Eight biggest NFL dumpster fire teams heading into 2017

8. For San Francisco 49ers fans, patience is a virtue

The 49ers will be starting anew once again with their fourth head coach in as many years. Perhaps the fourth time will be a charm here.

New head coach Kyle Shanahan has arrived to the rescue. Hopefully.

Shanahan last coordinated a Falcons’ offense that scored a league-high 33.8 points per contest in 2016. For comparison sake, San Francisco’s offense averaged just 19.3 points per game and won twice during that 16-game span.

Good things could be on the horizon if Shanahan keeps up with his success. The quarterback situation will of course need to be dealt with in the coming months. Colin Kaepernick recently indicated he would “be open to returning” to his team in 2017. This follows a previous report suggesting Kap plans to opt out of his current contract.

The last two seasons in particular have been filled with ups and downs at quarterback. Both Kap and Blaine Gabbert were given opportunities to start, resulting in each of them being benched. During this stretch, the 49ers won seven games and lost 25.

On defense, the 49ers were the worst dumpster fire in the league. The team gave up 406.4 yards and 30 points on average in 2016.

This is all truly disheartening to fans who watched their team compete in a Super Bowl just four years ago.