NFL: 49ers fire head coach Mike Nolan

[Steve615]

http://blogs.nfl.com/2008/10/20/niners-fire-nolan-after-2-5-start/

Mike Singletary is expected to take over as interim head coach.

[Sharkie_Fan]

Fine by me!

I liked the Nolan hiring at the time. I thought he'd bring a much needed edge to our defense, and hoped that he'd be "good enough" on offense to get by... The Baltimore Ravens method of football. Given that our defense was already above average and our offense was not burning up the field, it seemed like a good way to go with the makeup of the 49ers at the time.

Sadly, he's downright awful at managing a football game. The offense has been horrible, and some of that can be attributed to Nolan's complete lack of offensive saavy.

I can't comprehend his undying devotion to J.T. O'Sullivan. The kid crumbles in the 4th quarter. I'd have loved to see what Alex Smith could do with an OC like Martz.... but Nolan wasn't going to let that happen - even before they put Alex on IR.

That said, I don't know if Singletary is the answer. At first blush, he looks like another Mike Nolan - defensive minded, without a lot of offensive skills. It'll be interesting to see how he does the rest of the year and what direction the 49ers go as far as a head coach for next year.

[Mark L]

It's about time!

Any change is welcomed by me. Now bring back Eddie D!!!

York is running this franchise in the ground.

[Stewart Vernon]

Maybe I'm misreading, but I thought Nolan preferred Alex Smith (his pick in the draft after all) but JT O'Sullivan was better this pre-season and had familiarity already with Martz from when they were last together... so I thought Martz preferred O'Sullivan and Smith wasn't performing well on top of that.

In any event, a shame Nolan gets fired... but at least this will hopefully be a friendly separation and he isn't being ran out of town as though he is incompetent and everything is his fault. I gather they just recognize stagnation and want to try something new.

I like giving Singletary a chance, as I think he might be a good coach... but I also agree that it might be hard for him given the lack of starpower on this team right now. Unfortunately this is one possible outcome from the way-over-successful time period back in the days of Montana and Young.

[kokishin]

Nolan stank up the joint. The York's are are inherited wealth that have nothing better to do than ruin a great franchise. Aboslutely agree with you: bring back Eddie DeBartolo.


It's about time!

Any change is welcomed by me. Now bring back Eddie D!!!

York is running this franchise in the ground.

[Sharkie_Fan]

Maybe I'm misreading, but I thought Nolan preferred Alex Smith (his pick in the draft after all) but JT O'Sullivan was better this pre-season and had familiarity already with Martz from when they were last together... so I thought Martz preferred O'Sullivan and Smith wasn't performing well on top of that.

In any event, a shame Nolan gets fired... but at least this will hopefully be a friendly separation and he isn't being ran out of town as though he is incompetent and everything is his fault. I gather they just recognize stagnation and want to try something new.

I like giving Singletary a chance, as I think he might be a good coach... but I also agree that it might be hard for him given the lack of starpower on this team right now. Unfortunately this is one possible outcome from the way-over-successful time period back in the days of Montana and Young.

Nolan and Smith have had a horrible relationship here. Nolan was smart enough to say all the right things in public about the team's "star quarterback". But, everything I've seen from people around here who are supposedly "in the know"... Nolan had decided before JT O'Sullivan was ever brought in that Alex Smith would NOT be the starting quarterback of this team.

I think Smith has the talent to be a good quarterback. But he came from an entirely different system than the 49ers run. Nolan expected him to just step in and put up numbers like he did in college and when that didn't happen, they really got down on him.

Alex's injury last year was really handled poorly by both sides, and that was really the low point of their relationship, and from what I understand, that was really the point where Nolan made up his mind that he wanted to go another direction this season.

As far as giving Singletary a chance.... I'm with you. I like the choice. I hope that he does really well and he's going to be the next great coach in the NFL. We just don't know becuase he really hasn't done much thus far in his coaching career. No time as a coordinator anywhere. He's apparently a very good teacher as a position coach. He 'thinks the game' really well, and being a former player, he'll probably command respect immediately in the locker room.

I think with a guy like Mike Martz running the offense, a more defensively minded coach isn't necessarily a bad thing. Martz as a head coach would be a really poor choice for this team. They just don't have the talent to get into a shootout every week. And I think that's part of the reason for Nolan's firing. Our defense seems to have regressed this year. And that falls mainly on Nolan's shoulders - the defensive coordinator in SF is not really a "real" job. He played second fiddle to Nolan when it came to the defense.

[JM Anthony]

Once Holmgren leaves Seattle, I wouldn't be too surprized to see him end up in SF.

John

[dcowboy7]

Once Holmgren leaves Seattle, I wouldn't be too surprized to see him end up in SF.

the rumour has always been though he will take a sabatical then come back somewhere in a role much like bill parcells has with the fins now.

[Sharkie_Fan]

the rumour has always been though he will take a sabatical then come back somewhere in a role much like bill parcells has with the fins now.

Yes.... BUT....

The 49ers job is, I think, THAT job for Mike Holmgren. The one job that you would jump at if the opportunity came around.

If he's available and the 49ers have a vacancy at the same time, I think he just might take the job.

[DCSholtis]

Yes but would he return with the York's in charge. I mean they seem to know absolutely zero about running a team.

[Sharkie_Fan]

Yes but would he return with the York's in charge. I mean they seem to know absolutely zero about running a team.

That's really the question, isn't it?

It seems to be commonly accepted knowledge that he wants this job. Does he want it with the Yorks around?

I lean towards yes. Jed is supposedly a brilliant kid, and I think - moreso than John and Denise ever did - he realizes that in order to run a successful football franchise he needs to get some good football people around him.

I think that the last couple of years, the farther into the background John and Denise York faded, the better things were from an ownership standpoint for the 49ers. If Jed is going to be the face of the 49ers, then I think Holmgren might be willing to come work here.

If John and Denise come back to the forefront..... Then, I can't think of many people who'd want to come work for this franchise!

[dcowboy7]

i think homeys just burned out & needs a break.

[Sharkie_Fan]

Not that it's unexpected, but.... Holmgren is denying any interest in the 49ers job next season, saying "Seattle is his home, the Seahawks are his team, he still intends to take some time away from football in 2009".

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3658248

Even if he is/was interested in the 49ers job, I wouldn't expect anything less other than this denial, given that he's still the head coach of the Seahawks!

[JM Anthony]

Yeah, the Seattle media is reporting tonight that Mike made a commitment to his wife Kathy that he's definitely taking a year off. Can't say I blame him.

John

[Steve615]

Another article on Holmgren,from FOX Sports.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/8708414/Holmgren-wont-close-door-on-S.F.-rumors

[Stewart Vernon]

I don't even know why people (reporters) ask questions like this. If Holmgren was going to go to the 49ers he isn't going to say that now... and the 49ers wouldn't say it now either, otherwise Singletary is hung out to dry in which case they should've just kept Nolan as a lame duck for the rest of the season.

IF they don't at least appear to give Singletary a fair shake as "interim" coach then they look very nasty indeed. I sincerely hope Singletary gets an honest chance with at least the illusion of support by the owners/management so he can have a fair shake with the players... otherwise we won't even get a clue of how good he might be as a coach.

Meanwhile, to be fair... it isn't like Holmgren has been lighting up things with his work in Seattle of late... in fact, one could argue that except for the SuperBowl appearance that one year (and they lost) his teams have really underachieved... which is kinda the problem in SanFran lately... so I'm not sure that's a good hire anyway.

Consider that Seifert won a SuperBowl (admittedly with Bill Walsh's team) and was ran out of town... then Mariucci had a winning record (just not a Superbowl) and was ran out of town... so anything less than winning in the playoffs is not going to keep a coach there for long.

[Sharkie_Fan]

My dad heard a local sportswriter on talk radio last night suggesting that Mike Holmgren might be pursued for a front office type position in the 49ers organization.

Perhaps GM, but perhaps something more "consultant-ish" that would allow him some time off, and which could transition into a larger role with the organization.

Let's face it, the 49ers have bigger problems than just who their coach is. Nolan wasn't a great personnel guy, either. I'm not sure if Scot McCloughlan is much better - he's only had a short time to show what he knows.

At any rate, Holmgren running the show from above, rather than on the sidelines, may be a more interesting proposition to everyone involved..