49ers have come a long way since Jarryd Hayne plane flew away

Australian Mitch Wishnowsky’s Super Bowl-bound San Francisco 49ers are not Jarryd Hayne’s dismal 2015 49ers.

Punter Mitch Wishnowsky’s stint at San Francisco 49ers has been more successful than Jarryd Hayne’s. Picture: Getty Images

Australian Mitch Wishnowsky’s Super Bowl-bound San Francisco 49ers are not Jarryd Hayne’s dismal 2015 49ers.

The NFL is nicknamed the Not For Long league for the rapid turnover of players, and proof of that is trying to find former Hayne teammates on the 49ers’ team that will face off against the Kansas City Chiefs in Miami at 10.30am on Monday (AEDT) for the Super Bowl.

Only a handful remain on a 49ers roster that has risen from the ashes after several tumultuous losing seasons.

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“There were definitely some years where I didn’t really see the vision and where the future of the franchise was going,” the longest-tenured 49ers player and former Hayne teammate, offensive tackle Joe Staley, told reporters in Miami this week.

Hayne’s head coach Jim Tomsula was fired hours after the team finished last in the NFC’s west division, losing 11 of 16 games. Hayne, of course, jumped ship before the 49ers’ 2016 season began with the aim of playing for Fiji in the rugby sevens at the Rio Olympics, but instead he would up in the NRL.

Tomsula was axed despite being in the first year of a four-year $US14m ($21m) contract.

They replaced Tomsula with Chip Kelly, signing him to a four-year $US24m contract, but Kelly was also fired after one season when the 49ers lost a staggering 14 out of 16 games.

Club general manager Trent Baalke was also shown the door.

The 49ers’ rise began in early 2017 with the signing of then 37-year-old offensive whiz Kyle Shanahan as head coach and nine-time Pro Bowl safety John Lynch as general manager.

The pair’s success was far from instantaneous. The 49ers lost 22 of 32 games in their first two seasons in charge.

They worked on reshaping the roster with the additions of youth and experience, including Seattle Seahawks’ five-time Pro Bowl cornerback Richard Sherman and New England Patriots back-up quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.

They also took a major gamble on Perth-raised punter Wishnowsky, a 27-year-old high school dropout and former glazier. He was selected in the fourth round of last year’s seven-round draft.

It’s rare for teams to use a valuable pick on a punter. Wishnowsky is the NFL’s highest drafted punter since the Jacksonville Jaguars selected Bryan Anger in the third round in 2012. But the 49ers needed a punter, and Wishnowsky was the best of the bunch.

The 49ers finished the 2019 regular season with 13 wins and three losses, the equal second-best result in NFL history.

And now they are in the big one with a shot at glory.

AAP