By Albert Breer/Daily News staff
GHS

The process, officially kicking off on March 2, actually began in the fall.

Tully Banta-Cain, in the midst of his fourth year as a Patriot, had free agency staring him in the face. He had a son due in November. He had a rising profile buoyed by increased playing time on defense.

He had options, and options that were going to widen considerably in a few months time. And he had a team, in the Patriots, that he loved and respected.

So the two sides talked. They gauged value. They felt each other out.

Nothing got done.

But in the process, each had a working knowledge as the season ended of where the other stood.

That was the start of it. The end came on March 6, with Banta-Cain holding up a jersey at the 49ers' team complex, just miles from his hometown of Mountain View, Calif.

What happened in between started slow, finished fast and sent a 26-year-old father across the country, back to where it all started.

***

After the AFC Championship Game loss to the Colts, Banta-Cain had extensive discussions with his agent, James Sims, on what he would look for in a new home.

They came up with a list. The first area covered was market value, a tricky proposition for a player who was looking to accentuate his productivity despite limited defensive playing time. They also accentuated his versatility because he can play both as a 4-3 end and a 3-4 outside linebacker. In addition, they also highlighted his strong special teams experience and the two Super Bowl rings won in his first two seasons.

"He was a bit of an anomaly," said Sims. "He was a rising player, but had the struggle of dealing with limited playing time defensively. We had to flip it to the positive, knowing the football minds were well aware of his strengths."

So there was that. Then, there were other factors: Geography, winning, history, coaching and playing time. Each played in.

"(The Patriots) really liked him and expressed every interest in keeping him as part of the team," Sims said. "What I had to do was track that, while following his value. ... The Patriots are a tough act to follow, a great owner who Tully really liked, great coaches, great tradition. So it's a question of, 'If not the Patriots, where do you want to be?"'

They came up with a list: 49ers, Steelers, Dolphins, Giants. And they waited. As the day approached, Sims told Banta-Cain to have his bags packed and be ready to board a plane. Having not been through this before, Banta-Cain got Sims' counsel on everything, down to what he'd wear.

When free agency began at 12:01 a.m. on March 2, Sims' phone rang. It was the Rams. Surprise!

***

First thing that Friday morning, Banta-Cain boarded a plane in Boston bound for St. Louis. Sims prodded him to go, even if Banta-Cain wasn't keen on the location.

"But once he got out there, he really, really liked it," Sims said. "He liked that they came after him, he loved (defensive coordinator Jim) Haslett, he liked all the coaches. He liked the defense."

In the meantime, Sims and Banta-Cain had to do some cramming on the situation. There was a hole at left end, opposite Leonard Little. Trouble was, Little was due a big bonus in 2008, so the possibility existed that Banta-Cain was pegged as a luxury, rather than a need.

Sims knew well enough to keep all options open. So he told Banta-Cain to keep his cell phone on and check his text messages constantly. One came while he was meeting with head coach Scott Linehan. It told Banta-Cain, discretely looking at it, to respectfully leave the room.

The agent had news. The Ravens, without meeting with him, already extended an offer that exceeded what the Patriots were willing to pay and wanted to move fast, and the Steelers were trying to set up a visit. Meanwhile, the Rams had an itinerary for Banta-Cain on Saturday.

After dinner, Banta-Cain returned to his hotel room and talked with Sims.

The Patriots and 49ers were dueling for Adalius Thomas, and the loser, they surmised, would make a play for Banta-Cain. Later in the night, the Patriots came to terms with Thomas. The Niners were in play, and the Dolphins and Cowboys had entered the fray.

So on Saturday morning, Sims wanted his client to take a breather. He left with his second offer, this one from the Rams, and returned to Boston.

The Steelers were pushing for a Sunday flight. So were the Niners. The Rams and Ravens both were looking for movement on their offers and, when Banta-Cain landed at home, St. Louis had already sweetened the pot.

"We asked the Rams if the offer could stay on the table, and having dealt with (Rams president) Jay (Zygmunt) for 15 years, he allowed us to consider it," Sims said. "That one trip was draining in itself for Tully. He needed a day of rest."

He wouldn't get much.

***

"No rest for the weary," Sims proclaimed to Banta-Cain on Saturday night.

A flight was booked for San Francisco for Monday morning. Another was set for Tuesday afternoon from the Bay Area to Pittsburgh.

They had to move fast. Thomas was off the market, and the Dolphins shifted their focus to Joey Porter, cut by the Steelers the previous Thursday.

Banta-Cain landed in San Francisco early Monday afternoon and the 49ers made their seriousness clear right away, whisking Banta-Cain straight from the airport to Stanford for a probing physical. They checked everything, then brought him to the team complex in Santa Clara.

With Thomas gone, and playing time a top priority, the Patriots were off the radar and the 49ers made Banta-Cain a target. The Ravens and Rams offers remained, the Steelers loomed, and the Browns, Jets, Giants and Eagles showed interest. But creating a market was the priority, sparking a bidding war wasn't.

"Me and Tully's thing was that we didn't want to make this a circus," said Sims. "We made it clear, we didn't want to bounce around the country. He had a sense of his priorities. So I told teams that as soon as my client says to get a deal done, we're getting it done."

The word was coming.

Banta-Cain met with coach Mike Nolan, whom he considered a straight-shooter, and hit it off with assistant head coach Mike Singletary and coordinator Greg Manusky, the Chargers' linebackers coach last year. He called Sims.

"He said, 'Look, I really like it,"' said Sims. "This is at 8 at night and we immediately got in the situation where we worked on the contract."

Sims contacted director of football operations Paraag Marathe before 10 p.m. to start negotiating. He then talked to Nolan, VP of Player Personnel Scot McCloughan and the York family.

Then, he went back to the Rams with the offer - three years, $12 million, $3.5 million guaranteed and the assurance that Banta-Cain would not be slapped with the transition or franchise tag at contract's end - after the linebacker requested that Sims examine "how the Rams would step up." St. Louis wouldn't match it.

So they agreed in principle with the 49ers at 1:30 a.m. and planned to finalize the pact the next morning.