It's OFFICIAL -- Nolan OUT -- Singletary IN

[Ripcity4life]

It was just reported on Monday Night Countdown by Mort that Nolan has been fired and Mike Singletary has already accepted the Job.

[bballguy50]

Hah...they heard my cries to fire Nolan.

I disagree vehemently with the MNF Countdown guys. Just spewing BS about Nolan being a "tremendous football man" and us treating him badly. Please, he deserved every bit of the boot. We gave him enough chances over 3+ YEARS...

I like Singletary, he has a much better mindset than Nolan. I think being a former player and great on D will help us in many aspects.

However, its not enough just to change coaches - we need to change how our gameplan is carried out. That is a huge part of what Nolan failed at, and I think Singletary will bring a new perspective.

[GS Warriors 1]

I disagree vehemently with the MNF Countdown guys. Just spewing BS about Nolan being a "tremendous football man" and us treating him badly. Please, he deserved every bit of the boot. We gave him enough chances over 3+ YEARS...

I think you have to understand where some of those guys come from. They were players and I've heard a lot about how players just don't like major coaching changes during the season, or its likely they feel bad for the coach losing his job in most cases. I don't know if 3+ years was enough, this team was in very bad shape but thats really up to the York's to decide how long a rebuilding process was going to take. It will be interesting to see how this team does under Singletary for the rest of the season.

[GS Warriors 1]

John Clayton article on 49ers

[RIPskaterdude]

I wonder how Martz and Greg feel about being passed up for the HC job...do you think they were offered it and said no? Or that ownership feels that it would be terrible to make someone else take over their jobs mid season (since the LB job is easier to replace)?

[Harry Palmer]

Yeah, a lot of interesting stuff here.

The Good:

Singletary might very well be HC material, and now we get a chance to find out. He's not exactly being given a full deck to play with, but we'll get some sense of how he can control a team and, more to the point re: unknowns, how he implement strategic thinking.

Er...that's pretty much it. I get the impression Singletary might ask Martz to stress the run more, so that could be a good or a bad, depending on their relationship. Also, I suppose, given O'Sullivan's struggles, this might open the door to a possible Smith rebirth down the line, though that's obviously doubtful as hell, and not even a great bet if its doable.

The Bad:

Well, obviously the Martz thing. From what you hear about his ego, this might be a really divisive move. He hasn't exactly set the world on fire, but there's no doubt he has the highest profile of anyone we had, I think most probably expected him to takeover, and even if he wasn't completely after the job, the fact that he was the guy with the most cache, and didn't get it might be an embarrassment to him, and embarrassing guys with egos like Martz can really cause trouble. We'll see...in an ideal world, he loves the greater control he'll probably have, is happy and gets the ball rolling, but the team's early struggles mean he doesn't get a HC offer for next year, and we actually get the same OC for 2 years running. Doubt that happens, but I suppose it could.

The Ugly

This just puts paid to the whole rebuild thing. I mean, we've basically just been treading water for years. We've spent a lot, had some high draft picks, and although Willis was a catch, we don't really have much else to show for it.

I'd imagine the wisest thing to do would be to back up the truck and start again, but given the last failed rebuild, would the suits have the guts? Here's hoping yes, but betting no.

Ach, well...maybe we get another high pick, and go down the whole 'we NEED a QB!/didn't we leann from Smith?/We NEED a line first/ No, star QB's are the hardest thing to find!/Stafford!/No, we need a LINE!/Anyone heard of a pass rush?' thing.

[bballguy50]

The problem is at the top. The Yorks just have no idea how to run a team.

I didn't know they fired the O-Line coach too. League high in sacks allowed, but at least some of that is on JT's bad decisions, maybe some on Martz's scheme (although I am not too knowledgeable on that one), and maybe some of our O-Line guys just suck (Sims, I'm looking at you).

I would have to say Manusky is next - have to admit we need a new defensive scheme/gameplan/mindset.

Basically, we need a lot of things. We do have a lot of talent here though, and hopefully Singletary can translate that to success and wins.

[bballguy50]

Check out this piece:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=m ... &type=lgns

The article talks about how the players actually strongly disliked Nolan. "Warm and fuzzies"? There are accounts of different players saying they were annoyed with Nolan, and how he let Vernon's ego grow because he didn't do anything about it. Beating a dead horse, but its obvious they did not take to Nolan, especially with how he ran the locker room in the last couple of seasons.

However, I also think there's a decent chance Martz could get disgruntled and stir things up if Singletary cramps his style too much. He's rather disillusioned..."the best offense in history"? I guess you have to take the crazy with the genius. Martz sort of reminds me of Nellie with GS.

Singletary is a man with a plan. He doesn't talk in specifics, but he wants things done right, and he will enforce that. A major difference between him and Nolan is that Sing commands respect among coaches and players, and that's important for the foundation of the team concept. It starts with and hinges on the coach, and it looks like Crazy Eyes has the right idea. We need a lot more than a coach, though. But like I said, he's laying down the law for a good start to his tenure.

If its true that Nolan was also responsible for the deplorable defensive mindset and holding back Manusky (which I would assume so), hopefully Greg uses his knowledge and steps up the pressure and coverage. I will retract my statement about firing Manusky if he shows something better in the next couple of games.

[Icness]

I think the Silver piece is very on target.

I communicated (text, email) with a couple of 49ers yesterday and they don't miss Nolan at all. They saw him as a paper tiger who refused to learn from his mistakes. They saw how Martz came in and basically steamrolled over Nolan and knew their geese were cooked.

One player talked about the Davis situation. I'll quote from the email:
It is about damn time somebody whipped his sorry ass!!!

I can't express to you Niner fans just how much enmity for Davis there is in that locker room. And that Davis has no clue about it either, he is so completely self-absorbed. So in that regard Singletary earned a lot of points. I got the impression from the other player and also from Michael Lombardi that a lot of players felt like he went too far in piling on Davis in his press conference. I get what Singletary is trying to do adn it needs to be done, but I'm afraid he's going to be like Rod Marinelli in that aspect. He keeps pounding discipline, respect, and personal responsibility but ignores the Xs and Os. Trust me, you don't want Mike Martz to have free reign on offense, and if Singletary is too focused on the other stuff that is exactly what will happen.

[GS Warriors 1]

3-3 in his first 6 games with 3 games left(@ MIA, @ STL, WSH).

[Hopper15]

I didn't know they fired the O-Line coach too.

With the exception of Staley's holding penalty, the pass protection was amazing Sunday.

[RIPskaterdude]

Even if we go 4-5 under Singletary, I'll be happy with re-signing him ASAP after the season ends.

[cocktailswith_2short]

I agree . This guy is one tough SOB . And thats just what this sorry group has needed . I hope we lock him up I see great potential in him . The team has played hard since he took over and thats an encouraging sign .

[Hopper15]

Sac Bee says Singletary likely coming back, but he doesn't want Martz.

http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/49 ... 18091.html