lol wtf the story keeps changing.
Im guessing this will be the correct 1 Since Tim Kawakami is pretty reliable........
1:21 p.m. update: Just before the big conference call… The Chron is now retreating from its report that John York has been deposed, after a direct call from John.
I’m reporting that Jed is in, John is out. More now than ever. No retreat for me.
My point: Well, what’s John York supposed to say to Nancy Gay? “Hell, yeah, my wife just fired me and replaced me with my son.” No way he’ll say that. But that’s what happened. I don’t expect John and Jed (or poor Andy Dolich, first day in the crossfire) to say that, but it’s the practical reality. Unless Jed wants to say he was fibbing to me on the phone last night.
As always, I am absolutely sticking to my story because I’m right. Jed is the owner, period, starting yesterday, however they want to spin it; the more hue and cry from the 49ers usually means I’m 100% right. Just like I was right about Dolich yesterday.
Nancy Gay has the quick hit on the Chronicle website, and it supports everything I’ve heard and suggested for the last 24 hours.
In fact, I probably should’ve typed something straight-forward because I did hear it directly from Jed York late last night, though it was an informal discussion.
Now that it’s out, I’m going to go ahead and type it:
* The 49ers have a new owner, starting yesterday, and it’s JED YORK.
Jed’s father, John, will no longer be the team’s titular owner representative and will no longer make the final day-to-day decisions and probably will move back to Youngstown full-time.
Denise DeBartolo York, Jed’s mother and John’s wife, is still the No. 1 power, but she doesn’t want day-to-day power. And she doesn’t want John to have it anymore, either.
* Jed’s first move is the hiring of long-time respected executive Andy Dolich, who, Jed told me, will mentor him on the business side of running a sports franchise. (Hey, I read that somewhere yesterday, didn’t I?)
Dolich’s title: Chief operating officer.
* This is very bad news for Mike Nolan’s continued future with the team, since John York is believed to be Nolan’s single remaining powerful protector in the franchise.
* Jed York is expected to do a thorough shake-up of the front office, sparing few departments.
He has already been doing a close-up examination of the Alex Smith/Nolan feud and how different departments handled it.
* Larry MacNeil, VP finance, will take over more responsibilites for shepherding the stadium effort–which had been Jed York’s primary listed role.
* I asked Jed flat out if he’s firing Lal Heneghan, the current VP for football operations, since I figured Dolich would be taking over most of those duties. Jed said Dolich’s hiring is not a reflection of Heneghan.
That was not a denial, and I noticed that it wasn’t.
* My continued understanding is that Paraag Marathe, a Jed favorite, will have a major voice in the football side of the organization.
* I’ve got a lot of other following thoughts, culled from lots of different sources, on which direction Jed York is likely to take with the football side–a power GM, a new coach…
But I’ll flesh that out later. It’s very interesting.
-San Jose Mercury Writer Tim Kawakami
