Even before the 49ers traded for Jimmy Garoppolo, before they went 5-0 to finish the 2017 season, before they drafted Mike McGlinchey or signed Richard Sherman, even before we knew what this team would look like under Kyle Shanahan … I had Matt Barrows written down as a writer who perfectly fit what we do at The Athletic Bay Area.

Hell, I had that written down before The Athletic Bay Area actually launched last Aug. 1, but the timing just wasn’t quite right late last summer.

And we can wait a little more. Matt won’t officially start as our lead 49ers writer until July 23, right before the 49ers open training camp in Santa Clara. But obviously, if you’ve read Matt’s deeply reported and authoritative 49ers coverage for years at the Sacramento Bee, or, if you haven’t, you’ll find out immediately once you start reading him on our site … this is worth every bit of the wait.

I want to point out that David Lombardi will continue to write about the 49ers after doing a tremendous job documenting the 2017 season for us — he’ll be a features writer for both the 49ers and Raiders. He’ll also write about other sports but will be mainly focused on the local NFL teams.

Our general theme here: Let’s build up every one of our coverage teams the way we purposely built the group that is covering the Warriors now. Let’s layer in as many great writers as we can and tell as many great stories as we can. You’ve shown us that you want these stories, and you will read these stories, if they’re done thoughtfully and reported thoroughly.

And Matt is a slam-dunk addition in every way. He’s even funny. Sometimes. Which is why I circled him almost a year ago and why we never stopped hoping he’d come aboard.

Here’s a little Q&A with him, to set the stage for what’s to come …

Tim Kawakami: First, let’s just get right to the announcement, which it seems should properly be made by you (though I already blurted it out) … Matt, what led you to make the decision to join The Athletic Bay Area right now?

Matt Barrows: I grew up reading The Washington Post. Or rather The Washington Post’s sports section. That was my section. Woe to the Barrows family member who selfishly had the sports page in his/her possession when I came stumbling downstairs, my brain functioning at perhaps 19 percent, in the morning. (6:30 a.m. on school days; 11:30 a.m. on the weekend.). Where? Sports? Mine. Gimme.

It was loaded back then — Tony Kornheiser, Michael Wilbon, Thomas Boswell, David Aldridge all were on the staff. Everyone loved the local teams, of course. What I was too young to know then, but understand now, is that we also grew to know the writers, their personalities, their viewpoints, their insights. They delivered mental comfort food. I didn’t so much read the section as I consumed it. I was an addict.

I want people to love The Athletic as much as I loved my hometown section. Is that possible in this day and age when there are so many options and people are reading on the go instead of at the breakfast table? I don’t know.

But it seems as if this is the right marriage of new and traditional, from the elegant newspaper-like layout — when I think of no pop-up ads, a tear trickles down my cheek — to the staff that’s already been assembled in the Bay Area. If the Warriors are your team, for example, there’s so much fantastic content available that you can ensconce yourself in Warriors coverage, have it wash over you like a warm bath.

I’d like to help create something similar with the 49ers. Please come and take a bath with me. (Wait, that came out wrong).

TK: What kinds of stories about the 49ers are you most eager to report and write over the next months and years?

Barrows: I haven’t had a PIC — partner in crime — in my 15 seasons covering the 49ers for The Bee. Soon I’ll have many partners. I’m looking forward to coming up with some creative ways to tackle stories and events with the other writers at The Athletic, both local and in other cities.

For example, I have a disturbing fascination with the NFL Draft, which, depending on how well your team is doing, can be a major storyline from November through April. It will be fun to sit down with someone like John Middlekauff to dig a little deeper into the draft than perhaps readers are accustomed to seeing. (I also really admire what John has done with his hair).

Perhaps I even can collaborate from time to time with the editor-in-chief of The Athletic Bay Area, although people tell me that he’s very difficult to work with.

One other hope: I don’t think there’s any question that the NFL is the most guarded, most opaque and most humorless sports league in America. But there’s life — and playfulness — behind the facemask. Kyle Shanahan is funny. John Lynch is funny. Joe Staley is hilarious. I’d like to draw that out more than I have in the past.

TK: Obviously, there’s a lot of attention focused on this team after the Jimmy Garoppolo deal and that 5-0 finish last season. What do you think are fair parameters to judge this team in 2018? A winning season? A playoff berth? Just not blowing up?

Barrows: I wrote this last year: Even during their losing streak, the vibe at the 49ers facility — the energy in the building, practice pep, how the players interact, etc. — was the best since the 2011 season when the team went to overtime of the NFC Championship Game.

Ah, but don’t cancel those January vacation plans quite yet. The difference is that squad had much more experience than the current one. Guys like Justin Smith, Patrick Willis, Alex Smith and Frank Gore already were multiyear vets at that point and supplied needed ballast and grit.

Maybe Jimmy and the Miracles can pull off something special. But my sense is that the team, especially the defense, needs another year of seasoning before we can reasonably expect a playoff berth. That unit made huge strides since its worst-in-franchise-history 2016 campaign, but it still finished 24th in yards allowed and 25th in points allowed.

One bold prediction I’m prepared to make: Jimmy G will lose at least one of his starts in 2018. I know this will get dismissed as sensational clickbait, but I have a funny feeling on this one. Have your black veils handy, Northern California.

TK: Next time we go to the French Laundry with Jed York, who picks up the check?

Barrows: The way I see it, there was one true victim in the FL caper. C’est moi. The entire episode began when I wrote a story that said the 49ers hope their stadium can be ready by the 2014 season, not 2015 as originally planned. You replied something to effect of, “Fat chance. If it gets done by 2014, I’ll buy you and Jed York lunch.” It escalated a wee bit from there. To make a long and vino-filled story short, when the stadium indeed was ready for 2014, I thought I’d be getting a free meal and instead ended up paying $500. Not to go all Kenny Bania on you, but I’m still looking for my meal. And soup is not a meal.

(Top photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP)

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