Tom Gamble, who left the 49ers two years ago, is officially back with the organization as the team’s senior personnel executive, the club announced Thursday afternoon.
Gamble’s return to the 49ers has been expected since Dec. 31, when the Philadelphia Eagles announced a mutual parting. Gamble had been the Eagles’ vice president of player personnel since February 2013.
Gamble formerly worked with the 49ers as director of player personnel. Joel Patton, who replaced Gamble in May 2013, left the organization before last year’s draft in a move the 49ers never publicly acknowledged.
Gamble was the 49ers’ director of pro personnel from 2005 to 2011. In his final two seasons with the 49ers, he was the top personnel executive under general manager Trent Baalke.
“Tom is one of the most experienced, knowledgeable, and respected personnel men in the business,” Baalke said in a statement. “He played an instrumental role in our personnel department from 2005-2012, and is well versed in our system having played a role in its development. This familiarity, along with his many strengths, will be tremendous assets as we prepare for free agency and the draft. It is great to have Tom back with the 49ers.”
The move to bring Gamble back to the 49ers has been in the works for a while, according to sources. Gamble and Baalke spent a lot of time together last week at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, as they scouted draft-eligible prospects.
Gamble enters his 28th NFL season. Gamble has helped build 12 playoff teams, including two with the 49ers, five with the Indianapolis Colts and and five with Philadelphia.
Prior to his arrival in San Francisco, Gamble served as a college scout for the Colts from 1998 through the 2005 draft, under veteran NFL executive Bill Polian.
Gamble’s late father, Harry, served as general manager and president of the Eagles in the 1980s and ‘90s.
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