Killion: Shaun Hill, We Hardly Knew Ya

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After getting a shot at the starting job in 2008, Shaun Hill went 5-3.

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Did you hear that over the weekend?

That was the sound of the 49ers door hitting Shaun Hill on his way out of town.

Thanks for getting Mike Singletary his job. Thanks for saving the 49ers from utter embarrassment 16 months ago.

Thanks for nothing.

The 49ers traded Shaun Hill to football’s version of hell – Detroit – for a bag of Cheetos on Sunday night. And a seventh-round pick next year.

Hey, we’re not saying it’s not their prerogative. This is the franchise that traded Joe Montana once upon a time.  Shaun Hill is no Joe Montana.

But Alex Carr/David Smith is no Steve Young. And that’s the more important point.

The 49ers just discarded the only player who has dignified himself in the quarterback role of the 49ers since Jeff Garcia was in town. Because Hill had a nice run in late 2008 at quarterback doesn’t mean he earned the right to keep a roster spot.  But it sure would be encouraging to know that the quarterback position was being incredibly upgraded.

Instead we’re left with even bigger question marks.

Alex Smith? Or the 30-year old, retread version of Smith – David Carr?

Neither choice inspires hope or faith that the 49ers have any idea what they’re doing at quarterback or that they even much care about the position.

Meanwhile, the Denver Broncos just made a trade for Brady Quinn, a more interesting and daring move at quarterback than the 49ers would likely ever consider.

Hill was an unlikely savior of the 49ers and he knew it himself. One of the nicest, most self-deprecating, ego-less players to come through the Bay Area in recent years, Hill never assumed he was going to be the man.

But when he did get the chance midway through the 2008 season when the 49ers were a floundering mess, he acquitted himself quite well.  He went 5-3, working for an offensive coordinator who didn’t want him and a head coach who was brand new. 

Let’s face it – Singletary would not be the head coach of the 49ers right now if Hill hadn’t performed as well as he did.  If under Hill the 49ers had gone 2-6 there would have been no groundswell of momentum, no excitement, nothing.  The 49ers couldn’t take a risk on a novice. The 49ers would have a different coach. Simple as that.

Hill always had a reputation for practicing poorly. But something happened when he came in the game – the team blocked for him, worked for him and better things happened. He was a gamer – not pretty, not super-talented but a guy who made the most out of what he had.

Last season, behind Hill, the 49ers won three of their first four games and almost beat Brett Favre. The reasons that they didn’t had nothing to do with Hill and everything to do with game management and head coaching decisions. 

With Hill at the helm, the 49ers were trounced 45-10 by Atlanta, an embarrassing loss at home.  He started on the road in Houston, but was replaced at halftime by Smith. And that was the end of the Hill story. 

But by the end of the season, his statistics didn’t look that much different than Smith’s. He had fewer touchdowns, but far fewer interceptions (and, of course, far fewer pass attempts). His quarterback rating was just two points lower than  Smith’s. There was little tangible evidence to suggest that Hill had been surpassed by a far superior quarterback. Just one that the 49ers had far more invested in.

I’m rooting for Smith – I always have because I think he got a very raw deal under Mike Nolan and to mature into the job. But as the years drag on, and especially as last season dragged on and he failed to impress, I have less hope that he will be the solution to the 49ers prolonged quarterback issue.

Hill wasn’t going to be the answer either. But he made a lot of fans in the Bay Area with his demeanor and his ability to overachieve in many situations.

On Monday, the 49ers released a statement praising Hill.

Mike Singletary called him “the ultimate competitor.” General manager Scot McCloughan called him “a consummate pro.”

Hollow praise. What they were really saying was “don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”

Tags: San Francisco 49ers, Shaun Hill, Alex Smith, Mike Singletary, Detroit Lions, david carr