Jed York’s Panic Meter:  Week 5

The San Francisco 49ers are entering Week 5 after back to back losses and now sit with a .500 record. The 49ers Faithful are already spreading blame around and playoff hopes are dwindling for a team that was considered by many as a Super Bowl contender before the season started. An interesting aspect in all of the 49ers storylines that is being oddly overlooked is Jed York, maybe due to his odd quietude during the 49ers struggles. Remember, this is a CEO that tweeted an apology to fans following a Thanksgiving loss in what turned out to be an 8-8 season after a Super Bowl appearance and three straight NFC Championship appearances.

The 49ers have prided themselves on not leaking information to the media during the Shanahan and Lynch era. In fact, John Lynch stated in his first interview after being hired as GM that he tested the 49ers front office to not leak his candidacy for the job because of the history Jed York and his cronies earned in previous years. Let’s take a look at some weird things that have been happening in 49ers land and I’ll let you judge where his panic meter is.

ESPN’s Seth Wickersham

Last week, reports came out about Tom Brady’s interest in ending his career in Santa Clara that will come out in an upcoming book. The interest on Brady’s part is not the story -- the apparent actions by the 49ers coaching staff is. Details indicate Shanahan ordered offensive coaches to study Brady’s 2019 film as he did so while on vacation. They subsequently came to the conclusion that he was only marginally better than 49ers’ Garoppolo and decided against pursuing Brady. Now, who would know the inner workings of the 49ers communication besides people involved in those workings? Are we to believe Lynch and/or Shanahan who actively tested the 49ers ability to keep leaks quiet before even accepting a job with the organization would leak this information? Weird.

49ers’ interest in drafting Mac Jones

It was widely reported among connected NFL reporters that the 49ers would draft Mac Jones with the No. 3 pick. The 49ers ultimately ended up drafting Trey Lance and shocking everyone, but how would all these reporters be in consensus about a team's intentions and be wrong? These reporters’ livelihood is made on the information they release and make public. I know a lot of fans dismiss those reports as them guessing and being wrong but look at those reporters’ track records. You will see most national reporters (now don’t confuse reporters with TV personalities) simply repeat information they are told by sources. They don’t make assumptions or guesses. They report. Last week, reports were circulating again that Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers traded up to draft Patriots QB Mac Jones but changed their mind. This is odd information to resurface as soon as your team loses its first game of the season.

Jed York’s Twitter account

The last tweet about the team’s performance was on September 19th following the Eagles win. Nothing following the team’s losses to the Packers or Seahawks. So that seems like a good sign but something tells me no words of encouragement or reassurance isn’t a great thing. Like my mother always told me, if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. Jed York’s track record tells me his mom didn’t teach him this lesson. This will be a major factor this season in gauging Jed’s panic level, and the fact that he’s oddly quiet right now is a little bewildering. This is a team that has Super Bowl aspirations after all according to Jed during the 49ers State of the Franchise.

Jed’s Current Panic Level: 4 (on a scale of 1-10)

I would say most realistic fans and analysts thought the 49ers would be either a one or two loss team at this point, so nothing is out of the ordinary. However, the injuries have already piled up for a third consecutive year and the 49ers’ current record seems less optimistic as a result.

I’ll bring you updates every couple of weeks to stay on top of Jed’s behavior because remember, he tends to make irrational, emotional decisions. He did storm out of a game at halftime last season after all and he did fire the winningest coach in his tenure after never having a losing record… so stay tuned.