49ers fall just short of improbable championship; future is bright

Shortened offseason, same quarterback, same roster minus a few exceptions, and a new coach with no National Football League (NFL) head coaching experience; these are all factors the San Francisco 49ers heard about going into the 2011-2012 season.

Following eight straight seasons of missing the playoffs fans and media both in the Bay Area and Nationally had plenty of reason to be skeptical about the 49ers chances this season. The 49ers, on the other hand, had other plans; plans to defy all odds and restore the winning tradition the franchise enjoyed from 1981 through 2002 during which the team won five elusive Super Bowl trophies.

49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh and the team's entire
coaching staff was key in bringing the winning culture
back to San Francisco in 2011.

This plan started with the new coach in town or for that matter from across town, Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh, the head coach just a year ago of the Stanford Cardinal football team packed his bags and headed from Palo Alto to the 49ers practice facility in Santa Clara.

With him he brought many of his fellow coaches from the Stanford coaching staff including defensive coordinator Vic Fangio; quickly this coaching staff changed the culture for the men who suit up in red and gold.

Picked by nearly no one to make the playoffs, the 49ers posed a dominant defense, number one in the league against the run and a scrappy blue-collar offense led by pro bowl running back Frank Gore en route to an improbable 13-3 record during the regular season. The 49ers followed up the great regular season with the most entertaining game of the NFL season beating the New Orleans Saints in the second round of the playoffs in the final seconds on a great catch by tight end Vernon Davis.

Though the team did fall short in the National Football Conference championship game against the New York Giants (20-17 in overtime), the eventual Super Bowl champions, this team showed the heart, fight, grit, and talent it takes to be perennial Super Bowl contenders going into the future.

Looking forward the 49ers have arguably the most dominant young defense in the NFL led by five-time pro bowl linebacker Patrick Willis. To back the defense up is an offense with potential to grow with emerging quarterback Alex Smith finally finding his way under Harbaugh along with Gore, Davis, and wide receiver Michael Crabtree.

Should this team be able to retain the most of its free agents and there are many including Smith, safety Dashon Goldson, cornerback Carlos Rogers, and linebacker Ahmad Brooks among others and add an explosive player at wide receiver this team could be hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy come February 2013.