Pressure on S.F. to win this season

There’s a new feeling around the 49ers this year. It’s called pressure. You’ll have to forgive the 49ers, who report to camp on Friday, if many on the team and in the organization aren’t familiar with the concept. Because the pressure to win really hasn’t existed around the 49ers for the past four seasons.

Oh, sure, everyone wants to win. Everyone bitterly jokes about the NFL standing for Not For Long — do your job well or you’ll be gone. The contracts aren’t guaranteed, there’s coercion to play injured, there are reputations at stake. But true pressure to win games? That hasn’t existed with the messy 49ers

franchise since Jim Harbaugh’s final season in 2014. After three straight NFC Championship Game appearances and one Super Bowl appearance, there was real pressure to win, while — simultaneously — the relationships inside the building became toxic, the egojostling and creditdemanding ratcheted up, and it was clear that the era was about to end. The window was about to shut.

It did. And the past four years have been almost unwatchable, in the absence of almost any realistic pressure or expectations for success.

Was Jim Tomsula expected to win? No, not by anyone who understood what he or she was watching. CEO Jed York and general manager Trent Baalke created a laughable situation, despite still having some remnants of a great team.

Was Chip Kelly expected to win with the roster he was dealt and the style of play Baalke wanted? No chance. The desperate 49ers were Kelly’s only landing spot and he coached like a shorttimer, while the 49ers matched their worst record with just two wins.

Were John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan supposed to win in 2017, their first season? The general manager and head coach knew there was no chance they were going to do so, which is why they demanded and received sixyear contracts that would keep them safe through the bad times.

Were the two expected to win last year? There were some expectations because the nothingtolose 49ers won their final five games in the 2017 season. But those expectations vanished as soon as Jimmy Garoppolo’s knee ligament snapped in Week 3. Once again, the 49ers operated in a pressurefree environment.

Has York felt the pressure to win over the past few years? Unlikely, no matter what the lip service is. He is running a team for Mom and Dad, who aren’t going to fire him, and it’s a personal family ATM.

Even though York’s franchise has not had a winning season at Levi’s Stadium, he and his family have vaulted into the financial stratosphere, thanks to the stadium. Despite the huge swaths of empty seats, the tickets have been sold. According to Forbes, the 49ers are the sixthmost valuable NFL team, worth $3.05 billion. Isn’t it amazing what 12 wins over three seasons can do for the pocketbook?

Hell of a thing, running a sports franchise and not needing to win games.

This year might be different. Garoppolo’s knee is reportedly intact. The brain trust has had three drafts and three offseasons, with plenty of resources available, to rebuild the roster the way it wants. The natives are restless. Patience has worn thin. Credibility is at stake.

The highly touted draft of 2017, when Lynch made a great first impression, hasn’t yielded much in reality. The jury is still out on the team’s other moves. And if there isn’t a dramatic improvement, someone will pay the price. At least someone should be held accountable.

What counts as dramatic improvement? Doubling last year’s win total would bring the team only to .500 and would mean Levi’s still would not have recorded a winning season. And 88 is unlikely to get you to the playoffs.

So, the 49ers probably need to go at least 97 to sniff the playoffs, though 106 would be more likely. That’s an awfully big ask. But this is supposed to be the season. Three years to get things right. Three years to get on track. Three years to finally figure out how to beat Arizona. To make an impact in the division (Shanahan has two wins against the NFC West in two years). To get, at the very least, into the postseason conversation.

This is the year when, at long last, there is pressure to win.

And if anyone wants to understand that concept, search out tackle Joe Staley, who’s entering his 13th season. He might be the only one who remembers what it’s actually like.