Dieter Kurtenbach: The 49ers' offseason isn't just pivotal -- it's existential

The gap between the San Francisco 49ers and the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks is not a crack in the sidewalk. It’s a canyon. It’s massive. It’s undeniable. And if you watched the last two months of the NFL this season, it should be terrifying.

And yet, this chasm might be the best thing to ever happen to Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch.

Because for years, the 49ers have operated on a cloud of idealism; on the premise that they were, in fact, the smartest guys in the NFL room.

Santa Clara was a place where culture could overcome speed deficits, where scheme could mask a lack of physicality, and where the Gold Standard meant you could run it back with the same guys because, hey, they’re our guys, and that continuity meant annual success.

That era is over.

If the Niners didn’t kill it off with their failed one-last-run in 2024, the Seahawks killed it this season when they won the Super Bowl at Levi’s Stadium.

Seattle is, in fact, faster, stronger and significantly better than everyone else. Oh, and they’re whip smart, too — Mike Macdonald’s defense was built to neutralize Shanahan’s scheme, and it did just that in San Francisco’s two biggest games of the year.

In turn, Seattle has stripped away the 49ers’ greatest weakness: their own delusion.

There is no room left for “a bounce here or there.”

No, they’re miles (lightyears?) away. And when you’re that far away, it requires some serious self-reflection.

If you have an ounce of self-preservation flowing through your bloodstream, you stop being an idealist and commit to pragmatism.

The Niners have been handed the gift of clarity.

Will they use it?

Because this offseason isn’t about tweaking. The Niners’ problem is existential.

Because if the 49ers cannot close this gap — or at least make it look competitive (as in scoring a couple of touchdowns) — in quick order, this will be the offseason we point to when Shanahan and Lynch eventually — a year or two or three down the road — leave Santa Clara with their stuff in boxes.

It starts with an admission that the current roster has holes that can’t be patched with good vibes and brilliant scheme. The Niners need to procure at least five Week 1 starters.

Not depth pieces. Not “camp competition.” (Though they need those too.) Starters.

We’re talking about a running back who isn’t just a caddy for Christian McCaffrey but an insurance policy for the inevitable. We’re talking about a wide receiver who blocks like a lineman, terrorizes safeties, and can actually separate in man-to-man coverage. There’s no replacing a George Kittle, but you need someone who can step in and do everything he is asked to do — block, catch, and run — to the point of reasonable facsimile for at least the first half of the season. We’re talking about a left guard who doesn’t need a map to find the defender and can deliver a punch against the insane combination of size and speed defensive lines are deploying across the league.

We’re talking about a weak-side linebacker who actually knows the plays.

Finding all of those players won’t be easy, but whoever said this was supposed to be easy?

And those five open jobs are not burdens; they’re opportunities.

View them as chances to change the identity of a team that’s operating on a mandate that’s gone stale, all while knowing you have the foundation of a playoff-caliber team.

For most teams going into an offseason, the question is binary: Do you want to be faster, or do you want to be tougher? The Seahawks looked at that question and laughed. They built a roster that is both. They have defensive backs that look like power forwards and run like sprinters.

And they’re setting the pace. The 49ers are drafting off the back, gasping for air.

Whatever Shanahan and Lynch do next, it has to be about finding a way to go blow-for-blow with that neon green nightmare in the upper left.

But don’t forget about the third man in, the Los Angeles Rams. The ultimate pragmatists of the NFL, the Rams were the only team to really push Seattle late in the year. Why? Because they stopped caring about “their guys” and started caring about “the right guys.” They got heavy on the offensive line, knowing it would be necessary in an era of chaotic, blitz-from-everywhere defenses. They found speed in the right places, pairing it with their already elite players to create a team that was nearly the antithesis of what they had presented just a few years earlier, when they won the Super Bowl.

They adapted.

The 49ers also have to push back at their rivals in the Southland, who are approaching this offseason with the same desperation but with less ground to make up. Oh, and they have two first-round picks to play with this offseason.

Meanwhile, Seattle isn’t going anywhere. They have twice as much effective cap space as San Francisco going into this spring’s spending spree. And while a chunk of that will go to retaining their own stars, they can certainly add to what was already the best roster in football. No state tax and a chance to win a title? That will sell.

The rich could get richer.

That’s the landscape. It’s brutal. It’s sobering. It’s exactly what the Niners’ brass needs to be the best version of itself.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution here. But the 49ers have to use every tool in the bag at their disposal after taking their medicine and clearing their books this past season.

In-house promotions for the few young guys who are deserving of a shot? Sure. Targeted free agency for some reliable pros? Absolutely. Young fliers who just need the right coaching? Sign them up. A draft class that contributes in Year 1? That’s mandatory.

Every offseason is described as pivotal, but this one feels heavier for San Francisco. This is the “prove it” year for the Lynch-Shanahan brain trust. Nothing less than strong marks will do.

Whether you trust those men to deliver those marks is irrelevant. It’s their job to look at that neon green monster in the Pacific Northwest, look at the pragmatic menace in Los Angeles, and find a way to look just as intimidating.

Their time in Santa Clara will be defined by how well they do it.

The delusion is dead. Now we find out if the 49ers can actually live without it.