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Trent Baalke

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Sports Executive

The Resume

    (February 14, 1964- )
    Born in Rosendale, Wisconsin
    Trent John Baalke
    Played Linebacker for Bemidji State University
    General Manager (GM) of the San Francisco 49ers (2011-2016)
    Former strength and defensive line coach at North Dakota State University
    Previously had served as Player Personnel Director for the 49ers (2008-2009) and Vice President of Personnel (2010-2011)
    Worked as a Scout for the The New York Jets (1998-2000), The Washington Redskins (2001-2003), and the 49ers (2005-2007)
    Relieved of his duties following arguably the worst season in 49ers franchise history; replaced by John Lynch (Jan. 1, 2017)

Why he might be annoying:

    He replaced Mike Singletary as GM only because team ownership hoped he could woo Jim Harbaugh away from his Stanford coaching job.
    He succeeded, but he and Harbaugh clashed incessantly throughout his tenure, culminating Harbaugh's firing at the end of 2014 (outraging the Niner fan base).
    He also feuded with Harbaugh's replacement, Chip Kelly, who took several veiled shots at the GM during post-game pressers.
    He was dragged into a mini-scandal after his daughter took to social media to suggest that Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman should be dismissed, following a 19-3 Thanksgiving Day loss to the Seattle Seahawks (2014).
    He made a series of feckless draft picks between 2012 and 2016 which doomed the team's sustainability for the long run.
    For example, he opted not to draft an Inside Linebacker during the 2016 NFL Draft, incredulously asking 'who said it was the top need on the team?'
    Other poor decisions included squandering draft picks on ACL-injured players (such as cornerback Will Redmond) and trading valued Offensive Guard Joshua Garnett, in 2016.
    During the final weeks of the season, it was a badly kept secret that he was trying to save face by virtually throwing Kelly under the bus (in the end all he could do was drag him down with himself - they were both fired).

Why he might not be annoying:

    He grew up in a rented house of his mother's along Highway 23 (just west of his hometown's only stoplight).
    He worked odd jobs as a kid canning vegetables on an assembly line and making paint rollers.
    He worked an underground construction job in the Twin Cities, while at the same time coaching at Inver Hills Community College.
    He wrote his own reply cards to people who contact him.
    He is known for his sardonic witticisms.
    When Packers GM Ted Thompson reportedly asked him what he told kicker Adam Vinatieri when he coached him in college, he said, 'I told him to kick it through the uprights.'
    He put his spacious four-bedroom four-bath San Jose mansion on the market after being ousted.
    He weathered the public relations nightmare presented by Colin Kaepernick's national anthem protest about as well as any GM could have (most scapegoated Kaep for the team's lousy season anyway).
    He made the decision to trade up nine spots in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft to draft Kaepernick, which at the very least helped bring the Niners to the Super Bowl two years later.

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2022, Out of 35 Votes: 5.71% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 12 Votes: 91.67% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 77 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 3 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 33 Votes: 51.52% Annoying