The 49ers moved from their inadequate offices and practice facility in
In one of team president Jed York's first projects, the 49ers this offseason have improved the player amenities - with more upgrades planned for their ground-level working area in the coming months.
"Jed is focused on improving the players' environment," said Keena Turner, the team's vice president of football affairs.
During the 49ers' minicamp a couple weeks ago, I was speaking with tight end Delanie Walker about the hill on the north side of the complex that has been built for training purposes.
"It's all about trying to get better,"
"Why go home and work out in a gym when the best gym you could have is right here?"
The weight room has new racks and the equipment has been re-organized. The locker room has been moved back about 30 feet to accommodate the expanded weight room and new offices for strength and conditioning coach Duane Carlisle and his staff. Now, there is room devoted entirely to cardio machines, including four treadmills, as well as elliptical, cycle and stair machines.
In addition, the meeting rooms for the offensive and defensive lines have been expanded. The running backs and defensive line switched rooms. Because there are more offensive and defensive linemen - and those individuals tend to be a little bigger - walls were knocked down to enable those rooms to pick up some added square footage.
The next phase of the remodel is a plan to add onto the locker room to compensate for the space lost with the expansion of the weight room. The locker room should be completed by the end of training camp, Turner said.
A new players' lounge and kitchen are also being planned.
When the multi-million-dollar project is completed, the building will expand from approximately 45,000 to 54,000 square feet, according to the 49ers.
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In a move of great personal significance, the 49ers have hired Bob Lange as director of football public relations. Lange comes to the 49ers after spending the past eight years with the Philadelphia Eagles as assistant director of football media services. Bob, welcome to the Bay Area (where Santa Claus is cheered).
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Hey Matt, any insight into Duane Carlisle and his philosophy? From this article on NFP, it sounds like the way the players train in the off season can have much different results. http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/2009/03/packers-weight-room-will-produce/
Matt - Is this an indication that the Niners think they can actually get a stadium done across the street? Is Bob Lange replacing someone and what will his role be?
Hey Matt, I'm wondering what the offseason is like at Team HQ. Do you see a lot of the players often? Are they working out around there? I hope they're running the hill and being diligent about staying in good shape during this long offseason. Thanks Matt.
Aaaaand I'm an idiot because I wrote that comment before I read the post, but I'm still curious as to what percentage of guys you'd estimate are hanging around and working out there.
This is all well and good. I understand we want the players to have good facilities to want to play for SF...but what about us fans who have to endure the worst stadium in professional sport in the entire world?
Candlestick, while I love her old bones and the history, sucks. Get a new stadium built in the CITY of SF, not Santa Clara!
It seems to me from my layman's perspective that Jed is trying to create an "Eddie" type condition within the organization. And thats just fine with me.
Matt,
Can you post some pictures of this remodel? WOuld love to see the "hill", weight room, and other areas.
That was my first thought after reading this. Like Eddie, Jed is taking care of his players. Hopefully, they reward him for it on the field. Much different from the days when John York was putting water & Gatorade behind lock and key :)
Just curious, did they put up any motivational type slogans or banners in the weight room, Matt? Not that they need it with Sing as HC ;)
Yes I agree that Jed as President of the 49ers is making every effort in bringing a winning attitude back & this is just another example. I like it!
49erFitz - I'm wondering why you want the stadium in SF, while it would be nice, isn't getting a new stadium anywhere in the Bay Area the ideal for everyone? Besides, it's not like teams all play in the city in which they are named. I just want a new stadium because I hate Candlestick, and I don't care if it is SF or Santa Clara, just get it built!
Lol, is Lange the same guy who fired that concessions worker for ripping Eagles?
Question: Just curious, did they put up any motivational type slogans or banners in the weight room?
My response: Yes. On one wall in the weight room is this: "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." --Matt M.
Matt,
This is off subject but can you give me any kind of Kentwan Balmer update? Is he putting on weight? Dropping weight? looking better/worse? I'm not ready to call him a bust because it usually takes a year or two for D-lineman to make an impact but I am starting to think that he was a reach in the 1st round and a 1 year wonder in college.
RYSKI- Kentwan Balmer update: MCsing are very pleased with Kentwan Balmer. He wasn't brought in for immidiate sack production but to free up the LB's. Under Nolan he didn't get the chance to play much and afterwards got more playing time and towards the end of the season he was beginning to do what the coaches wanted him to do. D-lineman are rarely INSTANT -results. Keep an eye on him in 09'
I always get a chuckle when I hear about this hill. I had season tickets to the Texans games for several years. Ray Childress and Tony Casillas had seats very near mine. I happened to meet Childress through a friend of a friend kind of thing. We got into a conversation about the worst coaches in the NFL. He relayed a story about Hugh Campbell who was his first coach (or one of his first coaches) in the NFL. In 1985, Campbell had a hill put in the Oilers practice fields to help with conditioning. The Hill became the players symbol of a coaching staff that had no idea what they were doing. The players had absolutely no respect for the coaches. There was a lot of brow beating, chest pounding, and yelling but very little coaching. I can't help but see the similarities with the 9ers over 20 years later. Perhaps Sing will be a great coach but this hill thing seems very silly.
Houston 9er... just to let you know the hill concept is one of the best ways to gain speed, you're basically using gravity against you. Jerry Rice used hill conditioning as a part of his program and alot of teams have hills as a part of their facilities. So the idea is hardly silly because one team was unable to coach... thats a completely different thing.
My 5 cents worth on the draft... trade down to 17 with the Jets and get beanie or moreno, and larry english on the second round. With the addition of Captain Marvel, we can add another OL in the mid rounds. And if you ask me, I'd try to nab Nate Davies or Tom Brandstater on the 4th round.
If we stick with no. 10 I'd go with BJ Raji or Everett Brown.
I know about Rice's hill and how much it helps with conditioning. My point is you can't build a hill big enough to get the same gains as Rice made using his hill.
"As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another" comes from Proverbs 27:17 From a football context, it's a pretty strong statement about teamwork and accountability.
Houston: Sing is hardly in danger of not being respected by the players. They are all in awe of the guy . On a scale of 1-10 Sing gets a 10+ rating on the respect scale !
So,let me get this straight... the Texans once had a coaching staff that the players did not respect and they also had a hill to condition the players,so you irrationally think that having a hill means that of course the players will not respect the staff ? That's just plain silly .You are waaaay off base on this one.
The Texans staff probably had the players use a weight room and a training program too,so in your way of thinking I guess that means any team who has a weight room or a training program or a hill to run must not have the respect of the players,because that one team had specific problems,they all will have the same problems. And 2+2 = 5, LOL . Just silly !
Actually, smarta** I was simply relaying a story about a conversation I had with a former NFL player on how they viewed a hill put in for exercise. The player himself said the hill was ridiculous. When you play in the NFL you will be entitled to an opinion. And what is your inside knowledge that say the players respect Sing? Was it their reaction when he pulled his pants down in the locker room? Or when he called out a player in a contrived postgame speach? Sing has proven nothing. The players all said how wonderful Nolan was when he was hired. The proof is in the pudding. If Sing doesn't win he will be out on his ear just like Nolan.