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SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Jim Tomsula gets one last opportunity to influence his bosses before they could decide as early as next week if he will become the first one-and-done San Francisco 49ers coach since O.J. Simpson played running back for Pete McCulley in 1978. Walking off his home field Sunday to a nice ovation rather than a chorus of boos probably would help.
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Niners CEO Jed York promised before the year's first snap to keep all employee-related thoughts to himself until the time expired on the Levi's Stadium scoreboard for the final time this season.
He was hoping that would occur when the 49ers, playing at home, would be preparing to accept the Lombardi Trophy for winning Super Bowl 50 in February.
Instead, it will happen five weeks earlier, capping either a four- or five-win, playoffs-less season.
There is no doubt which way public opinion is trending, but that doesn't mean York feels the same way.
And what about general manager Trent Baalke? Will his immediate future somehow be tied to Tomsula, the guy he hired to replace supremely successful Jim Harbaugh?
The only one in the organization speculating about any of this is Tomsula, if you are willing to count two short answers he gave to job-related questions Wednesday as speculation.
"I see Jed. I saw him (Tuesday). I see him every week," Tomsula said. "We just talk about the week and where we're going. Our conversations haven't changed a bit."
The 49ers began the season talking Super Bowl, and the word "playoffs" was even uttered on the eve of the team's fifth loss in Week 7 to Seattle.
Ever since, the tone has shifted to showing improvement, and even that has been hard to find.
The 49ers will enter Sunday's season finale against the St. Louis Rams as the league's lowest-scoring team, 21st in rushing and 30th in passing. They also finished third from the bottom in passing last season under Harbaugh, but they were significantly better in scoring (20th) and rushing (fourth).
Of course, they also had more wins last year. Their 11 losses already are three more than what produced a coach termination in 2014, with a 12th defeat a distinct possibility Sunday against a team that beat the 49ers 27-6 nine weeks ago.
Alas, winning and losing might not matter in the finale. A half-empty stadium in the 49ers' previous home game in Week 15 against the Cincinnati Bengals indicated many fans don't care anymore.
It will be interesting to find out if York mentions the finale's actual attendance and its potential impact on his decision to keep or can the coach when he finally speaks next week.
In that sense, what happens on the field Sunday -- other than possibly impacting the 49ers' draft position -- indeed could be meaningless.
SERIES HISTORY: 132nd regular-season meeting. Series tied, 64-64-3. The Rams evened the all-time series with a 27-6 home victory in Week 8, their second consecutive win over the 49ers. That streak includes a 13-10 win at Levi's Stadium in the second of two meetings last season. Home field means little in the rivalry. The Rams have a 32-31-2 edge at San Francisco/Santa Clara, while the 49ers hold a 33-32-1 advantage at Los Angeles/St. Louis.
GAME PLAN:
When playing the Rams, the game plan is simple: Stop running back Todd Gurley. Or at least limit him. The 49ers were successful at that for the first 19 minutes in their earlier meeting with the Rams, and they led 3-2 at the time. But once the rookie got rolling -- he finished with 133 yards -- the game got away from the 49ers.
As usual, the 49ers would love to run the ball themselves, but that is impractical. They totaled 38 rushing yards in the first meeting, with quarterback Colin Kaepernick getting 28 of them. So Priority 1 becomes protecting quarterback Blaine Gabbert and hoping he feels comfortable enough to throw third-down passes past the first-down markers, something he has been reluctant to do while getting sacked 16 times the past three weeks.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH:
--49ers running back Jarryd Hayne vs. Rams run defense.
Let's be honest: 49ers fans have little to root for on the final weekend of their losingest season in almost a decade. A strong performance by fan-favorite Hayne, the former rugby star, could go a long way toward getting him at least a tryout next season. In the end, that could prove to be more meaningful than even a 49ers win.
--49ers defense vs. Rams wide receiver Tavon Austin.
Note that the matchup isn't limited to the San Francisco pass defense, as Austin is equally capable of burning an opponent on the ground as through the air. He did just that in the Week 8 meeting, scoring both rushing and receiving touchdowns. In other words, the 49ers cannot concentrate all 11 defenders on Rams star RB Todd Gurley, even though that is what it might take to stop him.
--49ers placekicker Phil Dawson vs. Rams special teams.
No doubt some in attendance at last season's meaningless season finale could have predicted it would be Jim Harbaugh's last game as 49ers coach. However, no one had an inkling star punter Andy Lee would be gone as well before the 2015 opener. Dawson is this year's version of Lee -- a highly productive veteran who probably means more to a contender than a rebuilding San Francisco effort. What remains of 49ers fans would be wise to give him a nice sendoff.
