Chat Transcript
sf49ers.com
May 3, 2001

Prior to joining the 49ers, Donahue was the lead college football analyst for CBS Sports (1996-98) and head coach at UCLA (1976-95). He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000.

Terry Donahue: I would like to welcome all the Niner fans to the chat room! I am wildly excited about this new opportunity I have been given as the GM of the 49ers. I look forward to the years ahead as we get back to championship caliber and the world's championship!

Question: Congratulations! What will be the biggest change in your responsibilities now?

Terry Donahue: Thank you! The biggest change will probably in the negotiation and structuring of the contracts. The personnel responsibilities are the same, although I will be hiring someone for my old job. I will still be hands on with the day to day things I have been doing the past few years. But the main change will be in the contract area.

Question: Terry how soon do you think the 49er cap situation will be 100% completely taken care of?

Terry Donahue: Well, I don't know if any team's cap situation will be 100% taken care of. We have made great progress getting the issues under control and now we are in about the same shape as about 50% of the other NFL teams are today. But the cap issues are an ever-evolving situation. We will be faced with cap issues and decisions every year. But financially we are in much better shape that 2 years ago when Bill Walsh came back to the 49ers and I joined him here.

Question: Were you shocked about Bill leaving?

Terry Donahue: No. I fully anticipated that he would step down soon after the draft. In my private conversations with him he had indicated that was his time frame. As far back as 2 years and 4 months ago he indicated that he wouldn't be staying more than 2 or maybe 3 years. So the time frame was the one he designed and kept.

Question: As General Manager do you plan on bringing in any new faces for the 2001-2002 season?

Terry Donahue: Well we have a couple of free agents that were on our team previously that we would like to bring back. Like Zack Bronsons and Monty Montgomery. Equally as important as securing those players to add experience is to secure people like Garcia and Beasley. We have pressures to round out the squad with current free agents while at the same time extending contracts on current players so they do not become free agents in the future.

Question: Did Jeff Garcia surprise you all with his rapid development last year?

Terry Donahue: Absolutely! When we first brought him to the 49ers the initial thought was he would take Ty Detmer's place as Steve Young's backup. I don't think anyone anticipated he would perform at the level he did. Once Steve got hurt and Jeff played and got confidence it became apparent he was much farther along than we had anticipated. Development is an ongoing process and this is a case where a player exceeded our expectations.

Question: How is Garrison Hearst's recovery coming along?

Terry Donahue: Garrison is working extremely hard to get to a point physically that he can pass the physical the doctors give everyone on the squad. He has not been cleared for team participation at this time but hopes that in the next 60-90 days he will be cleared to participate with the squad.

Question: Are there any quality running backs out there in free agency that you would be interested in signing?

Terry Donahue: None that we can afford at this time. We are at a level, cap wise, that we have very little wiggle room left. The couple of players we are currently talking with are defensive players and we are not looking at offensive players at this time. That could change in June or July if we can create some cap room with potential movement from our roster.

Question: Terry is it a done deal that Jerry will be released on June 1st? :-(

Terry Donahue: We are not anticipating that Jerry Rice will return to the 49ers after June 1st. He and his agent have been given permission to talk trade talks with other teams. I fully expect Jerry will finish his career with another team or retire.

Question: How much improved do you think our defense will be this year

Terry Donahue: I am anticipating our defense will make major strides like a year ago. We are trying to be younger, faster and healthier particularly on defense. With the addition of some players like Peterson, we have helped our overall athleticism. With this year's draft class we should continue on those same lines. We are not very far from being a substantially improved defensive team from where we were 2-3 years ago.

Question: Do you think Andre Carter has a chance to make an immediate impact with the 49ers next season?

Terry Donahue: Absolutely! We fully expect, based on the recent mini camp, to see him as our starting right end and it will be difficult for any of our current players to hold him off from that position. While competition for that spot is not over, I think he will eventually win that spot.

Question: I read that you were shocked that U of Tenn had better scouting equipment than we did. How soon do you see the 49ers catching up to new technology?

Terry Donahue: I think there will be a major commitment in the future from Peter Harris (our new Pres) and Les Schmidt (our new COO) in the area of technology. Both are very sensitive to the capabilities that improved technology can bring to any business including football. While I believe we are behind the curve currently it will not be more than a year or yeah and a half that we are ahead of the curve.

Question: Mr. Donahue, what are your thoughts on potential re-alignment within the NFL and how it affects the 49ers.?

Terry Donahue: I think there will definitely be realingment. I believe it will be to the advantage of the 49ers because it will reduce the amount of travel we will have to conduct while playing within our own conference. No one knows exactly how realignment will eventually be determined but we believe there is a good chance that Seattle and possibly Arizona may be with the 49ers. Geographically and logistically it would be better for us to play those teams twice a year rather than traveling to Atlanta or New Orleans.

Question: How has Junior Bryants recovery gone from his injury last year? Will he be around for the beginning of the season?

Terry Donahue: We are taking a careful and cautious course regarding his injury. He has currently not passed the team physical and we are hopeful he will clear the exam sometime prior to the start of training camp. But at this time we do not know what the outcome of his injury will be.

Question: How did Dana look in his first weekend back with the team?

Terry Donahue: Dana Stubblefield will be a very important addition to our defensive team. He will bring leadership to the locker room and will give Bryant Young a good partner to play next to and we are optimistic and hopeful that BY and Dana will have big years for the Niners.

Question: Do you think terry you will resign either Ken Norton or Winifred Tubbs after 1st June?

Terry Donahue: We are not anticipating re-signing either of the two players. They have both been great 49ers and we wish them well in their future endeavors. But we are not planning on them being on the squad as we begin training camp.

Question: What is Kevon Barlows's status concerning his injury

Terry Donahue: Barlow came to the first mini camp with a slightly torn cartilage in his knee. The operation to remove that is successful and he is currently back in Pittsburgh rehabbing. We expect a full and speedy recovery. He should be 100% within 6 weeks.

Question: Terry, what is the latest information on a new stadium?

Terry Donahue: progress on the new stadium is moving along nicely. As you can imagine there are many different areas to be addressed when considering the construction of a new stadium. But Peter Harris is optimistic and upbeat that we will be successful in the endeavor to build a new stadium for the team and the fans.

Question: What do you feel the status of the team is right now, as far as morale and expectations?

Terry Donahue: I think that our morale is very high. As is the case with most teams this time of year. And I think we fully expect to be a vastly improved squad over last year's team. We are optimistic that we can become a contender for the championship in the neat future. We are looking forward to the opening of training camp with anticipation.