Jeff Garcia’s lifelong dream of following in the footsteps of
his boyhood idol and legendary San Francisco 49er quarterback Joe
Montana ended Tuesday.
Jeff Garcia’s lifelong dream of following in the footsteps of his boyhood idol and legendary San Francisco 49er quarterback Joe Montana ended Tuesday.
Garcia, a three-time Pro Bowler and Gilroy native, was unable to agree on a restructured contract with the 49ers, who wanted to reduce his salary from the $9.9 million he was scheduled to earn in 2004.
“I think it comes down to different circumstances that are not in my control,” Garcia said. “The league imposes rules as far as salary caps go and imposes different situations that I can’t really control. The team does its best possible job of dealing with those sorts of things.”
San Francisco will save $1.7 million against the salary cap by dropping Garcia after negotiations over what has become the richest quarterback contract in the National Football League reached an impenetrable impasse the last several days.
The 49ers waited until the last possible day to make their decision, since Garcia was due a $500,000 roster bonus Wednesday – the first day of the free agent signing period.
General manager Terry Donahue delayed his expected Monday announcement to hold a last-ditch negotiation session with Garcia’s agent, Steve Baker.
“We made this decision based primarily on cap ramifications,” Donahue said. “The reality of it is we’re going along with a plan we’ve established. In our view of things, we took the long-term view. This isn’t anyone’s fault, there are just things we’ve got to do.”
Garcia was about to enter the fourth season of a $36 million six-year contract.
Due to a series of clauses in his contract, Garcia had been making more money than any other quarterback in the NFL the last two years.
“I have to look at myself and look at what is going to make me happy in my life,” Garcia said. “I’ve always been one to make sure everybody else is happy before myself and it really comes down to a time in my life when I have to look out after myself, No. 1. That’s not so much being selfish, that’s being human and being tired of being run over in so many ways.”
While the former football dynasty has made it no secret it is struggling to field a competitive – and cost-effective – team, Baker said his client was not solely influenced by dollar signs.
“Money was not the key factor in negotiations with the 49ers,” Baker said. “With the changing dynamics of the 49ers, Jeff felt it was time to make a change.”
Garcia’s father and former Gavilan College football coach Bobby Garcia was supportive of his son.
“It was always the dream of Jeff’s to play for the 49ers and to follow his role models Joe Montana and Steve Young, but everything has to come to an end,” Bobby Garcia said from his Gilroy home.
“We have no control of our destiny, all we can do is control our efforts. I think he put a valiant effort into his five years with the 49ers, overcoming tremendous odds,” the proud father added.
Jeff Garcia came to the 49ers after a Hall-of-Fame career at San Jose State which sent him north to play in the Canadian Football League until 1999, when the NFL caught on to his underrated prowess as a passer, runner and team leader.
“He fulfilled his dream and put up numbers with the 49ers and with the NFL that will always be in the record book,” Garcia’s father said. “The only feather not under his cap is playing for a Super Bowl championship.”
Reactions around Gilroy on Tuesday showed a mix of understanding and regret.
“My opinion would be whatever Jeffy wants, it doesn’t matter to me. I’m for whatever is the best for him,” said Dave Bozzo, a longtime friend of Garcia’s, who still vividly recalls the days he played pickup football games on the Gavilan College campus with the then 6-year-old quarterback.
“He was throwing spirals at 6 years old. He was making us 10-year-olds look bad,” Bozzo said.
“No matter how much he’s proven himself during the Niners’ downward spiral, the blame always has fallen on him,” said Gilroy Fire Captain Paul Butler, Garcia’s cousin. “I wished he would have had a more enjoyable experience with the Niners. The support was not always there for him. Sometimes the grass is greener on the other side.”
Garcia’s contract negotiations became muddied by his Jan. 14 drunken driving arrest, however neither side had indicated the DUI made or broke negotiations.
Baker said Tuesday that negotiations began in January and continued fruitlessly through February. He said there had not been any “substantive negotiations” in recent days, despite reports that negotiations were ongoing through the night Monday.
NFL experts have predicted Garcia’s re-emergence to take place within a West Coast-style offense, on teams such as the Oakland Raiders or Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The West Coast offense was made famous by the 49ers under Montana and Steve Young, a player against Garcia has often, sometimes unfairly, been compared.
The Associated Press also contributed to this report.
