Tomsula a sentimental hire, but staff hires key to his success

There is a lot to like about the 49ers' decision to hire Jim Tomsula as head coach.

By now we all know the narrative of a guy that worked his way from up from nothing, coaching at tiny schools, sleeping in his car and honing his craft in NFL Europe before impressing enough as a position coach with San Francisco to become the 19th  head coach of one of the league's most storied franchises.

That's why I and many to give him a pass despite his clear lack of experience as a head coach. This is a guy that you want to root for and therefore it was fine that a clearly nervous Tomsula floundered his way through his introductory press conference. If anything it furthered the narrative, Tomsula is your typical blue-collar man that has worked tirelessly to reach this point, why wouldn't he be nervous at this point?

The 49ers are not out 'to win the press conference' in the now infamous words of CEO Jed York, although general manager Trent Baalke did a pretty damn good job of doing so as Tomsula struggled and York did little to improve a public image that has deteriorated since the dreadful Thanksgiving loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

But Tomsula's performance in the press conference has done little to pacify the many, many doubters he has. Those in attendance expressed their bewilderment at the strange atmosphere in the room, and the Niners now face a challenge to lift the air of negativity.

It is a task that may prove tough do given the staff that have been let go as a result of Tomusla's appointment. Defensive co-ordinator Vic Fangio is now looking for work along with secondary coach Ed Donatell, while offensive line coach Mike Solari seems poised to link up with former San Francisco offensive co-ordinator Greg Roman at the Buffalo Bills.

How the Niners replace those key assistants will be pivotal to how the team is perceived going into the 2015 season. Their interest in Jason Tarver as defensive co-ordinator is hardly likely to inspire after he struggled to put together a competitive defense across the bay in Oakland.

Still, the 49er defense has the personnel to succeed regardless of who takes up the co-ordinator role. Instead it is on offense where the Niners need a strong hire.

Mike Shanahan is thought to be in the running for an offensive co-ordinator role he last held 20 years ago when the Niners last won the Super Bowl, and former Cleveland Browns head coach Rob Chudzinski is viewed as a front-runner for the position.

It is not surprising to see Chudzinski - who works a special assistant for the Indianapolis Colts - regarded as a favourite given that he worked with Niners' running back Frank Gore during his time as offensive co-ordinator at the University of Miami.

Baalke has declared the 49ers' intention to run the ball in 2015, words that will have been music to the ears of fans frustrated by the inconsistent play-calling of this past season. Bringing Chudzinski in would seem to be a good way of keeping Gore, their best exponent of the run game, around for at least one more season.

Chudzinski also has experience working with dual-threat quarterbacks having done so with Cam Newton in Carolina, and is also seen as something of a magician with tight ends. All those traits should appeal to the 49ers following their struggles on offense in 2014, however, they will have to wait until the Colts are out of the playoffs to talk to Chudzinski.

It is fair to assume that the 49ers' staff will quickly begin to take shape in the coming weeks. Chudzinski may not be the guy on offense but if player and management favourite Tomsula is to be successful going forward, then the Niners need to employ staff on both sides of the ball to ensure his promotion to the top job results in success.