Reunion with Davis, Tomsula
In November 2015, the 49ers traded tight end Vernon Davis to Denver, where he had just 20 catches in nine games and wasn’t retained after the season.
Two months later, the 49ers fired head coach Jim Tomsula, who spent the following year out of the NFL and the public eye. Whatever happened to those guys? As it turns out: They’re working near the nation’s capital.
The 49ers will reconnect with those familiar faces Sunday when they visit Washington, which has provided Tomsula and Davis a chance to do what they did best in Santa Clara.
Tomsula, who appeared over his head as a head coach, is back in the trenches. Washington’s defensive line coach is a reason why Washington, which ranked 24th in the NFL in rushing defense last year, is 10th this season. During his eight-year tenure as the 49ers’ defensive line coach, the 49ers’ run defense ranked fourth in the league.
“He’s had our defensive linemen playing at a much higher level than before,” Washington
head coach Jay Gruden said.
Meanwhile, Davis, 33, was signed by Washington last year by then-general manager Scot McCloughan, who drafted him with the No. 6 pick in 2006. Last season, Davis had his most catches (44) and yards (583) since 2013.
This season, after he was rewarded with a three-year, $15 million contract, he has eight catches for 160 yards and a 69-yard touchdown that was his longest catch since 2009.
“He runs still as fast as anybody on our football team,” Gruden said. “He’s in amazing shape. He’s a good blocker. He was a great pickup for us when we got him. … He’s been a great weapon for us.”
Washington had no trouble locating Davis on the freeagent market, but Tomsula was a different story.
After his 5-11 season, Tomsula went off the grid and wasn’t heard from for over a year. In fact, Gruden didn’t know if he was still interested in coaching — and he didn’t know where to find him to gauge his interest.
“It was not easy, I’ll tell you that,” Gruden said. “He’s not the guy that will call you right back after a call, either. I had to wait a little while and be a little patient, but finally he called.”
Tomsula has returned with a familiar defensive coordinator, Greg Manusky, and a new look. Tomsula and Manusky were colleagues from 2007-10, when Tomsula had a thick mustache and midsection. This season, Tomsula has eliminated the facial hair and dropped weight.
Tomsula, who stifled his public personality as a head coach, sounds more comfortable in his old role. In June, he told reporters his wife said he looked “scraggly” and implored him to shave and shape up.
“I said, ‘Ok, let me shave that off,’ ” Tomsula said. “She said, ‘And by the way, you’ve been fat for 20 years. Lose some weight.’ So I got on a diet and shaved my mustache. I’m not dyeing my hair though.”
For his part, Davis also has different look. Niners safety Eric Reid suggested he’s playing with a bit more fire after his career appeared to have flamed out.
“I think his career has been revived,” Reid said. “He looks really good. He’s blocking a lot harder than he has in the past. He’s running a lot more routes. They’re using him. He’s back to the younger Vernon Davis.”
As it turns out, Reid is one of the few faces who was with the team when Davis and Tomsula were last with the 49ers in 2015. The 49ers have just 14 other players on their active roster who were with the team two years ago.
Davis was among the many players jettisoned in recent years. He was initially disappointed about the trade, but, like Tomsula, he appears to be comfortable in his current spot.
“You get to a point where you move on. You understand it’s the nature of the business. It happens,” Davis said to Washington-area reporters. “You play with the team, you get traded, or just something happens. For me, it’s just another game. I’m just really, really excited to be able to see some of the familiar faces that I had to cultivate relationships with.”