Keep him, why not. We can play two kinds of ball with coach Martz Lite it up or grind it out. I like the way the team looked the last 7 games of the season

An angle I have yet to see reported:

Perhaps the ball is in Martz's court. If he's willing to agree to an extension, the team will retain him, otherwise they will let him go now with an eye on trying to establish consistency rather than put it off another year.

Keep him, why not. We can play two kinds of ball with coach Martz Lite it up or grind it out. I like the way the team looked the last 7 games of the season

Martz is far from perfect (aren't we all), but overall there aren't many better OCs out there. Winning some tough games against some good teams this year feels great and has fans excited for next year. There will be some big expectations out there that Jed, for one, has already set up "This is the last time our season ends in December." I'd hate to be Singletary if a new OC gets off to a slow start in 2009. Its not his area of expertise. So, if they let Martz go, it realllly better be somebody better from day 1.

I think Virus is on to something. I think Martz may have been extended an offer to continue upon certain terms (e.g. he agrees to revise his offensive design and concepts to promote a power running game as the base attack with a traditional fullback) augmented by his passing attack and an agreement that he will not leave for at least two more years) and the ball is in his court for a decision. He has a certain time to respond or he is let go because Singletary wants an offense built around his vision and at least two years continuity. If Martz says no, then we move on. And, I would strongly consider Mariucci or Norm Chow.

If they're arrogant enough to replace Martz after the GREAT job he's done with the mess he inherited, they'd better have someone in mind as good as Turner. Another year of change at OC would truly be a new NFL record. And it would prove that nothing has changed. Mike Singletary can't be the answer to all the problems this team has.

Virus, that seems to make a lot of sense. Maybe the ball is in his court.

Matt -

Thanks for the info. I thought I read an article a week or two ago that said Mike Martz interviewed for the San Diego State HC job this year. Is that true?

To Singletary: To show that you are a strong leader and able to make tough decision, please retain Mike Martz. We need to maintain the momentum to build confidence on the offense. In another word, CONTINUITY! Any new OC comes in will delay the offense progress at least a year, or he even destroys it. What will happen is the QB will have to learn the new system and get to know the new language. Isaac Bruce is revitalized under Marts. Let Bruce tutors our young receiver corps for another year. As a Niners fan, I can't stand another failure in 2009.
To Jed York: If the Niners can't make play off in 2009, please consider selling the team to Brent Jones/ Steve Young or Larry Ellison.

Yea MM reported about that awhile back, turns out he didn't get the job. And the talk about Martz having control of whether he stays in SF or not really seems to jive better than Sing just outright wanting to fire Martz from how they seemed to interact with each other, unless there was some stuff going on behind the doors that they weren't letting show.

Do Brent Jones and Steve Young have in excess of 800 million dollars? Because that's the current value of the team. I had no idea those guys were so baller. Redngold you and everyone else who are telling the yorks to sell to Jones and Young are out of your minds. As much as I love them, The Yorks would have to be insane to lose "owner of professional football team."

Matt, when will we know who the coaching staff of the Senior Bowl will be?

While I really have enjoyed watching this offense under Mike Martz give us a lot of excititement, I think it is time for Singletary to bring in some of his own people. Time will reveal who they are but I believe he is more prepared than we think. How long do you think Mike Martz would stay here as a coordinator anyway. Singletary wants to pound the rock and we all know thats not Marts offense. Martz has to big of an ego to give way to Singletarys philosophy. So I say thank the Lord for Sing, now let him do his thing!

I haven't seen any mention of it, so I will..... I thought Michael Robinson had an outstanding game. Some nice hard runs and spectacular catches in traffic and going up and over the defender to get the ball. Really excellent. Hope to see more of him next year, whomever the OC may be.

What is it with this "power running" offense BS? What the heck are y'all talking about? Geez! You need to run the ball AND pass the freaking ball to be a big winner in the NFL. Just like Bill Walsh did. Roger Craig run - Joe Montana pass. Like Mariucci did. Ricky Watters/Garrison Hearst run - Steve Young pass. Like all the really good teams do. We do NOT want to turn into the Chicago Bears (who usually have trouble passing AND running.) KEEP MARTZ!

I vote for Martz to stay. Problem is though, let's say for the time being he says yes I will stay as OC, then all sudden especially with a possible 8 head coaching jobs available NFL who is to say he does a Norv Turner and leaves for a head coaching job. It is no secret that Martz wants to be a head coach again, and no team can't stop a coach to become head coach. That is my only concern with having Mike Martz as OC.

Keep Martz

Martz did everything we needed him to do. He ran the ball more than I saw him ever do in St. Louis and Detroit and frankly I think he has earned a return for next season. I will be very disappointed if Martz doesn't stay and Hill isn't named the starter.

First, thanks for the response Shield!

Second, I can't believe all these Martz fans coming out of the wood work. I'm pretty sure a lot of the support has to do with the last game. The reality is though he also cost us the playoffs. He was the guy to bring in JTO. He was the guy who stuck with him after 20 plus interceptions. It was his fault we didn't run the ball at the end of the Eagles game. Why is he calling deep passing routes so late in the game with a two score lead? Why doesn't he know how many yards the team is from the goal line at the end of the AZ game? He called a friken slow developing HB dive 4 yards out! What?

Ask yourself this question. If Martz is such a great offensive mind why did we go 8 quarters with scoring a TD? Why does our offense usually stall in the red zone? The answer, because Martz offense is incomplete and lopsided. Its not just about calling run plays its actually teaching run schemes in practice. Its about valuing a real fullback like Moran Norris, not Zack Keasy.

Maybe the ball is in Martz court, if it is I hope he decides to go to a diffrent play ground.

I think the main question is really how long Martz wants to be here. Singletary would most likely would want to replace his OC this year rather than start from scratch again next year. The quicker the Niners get some stability in their OC position and offense the sooner this team will be a playoff contender. I just hope we don't get another retread like Turner, Knapp etc.

Martz has an offense that is fun to watch, but is not a consistantly winning one. The reason we had to pull out last minute drives was we were not scoring points. The 49ers lose to Arizona with our backup quarterback, and New England beats them by over 30 points with their backup. Hill is a gutsy, but only average, backup Q/B. His passes drive me crazy. So I vote for a change in O/C, and draft a Q/B for the future.

Please do not buy or renew your 49ers tickets. Support local blackouts, thank you.

According to this article in the footnotes, Haslett may be interested in Martz for OC, if he keeps the Rams' HC position.

Maybe it's Martz who is stalling here?

Martz is one of the best.If he wants to come back, KEEP him.

Yeah but he gave you bum info. Martz didn't interview, wasn't interested and wasn't contacted about that job.

PS Keep Martz, the #1 2008 improvement over 2007. Did everything advertised and more. Offense is winning these games for us. Not seen any opponent able to stop it - only ourselves.

And talking of turnovers, why does Matt like many other commentators assign Martz most of the blame for the rash of turnovers? That's BS. Players turn over the ball, not coaches.

"The 49ers have confirmed a Press Democrat report that offensive coordinator Mike Martz is no longer a candidate for the San Diego State head-coaching position.

The San Diego Union-Tribune, citing a team spokesman, reported this morning that Martz is not in the running to replace Chuck Long, who was fired Nov. 22.

I've contacted the 49ers, and they confirm that they confirmed the report for the Union-Tribune. Got it? In other words, Martz is not going to SDSU."

-By MM Dec 9, 2008.

I may have been reaching when I implied that martz had interest in the job and failed to get the job, but from reading this post would you blame me? Either way he is not going to be head coach of SDSU, so the info isn't that bum.

On the other hand, reading Randy's post is pretty scary imagining martz going back to his stomping grounds in STL. As terrible as the Rams are at finishing out games, if you take a look at the score and how they play, they can be just as competitive as the niners. Missing Stephen Jackson really hurt them in their 10 game skid, almost as much as missing gore hurt the niners.

i am voting "present" on the Martz decision.

Mike Martz should stay. He's a great offensive coordinator, and he’s shown that he can work with Mike Singletary. The 49ers need continuity now as much as anything else.

Singletary is a leader and thats most important for a head coach. He just needs two capable coordinators. Martz times as a head coach were bad, but he's been a great offense coordinator, just like Norv Turner. Singletary played under Ditka and Ryan, so how bad can the relationship get? I hope Singletary just looks Martz in the eyes and asks him one question: Do you want to be a head coach soon? Just because there will be a start of something great for 4 years. If Martz then decides to stay, he's the man! If not, then we might get Norv back.

Oakland-Niner - thank you for stating it better than I could. Martz must go.

As far as the "Improvement" we made? Ranking went from 32 to 24. OH MY! WHAT IMPROVEMENT! Just because it got more interesting doesn't mean it got BETTER.

You want to talk improvement? Under Mike Nolan the team converted 28% of 3rd Down trys. What was it under Singletary? 46%

THAT is where the improvement occured. Martz shmartz. 22 teams had better records than the 49ers and they ALL have Offensive Coordinators not named Mike Martz.

Get over him. Please.

I think what a lot of people are missing is perhaps Sing is wanting a commitment from Martz (4 years)!! The smartest thing is if he feels Martz will jump ship is to find an OC that buy's in with him and wants to be there for the long haul. worst thing is Martz staying one more year than jumping... Sing would be rebuilding his offence in his 2nd year and not from the get go!! just a thought.

Indiana Jim, the improvement from 32 to 24 ranked offense is significant. in 2007, the Niners would have been the worst offense in the league regardless of haw many teams there were. Had there been 50 teams, the Niners would have been #50. To say they were bad on offense doesn't even do justice to how bad they really were. I would like to see Martz retained in the interest of continuity, but if the team needs to replace him with an accomplished, credentialed coach who will stick around for a few years, then they definitely need to do it. I read somewhere that Scott Linehan would be a good option, given that his coaching stock (as a head coach) is about as low as it can possibly be and he is a good offensive coordinator.

I'm torn on Martz. Clearly the team improved this year, but as others have pointed out there were still some frustrating problems -- red zone, turnovers, sacks. The latter two areas showed improvement after Singletary took over. And his play calling at times seems streaky.

I guess my main thing is I'm sure he wants to be an HC somewhere. So if Singletary is trying to lock him in first, I suppose that's a good thing. Just get it resolved asap. That's probably the most important thing.

Watching the last two games finally won me over on Shaun Hill. In the Jets and Miami games, it seemed we went on these long, time consuming drives and too often did not come up with the points (either a field goal or nothing) that were needed to bury the opponent. Despite dominating both games, we could have lost both, not just one. And although Hill was great at long, managed drives with lots of clutch third down conversions, it did not seem like he could put up points in a hurry if they were needed to come back in the fourth quarter. Then, against the Rams and Skins, he did just that. In fact, when defenses get tired and slack off a bit in coverage, he just kills teams. Combine his management skills with his clutch fourth quarter play and you have a bona fide winner at the QB spot. With a stouter defense next year, and who would bet against Singletary making sure we had one, even those long drives that don't always get the points won't hurt us. Not if the D causes three and outs for the other team. Sandwich three or four long drives around three or four three and outs and you've got a thoroughly whipped opponent by the time the fourth quarter arrives and Gore starts ripping off huge chunks of yardage. I don't think the OC is something to worry about. There's plenty of good ones out there if Martz decides to leave. Hostler skewed us all into thinking OC's were more important than HC's. They're complimentary most of the time. Very few total disasters like him.The offense is primed and ready to be successful now, no matter the OC. It's the defense that needs to become dominant.

I figure Singletary will want to put in place all the coaching staff he has been envisioning himself to have once he got a head coaching job. Martz probably does not fit unless his wish list runs out. We will hear about more changes that all sound like "putting things in place for the long term." This will be a built in excuse for a weak showing next year. We will find out some new things about coach Sing during this off season.

I agree with Skeebers, Hill is a very good QB and should lead the 49ers in 2009. The players play for him and he has the ability to get things done when he has to. The big focus for the 49ers at QB should be watching the tape to figure out what happens at half time that screws him up so badly in the 3rd quarter. I believe that he ranked in the top quarter of NFL qb's in the 1st, 2nd and 4th quarters but was last in the 3rd. Maybe keep him away from the buffet?

The other reason he should be the man is the state of the niners. If we go after a free agent like Cassel (a qb whose stats are amazingly similar to Hill) it will eat deeply into our cap room. I'd rather spend that money on a pass rusher, a top free safety, or a good left tackle. Quarterback is simply not the most pressing need on this team.

I would draft a qb fairly early in the draft and hand him a clipboard for the next couple of years. Throwing a new qb to the wolves is ugly (see Alex Smith).

For the good of the team, we need to fill the most glaring holes. QB is not one of them.

I think we've seen that Martz can definately put some fire into an offense. With the 2 different head coaches, we've also seen what kind of head coach it takes to get the best out of your coordinators. W/ Nolan, Martz got free reign. The offense struggled (alos b/c it was a new system), somewhat due to play selection not fitting the personel. W/ Sing, things got a little more defined on offense. They didn't try to do too much and it paid off. For continuity's sake, please keep Martz. If not, it sounds like Sing has a plan. The thing I fear more than losing Martz is the offense having to learn it's 8th system in 8 seasons. ***sigh***

Or is it 7th system in 7 seasons...I've lost count!

NFL Network ticker states Martz will NOT be retained as per NFL league source

So there is your answer. No Martz. I'm not dissapointed or surprised. I'm hoping that Singletary brings someone in for the long haul.

http://blogs.nfl.com/2008/12/30/martz-looking-for-work-again/

Ronnie

3rd down Conversions went from 32% to 38% on the season. Yardage improved, granted. We scored 69 more points than last season. Passing yardage greatly increased. Still had the same number of sacks.

Offensive TD's went from 23 to 31, and field goals jumped from 17 to 29, reflecting the yardage increase, but showing little if any improvement in Red Zone offense. And we all ought to know that's where wins happen.

Our Turnover Ratio actually increased over 2007. We had 35 more pass completions with 5 fewer attempts than last season, reflecting the improvement made in the receiver corps.

Again, I maintain that the improvement was not incredibly dramatic, and that the only dramatic improvement is thanks to Singletary, not Martz. Without Singletary, things would have gotten decidedly worse. Neither Nolan nor Martz would have pulled O'Sullivan for Hill when Singletary did.

Very well said!!! My thoughts exactly.

Folks......my vote is that you do your best to keep Martz. Yes, his style can be a bit much but you should always surround yourself with people who can compliment your weaknesses (no offense Coach Sing). Martz and Sing can coexist and it's better than looking for a new OC and later discovering......I did a bad hire. Keep Martz but more running the ball MM.

One more thing. It was Singletary who made Martz adjust his playcalling to better suit this team, and it will be Singletary who hires a coordinator to better suit this team.

Now that Martz is reportedly gone, I'm convinced Singletary will find the right man for the job. I can see him attracting the right people to him, such as Tony Dungy, Bill Belichick, Jeff Fisher etc... I think the 9ers are headed in the right direction under Singletary.

I mean he will attract the right people to him like these coaches have done.

How does a national guy like Adam Shefter get the story before the local guys? Weird.

Anyway, Chudzinski, Billick, and who else are on the list? Perhaps Fassell? Who is the OC for the Jets? He might be worth a look.

Question: How does a national guy like Adam Shefter get the story before the local guys?

My response: You might want to check out this entry . . . http://blog.pressdemocrat.com/49ers/2008/12/martz-has-not-been-fired-yet.html

--Matt M.