, The Sacramento Bee's 49ers beat writer, and others had to say in dissecting the 49ers' season.

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Running back Frank Gore, who had a typically rough outing in Seattle on Sunday and who shared carries with Kendall Hunter in the second half, will have "minor" surgery on his finger, a league source said today. Gore carried the ball 11 times against a Seattle defense geared to stop him, and he gained 14 yards. His 1.3-yards per carry was his second-lowest of the season; he averaged 1.1 yards a run on 13 carries in the season finale against Arizona.

However, Gore and Colin Kaepernick hooked up on a critical fourth-and-2 pass for 17 yards on the team's final drive. That catch got the 49ers into Seahawks territory just before the 2-minute warning. Gore attended an autograph-signing session Monday evening at which news of a hand injury first was revealed.

Gore is one of several 49ers who will get offseason surgery. That list includes linebacker NaVorro Bowman, who will have his left ACL repaired one his MCL tear heals. Defensive end Ray McDonald will have his torn biceps tendon reattached. Guard Mike Iupati does not need surgery on his broken fibula.

-- Matt Barrows

Guard Mike Iupati suffered a fractured left fibula early in the second quarter Sunday and will not need surgery, a league source said today. As far as lower-leg diagnoses go, it was a good one for the 49ers' big left guard. The fibula is the smaller of the two bones in the lower leg. It is a clean break, there was no ligament damage and Iupati should be back to full strength in eight weeks.

Iupati had a rough season as he dealt with shoulder and knee injuries at various points. In the run-up to Sunday's game, he said he was finally feeling like himself, and it showed in the 49ers' divisional-game win against the Panthers. Iupati had perhaps his best game of the season as the 49ers offensive line dominated the second half, and he made key blocks on Colin Kaepernick's touchdown run and Frank Gore's long run for a first down in that game.

Against the Seahawks, that running room disappeared. Gore had only 14 yards on 11 carries. The 49ers rushed for 161 yards, but 130 came on Kaepernick's scrambles.

- Matt Barrows

Not all 49ers-related ACL news is bad news.

Cornerback Chris Culliver, who tore his at the start of training camp, said he has started sprinting and that he expects to be able to participate in the team's offseason program. "It's hard work, man. It's hard work," he said. "I'll be there every day. Ya'll come, you're going to see me. I'm there every day."

With question marks surrounding the 49ers' futures of Tarell Brown, Carlos Rogers and Eric Wright, Culliver appears to have a very good shot at securing a big role at cornerback in the upcoming season, perhaps as the starter opposite Tramaine Brock.

Brown and Wright will become free agents next month, and Brown at least thinks he will test the market. Wright seemed to get passed over by Perrish Cox in the cornerback pecking order, and now his future is in doubt. Lastly, the 49ers asked Rogers to take a pay cut last year, a request he is likely to get again this year. Rogers said he will sit down with his agent and discuss how to approach the offseason.

Culliver said he also has something to offer linebacker NaVorro Bowman, who suffered at least a torn ACL in Sunday's loss to the Seahawks. Culliver said he spoke briefly to Bowman and texted him to let him know that he will help the linebacker through his rehabilitation, which can take up to a year.

"I'm going to be there every step of the way, I know that," the cornerback said. "And help him out in anything he needs, any concern he has. ... I'm going to be there. Because I'm going through it right now."

Culliver said patience and hard work were the keys to returning from the injury. "It definitely was hard," he said of watching Bowman go down in the fourth quarter. "I cried. ... You play this game and put all your effort into it. It's injuries, and it comes with the game. But it's hard. You just have to find a way to keep your spirits up and keep pushing."

- Matt Barrows

I mentioned yesterday on Twitter that Patrick Willis stood out among the 49ers who spoke after yesterday's loss. He had a lot of weighty things to deal with - his friend, NaVorro Bowman's, knee injury; the third straight devastating loss to end the 49ers' season - and he handled it with grace. Here's the transcript of his comments:

(On if he felt sick watching NaVorro Bowman leave the game as he did...)
PW: "Yeah, man. It's one of those things. I look at him as my brother, my partner in crime on the field. It's one thing in practice, but it's a whole another thing when you see that. I know how tough he is. When he couldn't get up on his own and I could hear him yelling. At that point in time, I didn't even care where the ball was. I was like, 'Man, get out here and come help him. He's hurting.'"

(On if it's harder knowing how hard Bowman has worked...)
PW: "Yeah, I've watched him from Day One as a rookie and now as a starter. Each year he has worked, just like the year before. This year he was having a heck of a year, a heck of a season. My hat goes off to him. The season that he had, if he doesn't get Defensive Player of the Year, I don't know what they go by. Most important, I just pray that he's all right. I just saw him a little bit after the game. There's no question that he's a competitor. I know that he wanted nothing more than to be out there and to finish that game with us. Win, lose or draw, I know he wanted to be out there with us. He's going to be all right. He's strong, mentally and physically strong."

(On what it feel like to have the season to end in this manner...)
PW: "I could sit up here and tell you what you want to hear. Tell you that I'm angry, that I'm mad. But I'm not going to do that. I'm going to look at you and say, 'You know what? It was a heck of a run.' We fought. We gave everything we had. Even before the beginning of the season when everyone was picking us to go back to the Super Bowl, then we went through that little slump and everybody started writing us off, we just stayed together and we continued to fight. And that's what we did tonight. It's unfortunate that the win didn't go our way. But as I told my brother and my sister today, win or lose, God gets all the glory. Just for the opportunity to be able to play this in game. So many guys who are home right now wished they could compete in the NFC championship, so we have to be grateful for that. Somebody has to win, somebody has to lose. Unfortunately, we lost the game. Seattle did what they needed to do to win it. Them being in the NFC and also our division, I wish them luck. I hope they go and take care of business for the NFC side."

(On if seeing Bowman get injured hurts even more than the loss...)
PW: "Yeah. This game is huge. No one person is bigger than the game, but the bond that we have is so much deeper than the game that we play. To see him go out like that, it's not supposed to be like this. It's not supposed to happen like this. Sometimes we don't know why things happen the way they do, but we'll see in time. He's going to be all right."

(On if the team, after tough postseason losses, will someday win a championship...)
PW: "We just stay optimistic. We fight. We stay together in every game. That's the goal that every team has. That's what all the training in the off-season is for, all the camaraderie. Each year you put that work in. You say, 'You know what? This is the year.' I have no other reason not think that next year will be our year. For as long as I've played this game, I always think, this will be our year."

(On if he thinks Colin Kaepernick should blame himself for the loss...)
PW: "No. We win as a team and we lose as a team. As a quarterback, I imagine he feels like it's all on his shoulders. We all have a hand in this game, offense, defense and special teams. One thing we've been the best at all year is not pointing the fingers at anyone and taking the win or the loss together as a team. So it's not all on his shoulders. We could have done more as a defense, made a few more plays here and there. I'm sure they feel the same way on offense and they feel the same way on special teams. That's been our motto all year: All three phases. We play good, we win. We didn't do as well as we wanted to today."

(On if the TD pass to Kearse on fourth down took something out of the team...)
PW: "Any time another team scores it takes a little bit out. We just thought we made it harder on ourselves. We had to find a way to try and get it back. It's hard. It's hard to get here. It's hard to win enough games to get in the playoffs. It's hard once you get in the playoffs to get to the Super Bowl. Now to twice come up short in the NFC championship, you just realize how hard it is to win it. You wonder how much more work, how much harder you have to fight to make sure you get this opportunity again and take it. That's all you can do: Stay together as a team, go into this off-season heads up, and work, and work, and work."

- Matt Barrows

See the big plays that determined the outcome of Sunday's NFC Championship game, won by the Seattle Seahawks 23-17 over the San Francisco 49ers.