SANTA CLARA –- Jim Tomsula said Monday he expects to be in the same position in 2016: head coach of the 49ers going into the second season of his four-year contract.
“Yeah, I’m going to coach until somebody tells me I’m not,” Tomsula said one day after the 49ers fell to 4-11 with a 32-17 loss to the Detroit Lions.
Tomsula said he has not gotten official reassurances from either general manager Trent Baalke or CEO Jed York, but he sees members of the team’s front office every day at the team’s offices.
“I see people every day and we talk ... The biggest thing that I get asked is, ‘Can we help? Is there anything we can get for you? You need anything?’ That’s what I get asked constantly,” Tomsula said. “And quite frankly, from that end of it, they couldn’t give us any more than they’re giving us.”
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Tomsula said he has not spoken specifically with the team’s brass about how to build the 49ers back up to address the many issues that surround them. San Francisco is getting a good look at its roster as the season progresses, with several of the team’s younger players taking on expanded roles.
“In a lot of areas with the way things have gone, and injuries and things like that, we’ve gotten a lot of people on the field -– young guys,” Tomsula said. “We’ve gotten them reps. Where we’re at, the way I see it, we’re definitely on a one-week calendar in terms of this team and where we’re going and what we’re doing preparing to win a game.
“But ... we’re building -- building the week to week, and the way you prepare and the way you work and what you got to have done and where you need to be when you show up on gameday.”
Cornerback Dontae Johnson, tackle Trent Brown and running back Jarryd Hayne have gotten opportunities to see extended playing time after being on the sideline for most of the season.
When asked if the team and the coaches are in a better spot now than at the beginning of the season, Tomsula said, “Yeah, I think there’s been a lot of growth that way. We’re in a performance-based business. We’ve got four wins. Volatile. I understand that. Everybody understands that. When you’re a coach, boom, the minute you sign a contract, boom, the clock starts. We’re fine with that. We’re just going to keep working.”
