Byline: MATTHEW KREDELL
Staff Writer
Bryant Young celebrated the San Francisco 49ers' fifth Super Bowl championship in 14 years at Miami's Joe Robbie Stadium as a rookie in January 1995.
From the peak of the 49ers' dynasty, the standout defensive tackle watched helplessly as the franchise crumbled.
Before he retires to nights of playing his bass guitar at Bay Area blues clubs, Young wants to make sure the team on which he has spent his entire NFL career is back on the upswing.
When he agreed to return for his 14th season in late February, Young, the last remaining link to the glory years, did so with the promise that the team would be aggressive in free agency with its new-found salary cap room.
Management didn't disappoint. For the first time since Eddie DeBartolo gave up control of the team in 2000, the 49ers opened up the pocket books this offseason to show a commitment to again providing a winner.
Young said the club's atmosphere hasn't been this optimistic since his rookie season.
'We're on the verge, the cusp of being right there,' Young said at the time he re-signed. '... Part of it is wanting to be part of finishing work and leaving the 49ers organization like I found it.'
San Francisco's revamped defense could be enough to put the team into the playoffs for the first time in fiveyears, the organization's longest gap since the 1970s.
The 49ers offered $80 million over eight years, the largest contract given to a defensive player in NFL history at the time, to lure former Buffalo cornerback Nate Clements.
The team bolstered the secondary further with the addition of former Philadelphia Eagles safety Michael Lewis. Aubrayo Franklin was brought in to play defensive tackle. Then the Niners added three linebackers in Tully Banta-Cain, Colby Bockwoldt and first-round pick Patrick Willis.
The 49ers already were an improving team, going 7-9 last season after winning a combined six games the previous two years.
The offseason additions addressed the team's main weakness, revamping a defense that ranked last in the league with 25.8 points allowed per game.
The offense made major strides in 2006 behind the young duo of Alex Smith at quarterback and Frank Gore at running back. In a draft-day deal with Seattle, the 49ers gave Smith his first true No. 1 wide receiver in Darrell Jackson, after earlier adding Ashley Lelie as a deep threat.
'The swagger is back,' Jackson said. 'This is still the San Francisco 49ers, a program that sets the bar high for itself. The sky's the limit right now for this team. We got the talent to do it. We just have to put it together. With what (management) did this year as far as free agency, really making an effort to improve the team, I'd say we're headed in the right direction to restore the tradition.'
Smith, the top overall pick in the 2005 draft, rebounded from a dismal rookie season to throw for 2,890 yards and 16 touchdowns with 16interceptions in his sophomore campaign. And that was with Antonio Bryant, now out of the league, as his top receiver.
Tight end Vernon Davis also missed much of the season with an injury. He is expected to be a top target for Smith after they formed a connection late last year and and continued to develop that chemistry in the offseason.
'I tell everybody that Alex Smith reminds me of a young Matt Hasselbeck,' Jackson said of his former Pro Bowl quarterback in Seattle. 'He's very mature. He knows what he's doing. Every day, things seem to slow down more for him. He'll be a Pro Bowler, if not this year than the year after that.'
Mike Nolan is entering his third year as the coach and leader of this reclamation project.
In his previous two seasons, Nolan has been known most for fighting to wear suits on the sidelines in order to honor his father, former 49ers coach Dick Nolan. After initially having his request denied by the NFL because of a contract for coaches to wear Reebok apparel, Mike Nolan was allowed to come out in full suit and tie for twogames.
His team, however, no longer needs to be dressed up. The 49ers are legitimate playoff contenders.
'We've been putting this together, building a foundation, putting walls on it, and hopefully we can put a roof on that thing this year,' Nolan said. 'I like the expectations but, more importantly, I like the reasons that we have expectations, as opposed to just getting excited because there's been a change.'
matthew.kredell@dailynews.com
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8 photos
Photo:
(1 -- color) SMITH
Stephen Dunn/Getty Images
(2 -- color) GORE
Brian Bahr/Getty Images
(3 -- color) Defensive lineman Bryant Young, the last player on the 49ers who played on San Francisco's last Super Bowl-winning team, wanted the organization to show it would make the necessary changes to improve on their 7-9 mark last season.
Jed Jacobson/Getty Images
SOME OFFSEASON ACQUISITIONS
(4 -- color) WR Darrell Jackson led Seattle with 956 yards receiving and 10 touchdown receptions last year.
(5 -- color) DB Michael Lewis had 87 tackles and two sacks last season with Philadelphia.
(6 -- color) DB Nate Clements finished last year in Buffalo with three picks and two forced fumbles.
(7 -- color) LB Tully Banta-Cain had a career-high 5.5 sacks with New England last year.
Greg Trott/Getty Images
(8) NOLAN
