Yeah John Harbaugh brought his D co-ordinator from Stanford with him when he got the job, no idea how he'll go, it's his first NFL gig.
Brought Alex Smith back on a 1yr deal to be the starter at QB. Not as bad as it seems IMO, Smith is a decent QB who suffered from Mike Singletary's incompetence (which has set SF back 3-4 years I think). He can do the job while Colin Kaepernick is groomed for the top job, Kaepernick was one of my fave QBs in the draft, could be a great dual threat guy, fell down to the 2nd round because of concerns over his slow throwing motion & playing in a pistol offense in college.
The O-line should be better this year but don't expect any dramatic changes in it's play. Mike Crabtree has apparently picked up another injury & will miss all of training camp, so same old same old for him. Looks like your #1 receiver going into the season will be Josh Morgan, hmm...
Pass rush looks a bit meh, Manny Lawson has headed to Cincy, which means that SF probably didn't offer him a contract (I can't see any other viable reason why a player would go to Cinncinati). Lots of pressure on Aldon Smith (1st rnd pick) to come in & create some havoc. Aubrayo Franklin left in free agency as well, looks like Sopoaga will be the new nose tackle. Another casualty of FA was cornerback Nate Clements who headed to Cincy (Again, I dont understand. don't the players realize that it's Cincy? The freaking Bungles). No one has been brought in to replace the hole in the secondary, but the latest Internet rumor going around is Philly trading Asante Samuel to SF for Patrick Willis + draft picks. I'd love for it to happen but I can't see Philly fleecing two teams in one offseason, still can't believe we ripped off the Cards so badly.
SF are in a rebuilding phase unfortunately, they should continue to be competitive but only because the NFC West is the worst division in the NFL. Seattle are god awful this year (also rebuilding) & the Cards look good on paper but their O-Line (or lack thereof) will destroy their chances IMO. Kolb - Fitzgerald could destroy that division if Kolb actually gets time to throw/an o-line that can actually create a pocket, luckily for the NFC west I Doug that happens. Rams should win the division by a rout.
Edit- forgot someone, it's not all doom & gloom for the niners in FA. You guys picked up Madieu Williams from the Vikes. Above average safety, good pick up when your corners look so poor. If Taylor Mays learns how to play in coverage you may just have yourselves a good safety pairing thar.
You also got Philly's ex-kicker - David Akers. Y'know, the guy who missed two easy FGs in the wildcard playoff game vs Green Bay last year, the game we lost by five points. That guy.