In quotes that will undoubtedly be clarified and corrected over the coming days, 49ers defensive backs Jimmie Ward and Jaquiski Tartt noted that general manager Trent Baalke sometimes coaches them up during practice.
"He comes down to practice a lot," Ward said, via CSN. "He's like another coach. Sometimes I make a mistake and be like, 'Coach Trent?'
"He's correcting my techniques, too, when I'm on the field. He's a pretty good guy. I like him. I don't mind that."
This will probably get blown out of proportion given that Baalke and 49ers ownership give off a certain vibe about their desire for control. And while this seems rather unprecedented today unless you have a GM/coach, it's not like Baalke is a suit-and-tie salary cap official coming down on the field and kicking off his wing tips to get dirty.
Baalke did not play professional football, but neither did Bill Belichick, Chip Kelly, Rex Ryan, Andy Reid or any of the other dozen head coaches without a minute of playing time in the league. He has been scouting the position for decades, and from the sound of the situation, it seems like this is fairly harmless in terms of the minor points that he's making.
Could you say that this is making life uncomfortable for 49ers defensive backs coach Tim Lewis, a former first-round pick who has been coaching the position since 1989? Probably. But at the moment, the players don't seem to mind.
