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Trent John Baalke (/ˈbɑːlkiː/ BAHL-kee) (born February 14, 1964) is the general manager of the San Francisco 49ers, an American football team in the National Football League (NFL). He was first hired by the 49ers in 2005 as their Western Region Scout, and three years later was promoted to Director of Player Personnel, a position largely responsible for overseeing the team's college scouting operations. Baalke was chosen to lead the 49ers in the 2010 NFL Draft, in place of Scot McCloughan, and a month later was given the title of Vice President of Player Personnel. His official promotion to General Manager came shortly after the firing of Mike Singletary as head coach of the 49ers, in anticipation of needing an official GM to lure Jim Harbaugh away from Stanford for the vacant coaching position.

Prior to joining the 49ers, Trent Baalke's NFL career included a stint as a scout for the New York Jets from 1998 to 2000, and four years with the Washington Redskins, first as a National Scout and then as College Scouting Coordinator.

In January 2012, Baalke was named PFWA Executive of the Year for the 2011 season, after being credited for transforming a 6-10 team into a 13-3 team in his first season as General Manager. The next month he received a contract extension through 2016.

Following a home game for the 49ers on Thanksgiving Day, 2014, in which the division-rival Seattle Seahawks defeated the 49ers 19-3, Baalke's daughter Cass stirred up a minor scandal when she suggested in a tweet that Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman should be dismissed from the team.

After a 2014 season filled with reports that Baalke and then-49ers coach Jim Harbaugh had been clashing, the 49ers parted ways with Harbaugh and promoted defensive line coach Jim Tomsula to the head coaching position. Tomsula led the 49ers to a 5-11 record in 2015 and was fired on Jan. 3, 2016. Baalke remains in the position, despite multiple observers considering him among the worst General Managers in football. After early success in the draft, with his first class netting NaVorro Bowman, Mike Iupati and Anthony Davis, subsequent drafts have fallen off substantially and he has repeatedly failed to draft an effective Wide Receiver.

If all goes well, he will be fired by the end of the 2016-2017 season.

References

1. "Baalke receives promotion to 49ers' VP of player personnel". Associated Press. May 20, 2010. Retrieved 2013-05-16.
2. "49ers promote Trent Baalke to GM". ESPN. January 5, 2011. Retrieved 2013-05-16.
3. Jason Kirk (Jan 4, 2011). "Jim Harbaugh OKs San Francisco 49ers General Manager Candidates, According To Report". SB Nation. Retrieved 2013-05-16.
4. "San Francisco 49ers: Trent Baalke". 49ers.com. Retrieved 2013-05-16.
5. Matt Barrows (March 26, 2010). "49ers Blog and Q&A: The Trent Baalke file". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved 2013-05-16.
6. Dan Arkush (Jan 17, 2012). "49ers' Baalke named Executive of the Year". Pro Football Weekly. Retrieved 2012-01-24.
7. "49ers extend Baalke's deal". CSN Bay Area. February 10, 2012. Retrieved 2012-02-11.
8. Josh Katzowitz (November 28, 2014). "Trent Baalke's daughter rips 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman". CBS Sports. Retrieved 2014-11-28.
9. Yahoo Sports

• Living people
• American football linebackers
• Bemidji State Beavers football players
• New York Jets personnel
• North Dakota State Bison football coaches
• San Francisco 49ers executives
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• Washington Redskins personnel
• National Football League general managers
• 1964 births