http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writ...ford/index.html
Who is Trent Baalke, and how did he commandeer the first round?
In the great Red River Flood of 1997, the biggest flood of the river since 1826, people from all around North Dakota rallied to sandbag towns to keep them on the map. One of those townies was the athletic director at Shanley High in Fargo, Trent Baalke, who, like many of his peers, just tried to do his small part to help save the town.
Baalke is embarking on something a thousandth as important but with a similar sense of immediacy now, with the announcement that the 49ers -- with the 13th and 17th picks in the first round -- have given the 12-year-veteran scout the final say in their draft room. This is in the wake of the awkward dismissal of GM Scot McCloughan by the club for unspecified personal reasons. All Baalke is being asked to do is pick two cornerstone players for a franchise turned mediocre in the best overall draft in the NFL in some time.
Today, he and coach Mike Singletary hit the road for a three-day tour of college pro days -- and to get to know each other better. It's Baalke and Singletary who need to be on the same page as April 22 approaches. Baalke needs to make sure he gets Singletary players who fit not only the coach's physical profile, but also who are intense, focused players in the Singletary mold.
Baalke, 46, grew up a Packer fan in Wisconsin and went on to be a two-time all-conference linebacker at Bemidji (Minn.) State. For six years he was an assistant on the North Dakota and South Dakota State coaching staffs before settling with his wife in Fargo. In 1998, the Jets called out of the blue to interview him for a scouting job; seems a Jet scout had recommended him to Jets personnel boss **** Haley after meeting Baalke when he was the NFL liaison to pro scouts at South Dakota State. "When the call came, I thought one of my friends was pranking me,'' he told me over the weekend. "Why would the Jets be calling me?''
To be an area scout. Washington hired him as a national scout in 2001, and he moved to the 49ers in 2004. In 2008, they named him director of player personnel, with only McCloughan above him on the personnel side.
"Until I got the call from the Jets,'' he said, "I had no ambition to work in the NFL. But once you get in the league, your perspective changes. I knew as the job unfolded I could do this job.
"The one fortunate thing that happened to me is that I started with the Jets, and that was a perfect place to start. I saw lots of good coaches -- Coach [bill] Parcells, Bill Belichick, Charlie Weis, Romeo Crennel. Mr. Haley let me develop a style and wanted to know my opinion. Coach Parcells lets you know right away that he wants to know what you think. With him, it's like, 'Do you have the guts to tell me what I don't want to hear?' ''
It's the dream of every road scout to run a draft one day. Now Baalke, out of the clear sky, has been handed the keys to a Ferrari. The Niners are one of two teams (New England the other) with three picks in the top 50. What a rush it must be. But Baalke, watching video with pro personnel director Tom Gamble Saturday in the 49er offices, was pretty stoic about it all.
"My job's really the same,'' he said. "Except I'm responsible for the final decision. We'll all team up to evaluate the players and stack the board, but my philosophy is pretty much the same as Scot's, and when Scot left, the board was 85 to 90 percent done. One guy may be the guy in control, but I don't look at it like 'I'm pulling the trigger here.' I have to trust I've learned enough along the way to make the right calls.''
Baalke could play it safe and go linebacker at 13 (Rolando McClain to play alongside Patrick Willis?), tackle at 17 (Trent Williams?), runner/returner (Jahvid Best?) at 49. Or he could trade one or more of the picks to fill more needs. "Each situation is different,'' is all he'll say about dealing.
Whatever, the Niners need a backfield threat, at least one offensive lineman, a linebacker and maybe a quarterback. It's a big laundry list, and nothing is promised to Baalke after the draft. He might be back as GM, he might not be. "I'm confident the draft will go well,'' Baalke said, and he sounded it.
Who is Trent Baalke, and how did he commandeer the first round?
In the great Red River Flood of 1997, the biggest flood of the river since 1826, people from all around North Dakota rallied to sandbag towns to keep them on the map. One of those townies was the athletic director at Shanley High in Fargo, Trent Baalke, who, like many of his peers, just tried to do his small part to help save the town.
Baalke is embarking on something a thousandth as important but with a similar sense of immediacy now, with the announcement that the 49ers -- with the 13th and 17th picks in the first round -- have given the 12-year-veteran scout the final say in their draft room. This is in the wake of the awkward dismissal of GM Scot McCloughan by the club for unspecified personal reasons. All Baalke is being asked to do is pick two cornerstone players for a franchise turned mediocre in the best overall draft in the NFL in some time.
Today, he and coach Mike Singletary hit the road for a three-day tour of college pro days -- and to get to know each other better. It's Baalke and Singletary who need to be on the same page as April 22 approaches. Baalke needs to make sure he gets Singletary players who fit not only the coach's physical profile, but also who are intense, focused players in the Singletary mold.
Baalke, 46, grew up a Packer fan in Wisconsin and went on to be a two-time all-conference linebacker at Bemidji (Minn.) State. For six years he was an assistant on the North Dakota and South Dakota State coaching staffs before settling with his wife in Fargo. In 1998, the Jets called out of the blue to interview him for a scouting job; seems a Jet scout had recommended him to Jets personnel boss **** Haley after meeting Baalke when he was the NFL liaison to pro scouts at South Dakota State. "When the call came, I thought one of my friends was pranking me,'' he told me over the weekend. "Why would the Jets be calling me?''
To be an area scout. Washington hired him as a national scout in 2001, and he moved to the 49ers in 2004. In 2008, they named him director of player personnel, with only McCloughan above him on the personnel side.
"Until I got the call from the Jets,'' he said, "I had no ambition to work in the NFL. But once you get in the league, your perspective changes. I knew as the job unfolded I could do this job.
"The one fortunate thing that happened to me is that I started with the Jets, and that was a perfect place to start. I saw lots of good coaches -- Coach [bill] Parcells, Bill Belichick, Charlie Weis, Romeo Crennel. Mr. Haley let me develop a style and wanted to know my opinion. Coach Parcells lets you know right away that he wants to know what you think. With him, it's like, 'Do you have the guts to tell me what I don't want to hear?' ''
It's the dream of every road scout to run a draft one day. Now Baalke, out of the clear sky, has been handed the keys to a Ferrari. The Niners are one of two teams (New England the other) with three picks in the top 50. What a rush it must be. But Baalke, watching video with pro personnel director Tom Gamble Saturday in the 49er offices, was pretty stoic about it all.
"My job's really the same,'' he said. "Except I'm responsible for the final decision. We'll all team up to evaluate the players and stack the board, but my philosophy is pretty much the same as Scot's, and when Scot left, the board was 85 to 90 percent done. One guy may be the guy in control, but I don't look at it like 'I'm pulling the trigger here.' I have to trust I've learned enough along the way to make the right calls.''
Baalke could play it safe and go linebacker at 13 (Rolando McClain to play alongside Patrick Willis?), tackle at 17 (Trent Williams?), runner/returner (Jahvid Best?) at 49. Or he could trade one or more of the picks to fill more needs. "Each situation is different,'' is all he'll say about dealing.
Whatever, the Niners need a backfield threat, at least one offensive lineman, a linebacker and maybe a quarterback. It's a big laundry list, and nothing is promised to Baalke after the draft. He might be back as GM, he might not be. "I'm confident the draft will go well,'' Baalke said, and he sounded it.
