San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
JIMMY G AND ME
A reporter’s most memorable moments covering Garoppolo for 5-plus seasons
In September, after Jimmy Garoppolo’s first game of what will surely be his last season with the San Francisco 49ers, the quarterback’s comments highlighted a disconnect with his head coach.
Garoppolo had entered after Trey Lance suffered a broken ankle in a win over the Seahawks and was “ecstatic” that he inherited an aggressive game plan Kyle Shanahan hadn’t intended for him. Garoppolo mentioned his opportunities to attack downfield and said the “more freedom” a quarterback is given, “obviously, you play better.”
“That’s what I like to do,” said Garoppolo, likening it to his freewheeling 5-0 debut in 2017 when he had a loose grasp of Shanahan’s playbook. “It’s different than what we usually do around here. But sometimes you need to do that.”
Garoppolo’s comments came near the start of a season that ended with him remaining out of sync with Shanahan: There was friction between them because Garoppolo didn’t attend nonmandatory late-season meetings while rehabbing his broken foot, the Chronicle’s Mike Silver reported.
That tension could explain Shanahan’s curt response when he said last month that he couldn’t envision a scenario in which Garoppolo, a pending free agent he had coached for five-plus years, would return in 2023.
Garoppolo’s departure is now looming. He undoubtedly will sign elsewhere when free agency begins next week. The Texans, Raiders and Panthers are expected to have interest.
His exit will mark the end of a titleless tenure in which a slew of injuries, head-scratching throws and lategame postseason failures were mixed with plenty of success.
Garoppolo is the franchise leader in completion percentage and yards per
attempt, ranks second in passer rating and is third in winning percentage, behind Steve Young and Joe Montana, Those two, along with Colin Kaepernick, are the only other 49ers QBs besides Garoppolo with four postseason wins.
Of course, this didn’t earn him a full embrace from a vocal segment of the fan base, or from an organization that drafted his replacement two years ago.
Garoppolo’s comments in September were foreshadowed when the wannabe gunslinger surprised one of his bosses by going off script at his introductory news conference on Oct. 31, 2017.
Garoppolo, flanked by Shanahan and general manger John Lynch, fired first with a 66-word opening statement.
“I thought I was starting,” said Lynch, smiling, “but, hey, have at it, Jimmy.”
That counts as my first memorable moment covering Garoppolo. Here are some others:
First start, Dec. 3, 2017
In the third quarter, Garoppolo, under duress, threaded a sidearm 16-yard dart off his back foot into triple coverage to wide receiver Louis Murphy.
Whoa. I led the game story of the 15-14 win over the Bears with this near-impossible completion because it offered evidence the 49ers had found a QB who could lift them from the abyss.
The 49ers entered Chicago with a 1-10 record and had lost 39 of their previous 48 games while starting an underwhelming group of QBs: a not-vintage Kaepernick, Blaine Gabbert, Brian Hoyer and C.J. Beathard.
“It’s a special feeling with him,” guard Brandon Fusco said. “He’s a special player. We’re all excited. There’s more to come from this.”
No kidding. Two months later, Garoppolo had a 7-0 career record as a starter and signed a $137.5 million extension that briefly made him the NFL’s highestpaid player.
ACL injury, Sept. 23, 2018
It was the third game of the season. And the season was over.
After Garoppolo tore his ACL in the fourth quarter of a loss to Kansas City, I was struck by the funereal postgame scene. The most vivid memory: Wide receiver Marquise Goodwin emerged from the locker room and quietly embraced CEO Jed York’s twin sisters, Jenna and Mara, who were glassy-eyed.
In the locker room there was the standard next-man-up talk, but it was uninspired. The man who made a laughingstock a legitimate contender wouldn’t play again in a season that would end with four wins.
“He made us who we are,” linebacker Reuben Foster said.
“Feels great, baby.” Oct. 31, 2019
Garoppolo was feeling it after he ensured the 49ers remained undefeated by throwing for 317 yards and four touchdowns in a 28-25 win at Arizona.
The insta-viral exchange with Fox’s Erin Andrews:
“Eight-and-0, how does that feel?”
“Feels great, baby.”
After Garoppolo ended his news conference, just before he opened a door in the visiting interview room to re-enter the locker room, I got a few laughs and a semi-sheepish smile from Garoppolo when I said something along the lines of, “Nice game, baby.”
Hey, some journalists have Pulitzers. I have this.
The shootout, Dec. 8, 2019
Wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders said Garoppolo was losing his voice near the end of a rollicking game against the Saints, played in a din at the Superdome.
But the 49ers didn’t lose, because Garoppolo outdueled Drew Brees in a 48-46 classic. It was one of the few times that season the defense-led 49ers needed Garoppolo to enter gunslinger mode.
And he responded by flinging it around while avoiding badJimmy throws. Garoppolo threw for 349 yards with four TDs, and his lone interception bounced off Sanders’ hands.
“He played like the best quarterback in football today,” cornerback Richard Sherman said.
The block, Jan. 11, 2020
Garoppolo has glamour-guy looks, but a big part of his lockerroom popularity was his grit.
In a divisional playoff win over the Vikings, the former linebacker at Illinois’ Rolling Meadows High planted 257-pound linebacker Anthony Barr on his backside on a reverse by wide receiver Deebo Samuel.
Garoppolo’s block had tight end Ross Dwelley leaping joyously on the sideline. And it was the subject of in-game conversations that were captured on a Mic’d Up segment. That included an exchange between Garoppolo and tight end George Kittle in which the quarterback confirmed he pancaked Barr.
Kittle: “No, you didn’t.” Garoppolo: “Hard. No joke. I put him on his ass.”
Kittle: “I love you.” Garoppolo: “I know.”
Eight passes, Jan. 19, 2020
Garoppolo threw the ball eight times in a 37-20 win over the Packers in the NFC Championship Game, the fewest passes in a playoff game since 1973.
My postgame question: “Jimmy, could you take us through each of your eight passes?”
The overthrow, Feb. 2, 2020
What if Garoppolo hadn’t overthrown Sanders on a wouldbe 49-yard touchdown pass that would have given the 49ers a 2724 lead over the Chiefs with about 90 seconds left in Super Bowl LIV?
Assuming the defense had responded by stopping Kansas City, Garoppolo would have been
the Super Bowl MVP with this stat line: 21 for 29, 268 yards, two touchdowns, one interception.
But he airmailed the throw, which made the near-champ resemble a choker: Garoppolo’s 2.8 passer rating is the second lowest in the fourth quarter of a playoff loss since 2000.
Would the 49ers have drafted Trey Lance if they had won a Super Bowl with Garoppolo? Would Garoppolo be their 2023 starter? It’s safe to say this: He never would have had to buy a Budweiser in the Bay Area again.
Cursing Jimmy, July 28, 2021
At his first training camp news conference, held four months after the 49ers drafted Lance, Garoppolo was asked about the performance of wide receiver Mohammed Sanu.
“He’s looking f—ing good, man,” said Garoppolo, smiling.
What? For much of his tenure, Garoppolo was known for being pleasantly bland at the podium, smiling while providing zero substance or sizzle.
But this f-bomb was part of his transformation with the local media. My reading: He was done playing the part of the buttonedup NFL franchise quarterback, because his franchise didn’t view him as their quarterback, at least not for much longer.
After a season in which Garoppolo offered more authenticity and insight (and more profanities), he shared the Garry Niver Award, given to the player for professionalism and cooperation with the media.
Injury toll, Oct. 3, 2021
Garoppolo didn’t speak to reporters after games in which he suffered his most serious injuries, which is customary.
But the way he spoke after he suffered a strained calf in a loss to the Seahawks, an injury that wasn’t as severe as he initially feared, made clear how much his inability to stay healthy pained him.
“I’ve been in this situation too many times,” Garoppolo said, his voice cracking, “and it’s getting real old.”
The Shana-rant, Nov. 28, 2021
After Garoppolo threw a brutal first-quarter interception in a win over the Vikings, Shanahan located him on the sideline and, with his play sheet covering his mouth, ripped him for a throw he later would term “inexcusable.”
The rare outburst — Shanahan’s in-game rants are largely limited to officials — was one of the few public examples of his frustration with Garoppolo’s decision-making.
“I love you guys.” Feb. 1, 2022
Two days after a 20-17 loss to the Rams in the NFC Championship Game, Garoppolo offered a surprisingly emotional farewell to reporters on a Zoom interview.
“It’s been a hell of a ride,” he said in closing. “I love you guys.”
The ride, of course, wasn’t over.
Training camp, summer 2022
Before his no-one-saw-it-coming move to restructure his contract to stay with the 49ers, Garoppolo starred in a bizarre sideshow: The apparently lame-duck quarterback spent the early portion of many practices throwing on a largely vacant field.
Garoppolo, who wasn’t attending meetings and presumably was about to be traded or released, was on the roster but not part of the team.
It was the strangest scene I’d witnessed since my first year on the beat in 2010. Early that season, head coach Mike Singletary stretched out on the grass, sunning himself like a cat, as aboutbe-fired offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye held a news conference under a pop-up tent a few feet away.
Final words, Dec. 1, 2022
Not to brag or anything, but I posed the final question of Garoppolo’s final news conference with the 49ers.
Three days before Garoppolo’s season ended with his broken foot against the Dolphins, I asked him about “Fake 16 Stutter Z Dope Left,” a successful play on which I was writing a story.
Garoppolo, seemingly mildly intrigued, left the podium, walked with me toward the locker room, and asked how I knew the name of the play. He expressed surprise when I explained that Shanahan told me, but he noticed that I was perhaps a bit too proud of this little scoop.
With that, the quarterback who never gained his head coach’s full faith smiled while letting me know I hadn’t been completely trusted: “Yeah,” he said, “but he didn’t tell you the formation.”