Niner’s head coach Mike Nolan’s win Saturday night last Saturday
with a 20-13 win over Cincinnati Bengals might have came too late
as the 49ers’ disappointing 2007 season is winding down.
Niner’s head coach Mike Nolan’s win Saturday night last Saturday with a 20-13 win over Cincinnati Bengals might have came too late as the 49ers’ disappointing 2007 season is winding down.
And since the 49ers have no chance of claiming a playoff spot this season, owners John and Denise York should be looking into hiring a new general manager to replace Nolan, someone who would be less harmful to the team.
Giving Nolan executive power in the 49ers organization has only created a whirlwind of problems for the team in the past three years – not to mention, failing to nab a winning season during the Nolan era.
When Nolan took over as head coach in 2005, I was optimistic, just as the entire 49er organization.
He was a fresh face from Baltimore, who coached a defense that gained respectable reputation throughout the NFL.
He was the face and voice of the 49ers organization and presented himself well on and off the field.
We admired the suits he wore on the sidelines of several home games.
We admired the way he carried himself on the sidelines out of respect to the game of football and an honor to his father, the late Dick Nolan, who coached the 49ers from 1968-1975.
But suits and game attire aside, in the past few weeks Nolan has distanced himself from Alex Smith, the team’s franchise quarterback, who Nolan drafted as their number one draft pick in 2005.
The media depicted the two to be feuding back and forth over a shoulder injury that has sidelined Smith for the rest of the season.
In a recent Mercury News exclusive interview, Smith accused Nolan of “undermining” Smith’s injury and told a locker room full of teammates that Smith was using his injury as an excuse for underperformance.
If true, Nolan’s behavior has been unprofessional. No coach should behave this way, not if they’re trying to earn the respect of his players and earn their trust and dedication to the hard game of football.
And the saddest part is with all the bickering back and forth, between Nolan, Smith and the media, there is no visible owner or executive to step in between them and fix the problem.
The Yorks have been “laying low” as usual and they have seemed to have left Nolan alone to defend himself.
One way to resolve the conflict and turn the 49ers situation around is to release Smith and fire Nolan at the end of the season and promote assistant head coach Mike Singletary to head coach.
Nolan is a great defensive coordinator but he’s not fit to be head coach.
His coaching abilities came into the spotlight Saturday night after Nolan opted to convert on fourth down rather than kick a field goal with over six minutes left in fourth quarter.
The 49ers were up 20-13 and a field goal would’ve put them two scores ahead of Cincinatti, and with a little over six minutes remaining, would’ve secured the win.
He doesn’t seem to look at all the angles in the game of football, including executive decisions that have effected his team in the long term.
Also, Shaun Hill, who shockingly led the 49ers to a victory Saturday night will be a free agent.
The 49ers should seriously look into signing Hill and turning him into the team’s franchise quarterback.
All the moves and signings will unravel during the off season, but for Nolan, I believe it is too late.
