Chip Kelly Reportedly Wanted To Draft Dak Prescott But Trent Baalke Passed

Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports that one of the final straws for 49ers GM Trent Baalke was his decision to not draft QB Dak Prescott last year, despite support from HC Chip Kelly and other in the building to do so.

Meanwhile, Ian Rapoport says that some of the frustration from 49ers’ coaches was that Baalke never talked to them or even asked them about the kind of players they liked.

It’s clear that Baalke was running the show in San Francisco from the time the 49ers elected to move on from Jim Harbaugh and keep Baalke in place. However, there’s no one more responsible for the current state of the team than Baalke, which explains why the 49ers are now looking to completely overhaul their front office and coaching staff.

Baalke admitted Sunday after confirming he was fired that it wouldn’t be the worst thing for the franchise to have a complete re-set of the team’s culture.

“I’m a big fan,” Baalke said. “Sometimes you need to re-set the culture. When you have a winning culture, which we did in 2011, 12, 13 and 14, a lot of good football players. A lot of memorable games we went through together. Then you transition. At some point, those veteran guys move on. Blending in with younger guys, and sometimes it takes a little longer than you’d like. And this is probably one of those situations. But I do think there’s some very good young talent on this team. With a good offseason, the right re-set, I think good things are ahead for them.”

Baalke, 52, was promoted by the 49ers to general manager back in 2011. He was named Executive of the Year by the Pro Football Writers Association back in 2011 after the team won 13 games.

Since joining the 49ers back in 2010, the 49ers have a record of 57-31-1, which includes three playoff appearances and a conference title in 2012.