SANTA CLARA — Jim Tomsula, the 49ers rookie head coach, wanted quarterback Colin Kaepernick to take a breather, step back from it all.

Well, he has breathed quite a bit.

“We’re moving forward with Blaine,” Tomsula said at his Monday news conference. “Blaine’s the starting quarterback and we’re going into Seattle, Blaine’s the starting quarterback.”

To be sure, there is logic in staying with Gabbert for a second straight start. It’s not as if Kaepernick has lit up the Seahawks.

But at some point, it makes sense to get Kaepernick back on the field. Whatever his problems, they won’t be solved by sitting. And there is zero gain in establishing the foundation of your team moving forward with a quarterback who can’t possibly be your permanent starter.

Is Kaepernick done? For my money, it’s too early to render him unsalvageable after knowing what he has already been able to do.

Maybe the 49ers are convinced Kaepernick is not the guy they are moving forward with. Could be, but there is no harm in riding out this season with him as the starter and being certain. And since there is no quarterback-of-the-future waiting in the wings, the 49ers have more to gain by trying to get Kaepernick back to where he was.

Franchise quarterbacks don’t grow on trees.

Imagine if Kaepernick goes elsewhere, gets better coaching and becomes a formidable quarterback once again. Meanwhile, the 49ers are shuffling through Shaun Hills and J.T. O’Sullivans trying to find their next franchise quarterback.

That would be a terrible indictment on the current staff.

These last seven games should be about development. Let’s see Tomsula groom some talent. Let’s see if some of these young players can be noticeably better by season’s end.

This is not just about walking away from this season with more and better building blocks for next year. This is also about Tomsula showing his value as a coach.

Because through nine games, it’s not evident.

He’s known for getting along with players, earning their support with his familial care for them. But how does that manifest on the field?

He clearly wasn’t the coach who can make a gourmet dinner from leftovers. If he could, the 49ers wouldn’t be 3-6. And that’s no knock on him, per se, as it’s a lot to ask for a rookie coach to pull off such a miracle. Still, we know his specialty is not getting the most with the least.

Tomsula has not arrived as a schematic wizard. Not yet anyway. The lack of inventiveness on both sides of the ball is one of the more frustrating elements of 49ers football.

They rank 32nd in yards gained and 27th in yards allowed. That’s the fault of the coordinators, too, but Tomsula is responsible for them, and he can certainly make whatever changes he wants.

We can also safely presume at this point Tomsula isn’t the charismatic frontman. Winning over the media, changing the tone of the storyline solely with his charm isn’t a strength.

But if Tomsula can excel in player development, that’s something to hang his hat on. If he can take some talented players and make them ready to be productive starters in the near future, that’s a bankable skill that justifies his presence.

That’s why the decision to go with Gabbert might work against him. What looks better on the resume: fixing Kaepernick or Gabbert?

What Kaepernick needs is coaching. What he needs is a system to fit his game. All we’ve learned so far is that Tomsula and his staff can’t provide it — because we already know Jim Harbaugh did.

At his best, coached up effectively, Kaepernick can be a productive quarterback. At best, Gabbert can grow from a draft bust into a quality backup.

Only one of those is something worth Tomsula bringing up at his exit interview.

Now, if Gabbert somehow rallies the 49ers to .500 and competes for the starting job next year, Tomsula is a genius.

But the likelihood is Gabbert will look marginally more steady, maybe win a game or two, and the 49ers’ losing season will go down a bit more palatably.

Such low-risk, low reward is not how Tomsula is going to prove his worth.

Read Marcus Thompson II’s blog at blogs.mercurynews.com/thompson.