AP

The 49ers’ regular season was a disappointment and plenty of people have registered the same reaction to the early part of their offseason, which saw the team part ways with head coach Jim Harbaugh and promote defensive line coach Jim Tomsula as his replacement.

It’s been widely viewed as an underwhelming hire motivated by the desires of General Manager Trent Baalke and CEO Jed York more than what might be best for the football team. Quarterback Colin Kaepernick expressed a different point of view during an interview with FOX Sports, however.

“Jim Tomsula’s gonna be a great coach for us. Players coach, always around the guys,” Kaepernick said. “Someone that’s willing to listen to what players say and has their intake. And I think that’s something that will help this team move forward. We have a lot of veteran players that know what they’re seeing on the field and know what they’re doing, so I think that will help us.”

Kaepernick’s point about the continuity on the roster is sound and should get a boost with the expected returns of linebackers Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman from injury. By promoting Geep Chryst and Eric Mangini to offensive and defensive coordinator guarantee that carryover will extend to the coaching staff as well. Should that lead to a rebound in 2015, concerns about Tomsula should dissipate quickly but anything else will likely lead to even louder calls that the 49ers stepped off a good path for all of the wrong reasons.