There's Always Next Year: San Francisco 49ers

And for San Francisco, there's always the year after that.

Jim Harbaugh's breakup with the 49ers was never going to end well, but San Francisco made things worse. They promoted Jim Tomsula, a defensive line coach with zero head-coaching experience, and then watched half the roster flee to retirement or depart in free agency. That the 49ers managed to go 5-11 was almost impressive, considering how low expectations dipped.

The 49ers enter this offseason as a poor bet to do much in 2016. Granted, they've admitted that Jim Tomsula, Head Coach, was a step too far into madness, but they remain a team with huge question marks, from roster talent to front office hubris. And speaking of hubris …

*Coach and Quarterback Confidence Rating: 3/10*

… welcome to San Francisco, Chip Kelly! Hope you packed your emotional intelligence!

I don't doubt that Kelly's offense can succeed at the NFL level, but he may not have picked the right organization to back him. In Philadelphia, Kelly failed to understand grown men and evaluate talent. He's giving himself one offseason to address the former, while leaving the latter in the hands of a front office that gutted a whole coaching staff because they weren't throwing the ball enough.

Kelly's NFL head coaching career isn't completely dead, but I would be surprised if he successfully revived it here. There are bright spots on the 49ers, but none of them are at quarterback, where Kelly will make do with Blaine Gabbert and Didn't You Used To Be Colin Kaepernick?

As he plotted potential moves & his next — Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet)January 14, 2016

Sometimes we see tactful smokescreens in the offseason. For the 49ers' sake, let's hope this is one of those times. You can make Kaepernick a better quarterback by utilizing his athletic abilities. Having him throw as often as Sam Bradford isn't a reasonable recipe for success.

*Key Offseason Decision: Regroup, or rebuild?*

Are the 49ers likely to become a playoff team again in the next two seasons? The Cardinals and the Seahawks were two of the best teams in the NFL last season. The Rams could have been good with an actual quarterback. The 49ers, on paper, won't compete with any of them, not even with a high-spending offseason (barring some sort of franchise quarterback savior scenario in the draft).

So maybe it's time for the 49ers to cut their losses on the rest of the Harbaugh core and acquire additional rebuilding assets. Left tackle Joe Staley, at 32, is unlikely to be a 49er when they're ready to win again. NaVorro Bowman, a first-team All-Pro linebacker, could also fetch San Francisco a ransom of draft picks.

NFL teams don't often operate like the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers, and for good reason: Nobody wants to be the Jaguars or the Raiders and run a ghost franchise for five seasons while clearing out a roster completely devoid of talent. But the 49ers might already be at that point, in which case there's nothing left to lose.

*Major Free Agents: K Phil Dawson, LG Alex Boone, RB Reggie Bush, DT Ian Williams, TE Garrett Celek*

Boone is the biggest name of this bunch, but he's coming off a torn MCL. At 29, he's still a good player but by no means a fit for the franchise tag. Dawson could draw the franchise tag. He's still an excellent kicker, and for some reason NFL teams love to make sure their kickers can't negotiate deals.

Williams could be a hot free agent. At only 26, he was the nose tackle-in-waiting for Isaac Sopoaga. His 2014 season ended prematurely with a broken leg, but he had a nice year in 2015. Celek has outperformed the more highly-drafted Vance McDonald at tight end, and is a priority re-sign.

Bush messed up his knee on the concrete bowl around the Edward Jones Dome. I don't think he's worth much more than a vet flier at this point.

*Cap Situation: $53,554,714 — third* in the NFL

The 49ers are fine at safety and wideout. They've got some interesting nickel corner and defensive linemen. Outside linebacker Aaron Lynch had a promising season rushing the passer.

Other than those guys, Staley, and Bowman, the 49ers could spend for talent just about anywhere. They could be in on Sam Bradford, as Kaepernick isn't a locked-in starter. I could see them bringing in more front seven pieces. Corner is absolutely a spot that deserves an upgrade.

They've got the money to do just about anything at this point. The only issue is how much they'll need to pay over market rates to persuade their priority free agents to consider San Francisco as a destination. If nothing else, we're going to learn a lot about how much the 49ers brand has declined in the eyes of agents and players this offseason.