With the perpetual rebuilding process that is the San Francisco 49er franchise, every so often an old part of old successes will cycle back through SF.

This Sunday, Gilroy’s second-most-favorite export returns to the Bay Area at the reigns of Chucky Gruden’s particular strain of West Coast Offense. You never should have been run out of town, Jeff.

* Tampa Bay vs. San Francisco
Sunday, December 23, 2007. 1:00 PM, PST.
Week 16
Aftertaste Battle

That’s right, after rattling around a few NFL backwaters (CLE; DET; PHI), QB Jeff Garcia returns to Candlestick.

Amid their fog of mid-00’s salary cap ineptitude, the 49ers let this perfectly capable quarterback slip through their fingers. This could have been prevented.

And now the City Of Garlic’s favorite son is a-comin’ back to San Francisco, leading the playoff-bound Tampa Bay Bucs.

This could have been prevented. But that didn't happen. Former general manager Terry Donohue failed miserably at his job of salary cap machinations as he desperately clung to the team’s payroll. He signed and dropped players with little thought past placating the ownership. Catastrophe followed, Garcia left. Lies, deeper failure, and flailing internecine deceit followed, leading to a front office purge and the hiring of Head Coach Nolan II.

Now the 49ers are where they are, and Garcia is where he is. All of this could have been prevented. And it wasn't.