I sat down to speak with 49ers team president Jed York on Thursday to talk about various aspects of the Michael Crabtree situation, as well as several other topics.
The audio can be heard by clicking here. For those who don’t want to sit through the entire 10-minute, 23-second interview, here is the transcript:
Jed last time I saw you, you were trying to get away from me in the hotel.
YORK: “We wanted to make sure that Paraag (Marathe) and Eugene (Parker) had enough time to sit down and negotiate. We didn’t want the media to be a part of it. We haven’t negotiated through the media through the entire process and we wanted to keep that up.”
Now I know a lot of people have been talking about Hammer and whether he brokered this deal, and obviously he did not, but I understand you did meet him and you have a rapport with him.
YORK: “We have a mutual friend who introduced us. Hammer has a good relationship with Deion Sanders. Eugene (Parker) was his (Sanders’) agent. And he (Hammer) has a good relationship with Eugene. And I think it was a good conduit to get everybody together.”
Do you think you guys would have eventually gotten together or did Hammer expedite the process?
YORK: “I think Michael (Crabtree) expedited the process because he wants to play football. And I think this was an easy way for neither side to look like they were giving up leverage and have someone broker the meeting. But Michael wants to play. He wants to be a 49er. That was apparent sitting down and talking to him.”
Now I understand when the meeting started you said some things to Michael about how you envision his participation with the organization.
YORK: “I don’t know if it was necessarily his participation but just where the 49ers are, where we expect to go and what we’re building. And I think it’s something special. What Scot and I and Paraag talked about before we went in was we want to hear from Michael. What does he want? Does he really want to be a 49er? And it was apparent. You could see when you started talking about the team his face lit up. He was talking about watching games. One game he couldn’t watch on TV because it wasn’t on, apparently. He was listening to it on the Internet. I mean he was really fired up to be a 49er. And that’s great to hear because feelings can definitely get hurt in a contract negotiation and I don’t think that happened here.”
There didn’t it seem to be any acrimony. The 49ers weren’t necessarily saying ‘What’s this kid doing? This is B.S.’ So you were able to keep things civil through this whole process. Was that the key or the goal for the organization?
YORK: “Like we always said, we welcome him with open arms when he’s ready to come in and that’s part of the business. And for Scot and I, when we would discuss it, and Paraag going though the negotiations on a daily basis with Eugene, it’s like, is 10 weeks of headaches worth five or six years of production from a player that will hopefully be a lifelong 49er?”
And the fact of the matter is the deal that you guys have extended in late June was five years you’re actually getting him for 5 2/3 years.
YORK: “Well, I mean, it’s a six-year deal and it’s voidable to five. I hope it’s voidable to five because that means Michael is playing at a great level and that’s what we expect when you draft somebody that high. I think he can achieve those things.”
Was it difficult not to get caught up in the moment and take that step back and say. ‘When this happens, if it happens, we’re going to have him for a long time and this will be a distant memory’?
YORK: “We referenced (Bryant) McKinnie holding out in Minnesota. And nobody talks about that. He’s on his second deal with the Vikings and it’s almost an afterthought that he sat out 10 games (as a rookie in 2002). And to us, it wasn’t important about if he was here for the first game of the season. If Mike’s going to be here for the future of the 49ers and he is.”
Now young executives such as yourself, Scot McCloughan and Paraag Marathe. You’re all going to be in this league for a long time. Did you guys learn something from this whole process that you think is applicable down the road?
YORK: “You just have to make sure that it’s about what’s happening this week with a football team. Our focus was always about who’s our opponent? What do we need to do to win? And it’s not about one player, it’s not about one individual, it’s about the team. And I think that’s definitely something coach (Mike) Singletary brings to the table is, listen, if we lose our best player on the first play of the game, are we going to be able to play the entire game? Absolutely. Are we going to be able to play without somebody here or there? There’s always going to be something that comes up and you can’t prepare based on one player. You got 22 guys that start. So you need to make sure that you’re building your roster and building your philosophy based on the team.”
In future drafts, if it’s close and there’s one player represented by a certain agent and maybe a player represented by someone else, does that become a factor in who the team selects?
YORK: “Not at all. For us and I believe in Scot fully with his drafting ability and our scouting staff. Whoever is the best player on the board for us, that’s how we’re going to continue to draft. If you’re afraid to draft somebody, if you’re afraid of an agent or don’t want to deal with somebody, then you’re going to pass up on a good player. And we don’t ever want to pass up on a good player, because it’s part of the business and you need to make sure you can get these things done. And I think both sides showed that we got the business taken care of. Now our business is the Atlanta Falcons.”
In the pre-draft process obviously the Michael Crabtree visit to Browns got a lot of attention. An NFL executive from another team me Crabtree created some friction within that team as far as coaches saying, ‘Get him out of here.’ When he visited the 49ers was there any of that? Was there any pause in taking the kid after he had fallen to the 10th spot?
YORK: “Not at all. We were excited that he was there. And when you look at Michael — and I think it’s a testament to him — this has been a 10-week ordeal and Michael himself has not said a word. He’s been very quiet. You haven’t seen pictures of Michael at a club. You haven’t seen stories of Michael going out. Because that’s not who Michael is. Michael’s life is football. He loves playing football. And that was very apparent before the draft and when we met the other day before the contract got signed. It was very apparent that he wants to play football. And that’s what he’s about.”
Okay, let’s move on to the football team a little bit. You made the statement at the end of last year, I think you guaranteed that the 49ers would be playing football in January. Of course you will be because you finish the season on January 3rd, but how confident are you now after the first four games of the season that this is, indeed, a playoff team and will be playing meaningful football in January?
YORK: “The expectations are always to be a playoff team. And the last time I checked three wins didn’t get anybody into the playoffs, so we have a long way to go. And we’re going to keep building, but if our expectation is not to compete for a Super Bowl every year, then we shouldn’t be here. And we’re going to hold everybody to those expectations. And I think we are on our way to building the foundation of being a team that can compete for a Super Bowl year in and year out.”
And what have you seen from the team first three or four weeks? What have you seen from your head coach Mike Singletary?
YORK: “I think I talked about it in Mike’s first interim head-coaching press conference. It’s that intensity. It’s the fact that all of our guys are playing together. We haven’t added one player here/there that makes the difference. It’s the leadership of the coach that can bring all of the guys together on offense, on defense, on special teams that gives us a chance to win on every single Sunday and gives us a chance to compete for winning the NFC West and ultimately competing for a Super Bowl.”
And now as you look at the schedule ahead, tough game coming up on Sunday. A stretch really of six very difficult games. Is this the stretch that really solidifies where this team is in the hierarchy of the NFL?
YORK: “It’s always about who you’re playing on Sunday. You can’t look at it as a stretch and what teams are we playing after this team. It’s the Atlanta Falcons and that’s the only thing that’s on our mind right now. And that’s the way that you build a championship mentality, to take care of the task at hand. And there is always going to be another team, but we need to take care of Sunday first.”
Before I let you go I wanted to ask about the stadium. How much time are you spending on the stadium? Does that change now that the Crabtree situation is over?
YORK: “It was funny. I was up around 3 in the morning on the night that Crabree — or the morning that Crabtree — signed. It’s about an hour-and-a-half or two hours before I’m usually up. So I’ll get a little bit more sleep now and focus a little bit more on the stadium. But I’m glad that we’re moving forward.”
And where does that stand? What’s the target date now for the stadium?
YORK: “The target date is to start construction 2012 and opening 2014. And we’re still working on the environmental process. It’s up to the (Santa Clara) city council to be able to figure out when we want to go to a ballot, and we’re excited to be able to put that before the voters some time in 2010.”
And the ballot might be in the spring?
YORK: “It’s going to be up to the city council. So were just moving forward. We want to make sure that everything is taken care of with the environmental process and that whenever the city council wants to put it on, we’re happy to go.”
Specifically, what would the voters of Santa Clara be voting on?
YORK: “The measure hasn’t been written, yet. So really what we have been talking about has been allowing them the opportunity to vote on a term sheet and figure out if this is a deal that the city of Santa Clara, the citizens of Santa Clara want to view – so giving them that opportunity. But it hasn’t been written. We want to make sure it’s something that’s clear and concise, that gives people an opportunity to give their opinion on the stadium project.”
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Thank you to Carl and Jagniner for your good work. You will be rewarded with my sincere gratitude, as well as a copy of one of my books.
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Singletary was mic’d up for NFL Films during the 49ers’ game Sunday against the Rams. It is fascinating, as viewers can witness Singletary sharing tender pregame moments with his son, and several not-so-tender moments with guard Chilo Rachal. You can also hear Josh Morgan explain that a deep pass from Shaun Hill looked more like a punt.
It’s great stuff, and you can see that “Tough Love” video right here.
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What was life like before cell phones? Today, I take a step back in time. I’m taking today off to enjoy a leisurely day as a fan at the President’s Cup at Harding Park, where cell phones are not allowed during play. (I won’t be near my computer, so a warning that off-topic conversation in this spot today will not be tolerated.)
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