MIAMI — Jimmy Garoppolo, the franchise QB commonly called Jimmy GQ, has a bigger paycheck and better looks than his teammates.
But the biggest name on the 49ers’ roster doesn’t elevate himself above those who are among the lowest on the totem pole.
Consider undrafted rookie tight end Daniel Helm, who was cut by the Chargers earlier this season, signed to the 49ers’ practice squad and just recently promoted to the active roster. Asked about Garoppolo, Helm, who didn’t play a snap and earned $199,353 in the regular season, said he’s grateful the $137.5 million man acts like a regular guy.
“The thing that probably surprised me most about Jimmy is how down to earth he is,” Helm said. “People that are making a lot of money sometimes don’t associate with the not-as-important guys on the team like myself. For him to genuinely care about me as a person is pretty cool.”
The 49ers have pointed to their tightly woven, no-cliques locker room as a reason for a season that will end with a date against the Chiefs in Miami on Sunday. And Garoppolo, along with All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman, the team’s offensive and defensive headliners, have communicated through their actions that there are no no-names on the roster.
Right guard Mike Person, a nine-year veteran, credits them for helping create the family atmosphere the 49ers acknowledge is cliche, but insist is very real.
“Richard,” Person said, “talks to every single person on this team.”
And Garoppolo? Person, who is Garoppolo’s locker-room neighbor, told a story: In 2016, when he was signed by the Chiefs, Person was struck that a former 49ers teammate, quarterback Alex Smith, was happy to see him.
“With the 49ers, I was the seventh-round draft pick. The 53rd man on the roster,” said Person, who was Smith’s 49ers teammate from 2011-2012. “I figured Alex wouldn’t remember me. But my first day in Kansas City, Alex comes up and says hi. I see the exact same thing in Jimmy. They’re just good people, and I think that goes a long way.”
Last week, Garoppolo sought out Helm during practice to offer a tip about a back-shoulder pass thrown by quarterback C.J. Beathard that Helm didn’t catch. Helm was playing on the scout team. And he says it’s those gestures that make him feel like he’s a vital part of a Super Bowl team.
As a quarterback and captain, however, Garoppolo doesn’t always use a gentle touch. Garoppolo tore into his slow-starting offensive teammates on the sideline during the second quarter of a 37-8 win over the Packers in November.
That is, Garoppolo has had to vacillate between being friendly and firm.
“There’s definitely a balance to it — it’s a fine line,” Garoppolo said. “But I think as long as guys respect you and respect your opinion and they see the work you put in things ... I think all that carries tremendous weight. When we’re around each other (as much as we are) you just know your guys inside and out and they know you inside and out. There’s no really being fake.”
Asked about Garoppolo’s personality, several other 49ers offered some variation of he’s a “regular guy.” The chorus was only interrupted by Australian rookie punter Mitch Wishnowsky, who provided a slight variation: He termed the QB a “normal bloke.”
“You see the way other people see Jimmy,” Wishnowsky said. “And I even used to think the same way about (soccer star) Cristiano Ronaldo and people like that. Then you come into a professional spot and you realize these legends are just people. Jimmy’s not above anybody. He doesn’t think he’s special.”
Of course, Garoppolo, due to his job description, is special. And separate. Sherman appreciates how Garoppolo shrinks the natural distance his position creates.
“As a quarterback you are separate from everybody,” Sherman said. “You’re closer to management than anybody else because you have to be. You have to maneuver differently. But I think he’s done everything very consciously to make sure that teammates know that he’s available. …
“He’s not too big for any of his teammates. It’s important for the quarterback down to the last practice-squad player to understand that everyone is approachable. Everyone is on the same level. When you have that, it really makes a difference in a team.”
Garoppolo’s work ethic has allowed him to effectively pull rank on his teammates.
Asked what he’s learned about Garoppolo by having an adjoining locker, Person said he hasn’t gleaned much from the QB in that setting because Garoppolo is typically studying X’s and O’s elsewhere. Right tackle Mike McGlinchey said Garoppolo’s dedication, coupled with his personality, is why he can also scream at them like a crazed coach.
“In those type of moments, he has all the credibility to say stuff like that because of what he’s done, the relationships he’s built, the character that he’s shown and the work that he’s put in day in and day out,” McGlinchey said. “I think because of that, and because Jimmy is able to be one of the guys, he can also ascend to being the top guy, too.
“He says it himself: The quarterback position does a good job of glamorizing everything. He knows that. And he doesn’t want that. And, because of that, it gives him a leeway when he has to do that.”
Said wide receiver Jordan Matthews: “One thing about an NFL locker room, the guys are very aware. And guys know who’s working. They know who’s not. And Jimmy is constantly on his grind. Constantly working. And is very humble. So when he says something, you know that’s coming from a place of focus and he’s speaking from a place of intentionality.”
Garoppolo’s background helps explain his humility and work ethic.
Garoppolo, whose dad, Tony, was an electrician, grew up in a blue-collar family of six in suburban Chicago and has often noted he was kept humble by two older brothers. He was lightly recruited before attending Eastern Illinois, and he spent his first 3 ½ NFL seasons serving as a backup in New England to Tom Brady.
Garoppolo still carries his Eastern Illinois backpack that dates to his days at the FBS school.
His status has changed, but he’s retained an ability to laugh at himself.
After a 48-46 win in New Orleans in December, Garoppolo was asked to evaluate the gadget-play touchdown pass thrown by wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders. Garoppolo, smiling and using air quotes, explained he didn’t see it because he was “blocking.”
After he threw just eight passes in the NFC Championship Game, he was jokingly asked to take reporters through each throw. Said Garoppolo: “That might take a while.”
In New Orleans, Garoppolo led the way in a shootout, playing the role of the only QB who ranked in the NFL’s top five in completion percentage, touchdown passes and yards per attempt this season.
In the NFC Championship Game, he was a handoff machine, playing the role of supporting actor on a team that boasts the NFL’s second-ranked running game and No. 2 defense.
Next, he’ll make his first Super Bowl start in Miami, where the franchise’s greatest quarterbacks have enjoyed some of their greatest moments.
Joe Montana won a title by throwing a late-game touchdown pass in 1989.
And Steve Young threw a Super Bowl-record six TD passes in a 1995 win.
Now Garoppolo, whose approach and performance have changed this season based on what his team has needed, will get his chance.
He’s comfortable being a guy.
But he can also be “The Guy.”
“We’ll follow (Garoppolo) into a dark alley,” Sherman said in November, “and I guarantee you won’t touch him.”
Eric Branch covers the 49ers for The San Francisco Chronicle. Email: ebranch@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Eric_Branch
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January 28, 2020 at 10:37PM
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