The 49ers of the 80’s were built on innovation. They were owned by a young and charismatic Eddie DeBartolo Jr who boldly hired a college coach to be the head coach of his franchise, a move that was widely criticized at the time. That coach was Bill Walsh. This move would change the way football was played. Innovation would become a theme of the 49ers. Bill Walsh created a new offense, based on a short, efficient passing game. Eddie DeBartolo was the most active owner of his time. He used his authority and power to win football games, a philosophy that has been lost to the business-centric modern National Football League, one that Jed York has completely embraced.
The current 49ers are in fact, almost the opposite of what they used to be. Instead of a coach attempting to show the world of football something it had never seen before, current head coach Mike Singletary, takes the approach of mimicking a philosophy that was once successful at an earlier point in time. The current NFL is based on speed and passing, but the 49ers refuse to evolve with the game, and continue to focus on strength and running the football. This philosophy, of course, has been embraced by a fan base that still idolizes the heroes of the time period Mike Singletary is trying to imitate. But the one thing 49er fans love the most is winning. It seems like at this moment, this ‘old school’ philosophy can’t do that.

Image borrowed from bayareasportsguy.com