New coaches, same results?

Jim Harbaugh, just like Hue Jackson, looks to bring a once
proud organization back to prominence in 2011.

Nitesh Dutt

As if having two rather young teams was not bad enough, Bay Area football fans are being asked to put their trust in two rookied NFL coaches.

For years the Oakland Raiders and San Francisco 49ers have been looked at as once proud franchises that are now in utter turmoil.

2011 was supposed to be different. Both teams, playing in weak divisions, were supposed to turn the corner under new coaches and make the playoffs. There was one small problem, the lockout happened.

The lockout, which lasted for over 100 days, put these rookie coaches and their young teams far behind schedule. With no OTAs or mini-camps to get comfortable with one another, these staffs and players were given several weeks of training camp to build relationships, trust and communication before the grind of a NFL season.

Each team had signs of flash during the pre-season, but the real tests start this Sunday and it will be interesting to see which of these teams will have something resembling a successful season.

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