Did 49ers’ turnaround actually start at the end of last season?

            For
all those marveling in the transformation of the San Francisco 49ers this
season under Jim Harbaugh, there is a very real possibility that evidence of
such surfaced at the end of last season.

            After
a dismal 5-10 record in 15 games under Mike Singletary, the 49ers not only
played hard in their season-finale for interim coach Jim Tomsula, they were
downright dominant, trouncing the Cardinals 38-7. An impotent offense that had
averaged 17.8 points per game under Singletary erupted for 38 against Arizona
in Tomsula’s 15 minutes of fame.

            Overall
yardage and first down totals did not jump off the page, but a formula for
success was discovered, even in the absence of Frank Gore. In a sneak preview
of things to come in 2011, Alex Smith, in Singletary and the fans’ doghouses
all year, threw for 276 yards and two touchdowns without throwing an
interception.

            A
defense playing without star linebacker Patrick Willis notched a pair of
interceptions and forced two fumbles (though Arizona recovered) while Brian
Westbrook paced the rushing attack with 79 yards on 13 carries.

            There
is no doubt the 49ers responded to Tomsula and his fiery personality in a way
that Singletary could have only dreamed of. In the week prior to his dismissal,
Singletary engaged in a heated sideline argument with quarterback Troy Smith
during the team’s 25-17 loss to the Rams.

            A
season that started with high expectations had officially reached its boiling
point, as San Francisco appeared to have all but quit on its coach. To further
throw salt in the wounds, at 6-10, the 49ers still finished only a game out of
first in the NFC West. In 2011, there would be no such foolishness.

            Enter
Harbaugh, the much celebrated architect of Stanford’s drastic turnaround, to
take over the reins and try and fix things with an abbreviated offseason due to
the lockout.

            His
first order of business was maintaining Alex Smith, who had extended beyond
draft-bust status into downright infamy in the Bay Area. But to Smith’s credit,
the quarterback resigned and gave a working relationship with Harbaugh a shot.

            The
former Colts and Ravens QB worked wonders on Smith and a defense that always
had the potential to be great but never came close to reaching it under
Singletary. More disappointing was the fact that Singletary, a Hall of Fame
linebacker who came highly recommended from coaching the position in Baltimore,
could not even get players on that side of the ball to buy into his approach.

            Tomsula,
the defensive line coach who retained that post in 2011, took his mastery to a
whole new level this season in morphing the front four from an above-average
group to a frighteningly good one.

            As
the talent level of the 49ers did not undergo much of a change in large part
because of the shortened offseason and free-agency period, the biggest
adjustment was in the attitude department.

            Sure,
the addition of Aldon Smith through the draft and David Akers and his
NFL-record 44 field goals through free agency were key components. But the players in the locker room, the same ones that appeared to turn
their backs on Singletary, developed a mean streak and gave the 49ers a mental
makeover.

            As
Harbaugh preps his team for the biggest game of their lives (to this point, anyway)
there is no question that he has the undivided attention and respect of his
entire roster. In a position no one could have envisioned under Singletary, the
49ers are now saying, to quote coach Harbaugh, “Who’s got it better than us?
Nooooo-body!”

            With
two more wins, that statement will be as true as ever.