After three consecutive trips to the NFC Championship game and a Super Bowl berth, the San Francisco 49ers have fizzled out this season.

The 49ers have now dropped four in a row after losing a 21-point lead to the San Diego Chargers on Saturday, and after three years of being an elite team, the 49ers won’t even finish over .500 this year.

Coupled with the on field struggles, the 49ers have seemingly led the league in off-the-field incidents and rumors. From numerous player arrests to consistent reports of head coach Jim Harbaugh’s departure at the end of the season, the 2014 season has been a massive disappointment. After retaining much of their core from 2013 and adding McDaniels is at the top of the 49ers’ list of potential head coaches. Although McDaniels struggled in his short stint as head coach for the Denver Broncos, he is heralded as one of the league’s best offensive minds. McDaniels has always been able to adjust his system to the structure of his team. We know he can lead a pass-heavy team like the 2007 Patriots that shattered offensive records and owns the best Adjusted NEP per Play of any team since 2000. However, he is also capable of a balanced attack, as evidenced by the current Patriots, who rank inside the top six in both Adjusted Passing NEP and Adjusted Rushing NEP. (The 49ers rank 24th in both.)

While McDaniels doesn’t have the locker-room cache that a name like Shanahan would, he has the creativity to structure an offense that could maximize the 49ers’ talents.

Personnel Change

While the coaching upheaval has been rumored nationally since the start of the season, what many may not know is the potential for a massive change in personnel as well. Here are the 49ers’ major free agents in 2015: Frank Gore, Mike Iupati, Crabtree, Perrish Cox and Chris Culliver.

With Frank Gore’s poor efficiency this season, he may end up being a cap casualty as the new regime hands the keys of the offense to Carlos Hyde. Although the 49ers have drafted numerous interior lineman through the years in preparation for Iupati’s departure (Daniel Kilgore, Marcus Martin, and Brandon Thomas), the new staff may be inclined to keep the Pro Bowl guard to solidify a unit that struggled this season.

As for Crabtree, after an exciting 2012 campaign, he has been plagued with injuries and has devolved into merely a possession receiver. This season, Michael Crabtree has a receiving NEP of 59.61, which would land him 44th amongst eligible receivers. I expect the 49ers to pass on the high dollar figure Crabtree would command and instead lean on youngsters Quinton Patton and Bruce Ellington to supplement his production.

Defensively, the 49ers have a chance to be even stronger next year. Without Navorro Bowman, Patrick Willis, and Aldon Smith this season, San Francisco still managed to stay in the top half of the league in most defensive categories through Week 16.

According to our metrics, the 49ers are ninth in Adjusted Defensive NEP. They rank 11th in both rushing and passing defense, per our metrics. As for raw data, they rank fifth in average yards allowed and 11th in points allowed per game.

With Chris Borland, Aaron Lynch, and Tank Carradine showing flashes this season, the 49ers will have one of the deepest front-sevens in the NFL in 2015. If the 49ers can draft or sign an effective cornerback in the off-season to supplement the potential losses of Culliver and Cox, their defense will once again be a strength of the team.

If the 49ers can hit a home run with their coaching hire and revitalize their offense, they appear to have the talent to bounce back to the top of the NFC in 2015.