Defensive tackle Ricky Jean Francois, the last man to start in place of Justin Smith, reportedly will visit the 49ers this week as he wades into free agency. Whether Smith again needs a replacement remains the great unknown, as the 49ers await word on whether he'll retire or return for a 15th season. Whether Jean Francois remains a versatile, run-stopping lineman is what the 49ers must weigh as they begin their offseason moves. Jean Francois is also expected to make a free-agent visit to Washington and its new general manager, Scot McCloughan, who drafted Jean Francois onto the 49ers in 2009 with a seventh-round draft pick. The NFL Network first reported Jean Francois' plans, and because he was released Monday by the Colts, he is allowed to sign with any team before normal free agency begins March 10. Jean Francois became a popular 49ers during his four-season tenure, both with on-field versatility as well as off-field jocularity that included his "Peanut Butter Jelly Time" dance. He got released by the Colts midway through a $22 million contract that was to pay him $5.5 million in base salary this year. He averaged nearly two tackles per game in his Colts tenure (54 tackles in 26 games, 23 starts) with 5 1/2 sacks. During his 49ers career, Jean Francois had only three sacks in four seasons , including one against Tom Brady after Smith sustained a torn triceps. Smith missed the next two games and Jean Francois started in his place, until the playoffs began. Jean Francois had two tackles in 21 snaps in the Super Bowl XLVII to the Baltimore Ravens. The 49ers defensive line could use depth after already bidding farewell to long-time starter Ray McDonald and possibly Smith. Jean Francois would likely compete for an inside role, where Glenn Dorsey and Ian Williams are trying to return after 2014 injuries. Also on the line are Quinton Dial, Tony Jerod Eddie, Tank Carradine, Kaleb Ramsey, Mike Purcell, Lawrence Okoye and Garrison Smith.  

Jim Tomsula said it is "ridiculous" to think he undermined former 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh. "First of all, there's nothing to that, it's ridiculous,'' Tomsula said to Bay Area reporters at the NFL scouting combine. "Second of all, if anybody needs to talk, give me a buzz. OK? That's all.'' Tomsula, who made no mention of Harbaugh in his first press conference, said Thursday he is unaware of any problems with their relationship. "Jim Harbaugh and his staff, which I was part of, won a lot of football games for the San Francisco 49ers,'' Tomsula said. "I don't have a negative word to say about any of that. It was all positive. We all didn't get it done last year at 8-8. I guess that's where I'm at with it. I don't see where there's something there.'' Asked if there was any part of Harbaugh style he would adopt as his own, Tomsula said, "Obviously, his animation, the way he came in to practice and the energy . . . Jim was on offense more, I was on defense meeting-wise. You saw Jim. Jim loves football. He loves the game and loves to compete.'' Here is what else Tomsula said in his session with Bay Area media, according to colleague Jerry McDonald: Q: At one point did you think you could be next head coach of the 49ers? Tomsula: When I was asked to interview, and that was exciting. As we were going through it, what was it, 10 days? The process. There was some time there. I really wasn't sure exactly how it was going to go, to be honest. then I got offered the job. AS it went on, you're looking into it, and when I met the second time, the second interview, I said, hey, I might be in this. Q: Even in 2010 after the one week, did you think after that, maybe I'm not going to do it in 2011 but at some point I'll be a head coach . . . Tomsula: No, I didn't. That was one week. Know what I mean? that was just getting some schedules together and getting into a game. When I interviewed in Minnesota, and that wasn't even an interview, because we were getting ready to play Carolina, and they were down in Charlotte, that was a cup of coffee, is what that was. And those guys, I got a lot of respect for those guys and I appreciated talking to them. That was kind of cool. I mean, it didn't go anywhere. You know the guys I coach. I just enjoy doing that. Q: With all the speculation that went on all season about the status of the head coach, and then to know get through that, get through first press conference, and now the combine, does everything feel fresh . . . does it feel like a new start for you and this team? Tomsula: Yeah. My job started when I got hired. I pretty much have been in that mindset since I was hired. Getting the staff together and getting everybody put together that way and personnel and getting going. That's pretty much the way I've personally felt since I was hired. Q: Steve Logan has talked on his radio show how much he loves athletic, mobile quarterbacks. A lot of speculation how much Colin will run in this offense . . . Tomsula: You guys that have been around me, speculation and all that stuff, I'm not good with. I don't have facts for you yet. OK, we're still in the middle of all that. Colin Kaepernick, I don't think there's any secret that his legs work really well. But so does his arm. So does his brain. So do his eyes. Steve Logan talking about how he loves athletic quarterbacks, I've known Steve Logan for awhile, I never met a quarterback Steve Logan didn't like. So he likes athletic guys, but he likes 'em all. That's what's cool about Logan. He's an all-in guy. It's just, looking at the unique set of skills Colin has and let's get going within the framework of the rest of our team. We've got a pretty good offensive line. Good running backs. Tight ends, wide receivers. I mean, we've got players. That's what's going on right now. That's what the guys are doing. They're evaluating players and trying to look exactly at what we have and how do we use this. Q: Do you believe a QB has to consistently be able to make plays with his arm? Tomsula: Yes. He's got to be able to make plays with his arm. And our quarterback can. Colin can make plays with his arm. I'm terribly excited about Colin Kaepernick. Extremely excited about Colin Kaepernick. Q: Why? What givesyyou that feeling? Tomsula: The guy, first of all. The guy I go to work and see every day. The guy that's there, that trains like crazy. It's so important to him, and you put that with his skills set. And he's a guy to deal with from a defensive standpoint. Q: Jed came out and said we're going to make better use of Colin's legs . . . Tomsula: That is the owner, right? the word better, I'm not into comparisons. I'm not into any of that. We want to use the total package that Colin has. That's what we're going to do. Does that mean Colin Kaepernick is going to be the leading rusher every week? No. No plans on that at all. Let's use everything we have, like we have done. Let's not act like that hasn't happened either. The Niners were 8-8 last year. We were all a part of that. So that's my big deal with that. Q: You seem to be such a gritty, get your hands dirty, defensive line coach, do you lose that aspect of coaching as a head coach? Tomsula: I hope not. To me, it changes, again I refer to back to my experiences as head coach, I know it wasn't the NFL, but no, there's other things you put your hands on. It's in a broader sense, but it's all personal relationships in my opinion. You do that with seven guys or 12 guys in a defensive line room, then as a coordinator you do it with more, and now it's 53. I think you just put your hands on in different ways. Q: Saw Singletary gravitate towards linebackers, Harbaugh quarterbacks, will you spend a lot of time with the D-line? Tomsula: No. Obviously, you see the staff we've put together and I think anybody that knows the Niners, knows me, you're looking at the staff and saying, OK, you pretty much put the pieces of that puzzle together. We've got a really good staff that fits together like a puzzle in my opinion, and there was a lot of time and energy spent with that, thinking that through. No, I'm not going to coach the defensive line. Am I going to see it and be around it? I would think naturally I'll be around but no, we've got guys to do that. Q: How is that puzzle put together? Tomsula: Just the goal being, trying to put a coaching team together. Everybody works together. Get around the table. You talk offensively and you see the coaches that are around the table. There are a lot of ideas. There's a lot of experiencing. There are a lot of guys that have done a lot of things. OK, so, let's put that thing together. Then you've got a Geep Chryst to coordinate that. Not necessarily dictate that, but coordinate that. Now you go to defense and take a look at the experience on that side of the ball and all the guys sitting around that table. And Eric to coordinate that. Now obviously you've got someone that's the lead and that's the structure. But that's the way I see this thing fitting. That's what I'm really, really excited about. Q: You may have lost the Super Bowl because you couldn't get a play in on time, get the snap off on time, and that was something that was four years, a lot of that. How do you clean that up so the simple mechanics of getting the ball to the quarterback, getting the playoff, is not as cumbersome? Tomsula: I don't want to get into comparison, OK, because however we were doing it, we won a lot of games. Nothing but respect to that. But moving forward, for us, we're looking at all that right now. That's what's happening in Santa Clara right now. Getting through the mechanics and the vocabulary, and how we operate and going through those things. Q: Will Geep be up (in the coaches box) or down (on the field)? Tomsula: Up. Q: What was appealing as Eric as D-coordiantor. Hasn't run a defense since 2005 but has seen all kinds of different parts of the game since then? Tomsula: Yes. I think you answered you question a little bit. When you talk about seeing all the different parts of the game, and you talk, again, this is the third time I'm saying this now, and he's going to be really upset with me, some of the best times I've spent with Eric are talking football while we're on the ellyptical while we're trying to lose a few pounds. After practice, we run into the weight room there and get on and just talking about football, and talking about things. I studied a lot of the New England stuff back then, with the odd defense, and Tedy Bruschi and Vince Wilfork come in and that defensive line. The leverage points and the things they were doing. At the beginning, Eric was in the secondary, and then he became the coordinator there. And you see that going through his coaching stops, that defense. Now there's a few different things, front mechanics-wise and things that we do. But the structure of it comes from the same principles. And with Eric and the way he looks at it, when you get to talking to him, and the way he sees the game, through the players, his schematics for players, and it's not what you know it's what your players know, and those kinds of things. That's what's really neat as you get to know Eric. And he's obvioiusly a bright, bright guy. Q: What coaches are here? Tomsula: Geep's here today. The wide receivers. They're in today. We've got defensive guys coming in over the weekend. Q: Who are they? Tomsula: I know Tim's coming. I'm not sure. Eric. We have to see how much we've gotten done. But those guys for sure. What we're doing is we're doing the drawings. We've got drawings going on, and the guys are fitting guys together. X's and O's stuff. As you're starting to get things together. They're back crunching all that stuff. I wanted to make sure the two coordinators got here, and more for the inteviews. The interviews, too. It's only 15 minutes. We just want to open up the conversations. Because then we've got the 30 visits and then we''ll do a little more seeing guys and getting to know guys that way.  the decision was made just because of the work we had and we'll be right back to normal next year. Q: Justin Smith in building, works out, come in and shoots the breeze with you . . . Tomsula: I like to think he'd like to shoot the breeze anyway. I think he likes me. Q: but if you're retiring are going to be working out like a madman in the offseason. Are you optimistic? Tomsula: I really do try to stay neutral on that. I really do. And when I saw that, out of respect to him, he's earned the right to make his decision on his own terms, I sincerely mean that. As a football coach, do you want Justin Smith on your team? Well, hell yes. But I'm not going to go there. I'm not going to do that. I respect that guy man, and 15 years playing the way he plays, at that position, and the way he does it, I'm loyal to him, he's earned that right. Q: Would you like an answer before free agency? Tomsula: yeah, I'll tell you what, he's not going to beat around the bush. He's not a beat around the bush guy. Out of respect, and again with most of the guys, I don't really get into too much. The season ends, and everybody needs to decompress how you decompress, player-wise. I mean those guys are on the grind, now. Physically, mentally, emotionally, the whole deal. So always, they hear my voice enough, and they need a break from hearing this voice. Now Just, after the combine, that's when he adn I have always gotten into a legitimate conversation. Where you at and what are you doing? Q: Has he been close in the past? Wavering? Tomsula: Honestly, I really mean it when I tell you, I've got to prod to get that kind of  information and I honest to God to not prod him. If you know him, prodding doesn't work anyway. That guy is going to make up his own mind.  That's a man's man. He's going to make up his own mind. And so I don't prod him or anything. I don't. Q: Borland and Wilhoite proved themselves to have starting quality. With Willis and Bowman coming back and being healthy, do you just say, well that means we have two really good backups? Can you get creative and find ways to get them on the field? Tomsula: That's the whole deal. You start talking about the schematic. You start talking about the film we're watching. You've got personnel groups and different schematics. In order to get your best 11 on the field for whatever situation you're in game time or those kinds of things. Those guys are really good football players. Defensive line-wise too, I've told the guys that. Everybody wants to declare the backups. So is Ricky Jean-Francois really the backup, when he was with us? I know in our room we never saw him as the backup. Quenton Dial, backup? Nah, he's a young guy. That's not really the way that we talk about it. There's areas to get you on the field. I'm looking at the secondary all teh time. People talk about that nickel position, but that's like an afterthought. You've got the starting corners and the starting safeties. OK, well, you're in nickel a lot, there's a guy that plays that position. That's just not an area, we're always thinking about guys on the field. Q: Worried about guy being sick of your voice, giving them some time, is taht same with Aldon, or do you need to touch base with him more often? Tomsula: When I say that to you, the thing that I mean, Aldon, all the guys. I'm there. Come on by. We're not going to have a football meeting. that's what I'm talking about. I'm not going to get into football. Hey, what you doing, man? I walk in every morning and Pat and Mo are there and I say, good morning. There's Michael Purcell and there's Tank Carradine and there's Quinton Dial, there's Glenn Dorsey. On and on and on and on. And the guy Thomas. What I mean is, you don't walk by and say, hey, you took the wrong 45 degree step. We're not going to talk about that in February. That's what I mean by that. Just give them the space. Q: You've seen Aldon? Tomsula: yeah. Couple of weeks ago I saw Aldon at the facility. Yeah. Those guys, they're all doing well. It's a good group.