Who Is Jim Tomsula?

A long ascent to the top for the 49ers new coach...

​It would be something of a given to note that Jim Tomsula, the San Francisco 49ers interim head coach, is not exactly a household name. A number of articles have seen fit to mention that his name is pronounced with the accent on the second syllable (but, then again, announcers mispronounced George Seifert's name back in 1990, too.).

The 17th man to serve as head coach of the 49ers has a resume on which the inclusion of the title "head coach, San Francisco" was not preordained. Jim Tomsula -- who, 21 years ago was an unpaid assistant coach at a college you haven't heard of living out of his car -- has put in some time in the trenches.

Tomsula was an unpaid coach at his alma mater of Catawba College in Salisbury, N.C. -- most famous alum: Bucky Pope --  who sold carpeting on the side when he landed a gig in NFL Europe.

He coached nine years in Europe -- you may recall the 2004 Berlin Thunder team for which he served as defensive coordinator winning World Bowl XII. Or maybe you don't. The point is, Tomsula has had a peripatetic career path even by the standards of NFL coaches.

If nothing else, it's nice to see such a man rewarded with a head coaching job, if only for one game. If you're looking for a silver lining to the 2010 49ers' season, that may be all you're going to get.

By the way, the photo atop this article wasn't Jim Tomsula, it's actor Paul Rae. This is Jim Tomsula:

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