Matt, thanks for the list of hot names! Coach is taking a little too long on this decision, but any of those candidates would be alot better than Hostler. I don't get why Schottenheimer is such a hot candidate. He had some horrible moments of play calling this year that had Jet fans irate, i.e., running the ball 3 straight times with 1st and Goal at the 1 vs. the Patriots. Although Thomas Jones had a career year, the quarterbacking has always been an issue. Jones' great year was due to an o-line upgrade vs. the OC's ability.

I understand Linehan's point that it's difficult to continuously uproot his family and move around the country on an almost annual basis as the rationale for turning down the SF job. Can you explain to me how moving to SF from StL would be any different than moving to Tampa or any other city for a job? It's totally contradictory to what he gave as a reason for turning down the 49ers' offer.

I guess Sing is the head coach so he's entitled to make changes but what qualifies him to even have an opinion about the offense. I'm not a Martz supporter but the 9ers plan around the OC position is a major cluster to say the least. The pool of candidates is quickly dwindling to unqualified coaches, cast offs, and rejects who were turned down elsewhere. It's great that Sing seems to be of high moral character and he can command a room with his preseence but if he doesn't hit a home run with this OC hire he's going to be a 1 and done head coach.

What about Gil Haskell or Mike Solari?

I understand Linehan's point that it's difficult to continuously uproot his family and move around the country on an almost annual basis as the rationale for turning down the SF job. Can you explain to me how moving to SF from StL would be any different than moving to Tampa or any other city for a job? It's totally contradictory to what he gave as a reason for turning down the 49ers' offer.

No worries here-I'm confident Coach Singletary will get the right man for the 49ers and i'm curious to know if it will be a guy from the senior bowl attendees or a surprise name. Anyone see Stafford falling to us at 10 like Rothlisburger did to Pittsburg?

Hey Matt, is Al Saunders on the radar?

You mean Al Saunders who runs the same exact offense that Martz ran? Let me save you the trouble Matt - no, there's no way in hell that Singletary would consider him

Matt -
What about Chan Gailey?? He is being mentioned in consideration with other jobs as his status in KC may be up in the air...

Hey Matt, PFT is reporting that Shurmur is heading to St. Louis.... I can't help but to think that Singletary's lack of having a "Plan B" might lead another year of an under performing offense. I would love your thoughts on this as well. Thanks for the updates.

Hey Matt-
What about Chan Gailey?? Reports are saying that he is being considered for other jobs - with his status in KC up in the air. He is also a guy that is committed to running the football.

Matt,
Terry Robiskie has been noted as an up an coming offensive mind....any thoughts?
>>MattP

Mike Singletary ... PLEASE give Norm Chow a call!

we'll find someone that wants to be OC for the 49ers. thing is, it's probably not a very glorious position. Sing's philosophy is run run run run run run pa... no, run... run run run.... that doesn't really make the OC shine. we'll have to find someone that's comfortable with that. i'm guessing someone from the college pool will have to be brought up since most pro OC's are probably aspiring HC's. that's just my guess. i'm definitely glad that we don't have martz though. he's a good OC if he can play his style, but when he has to force himself into someone else's philosophy he seems to stutter and make bad decisions.

Matt--WHAT THE HECK is going on with the Niners. We went from they want to hire a coach "Yesterday" to not even addressing or talking to the media??

Does Singletary think he can just slip out the back door and not talk to the media?

My concern with Singletary is that he likes to set himself up to be the hero, and likes to blame others when things don't go right/

He has nobody to blame right now but himself. He fired Martz, who did OUTSTANDING work the last 8 games of the year. And now we cannot close a real OC candidate.

He screwed up because he thinks he is a star.

He's not. He's a very green coach who knows very little about how the league works.

What about Ken Anderson? although PIT avg rush yards was significantly lower than 2007.

You've been repeating yourself for a week. You hate Singletary. Got it. Why don't you go to work on the rant you'll go on after he hires and OC, which you will castigate no matter who it is. Tired act, pal.

Does anyone have any doubt that working for the 49ers has become the choice of last resort!

Actually I was excited about his hire...until he dumped Martz with absolutely no plan and no network to go replace him.

I thought the team was on the right track.

Overreact much?

Seriously, you sound really jealous of the guy. And we're to assume you know better than Singletary? LMAO!!

Might want to wait and see who he hires for OC, what happens in FA and the draft, the offseason workouts, TC, preseason and play a few regular season games before declaring him a disaster already.

Give me a freakin' break.

Not as many as have no doubt that you're a moron.

Well, hib, nobody in the league seems to be beating down your wonderful Mr. Martz's door for ANY positions at all. Singletary didn't want him, either. He's not a long term solution. For that you start doing daily character assassinations of Singletary? Your motivation sounds fishy.

I have no doubt we have some of the whiniest fans in the league.

The same Martz that was in love with JTO? The main reason we missed out on the playoffs? Riiiiight.

Seriously...are you kidding? What would you like him to say to the media. Would you like him to act as free advertising for any candidate he might be interested in by dropping their name in an interview? I guess there is nothing wrong with us creating more competition for a guy we might like, but it seems like a bad idea to me. We have complained when the FO lets Niner business leak out and become public, now you are upset because they have things under wraps.

You have no example of Singletary trying to be the hero or blaming others. He is all about accountability, for himself and his players. When someone isn't performing, he doesn't doubletalk the media and say they are doing fine. He tells the truth. That's not blaming, it's honesty, and it takes balls. Martz did outstanding work, huh? Gore got 1,000 because coach Sing MADE Martz run. Hill turned the season around because coach Sing MADE Martz give up his rediculously stubborn man-crush on JTO (talk about selfish pride). We lost close games because Martz did not value the run enough to put together an offense that could get one or two yards when it was needed. That got him fired. If the run isn't even a realistic option on third and one, you lose close games. That's just football. Coach Sing NEVER said that he wants to run, run, and run. He said he wants a balanced attack that can run when the game depends on it. Sounds smart to me. I guess you are right, though. Martz is awesome. That's why every team with an OC opening is trying to hire him.

It is possible to focus too much on candidates that don't have prior NFL play-calling experience. Just because it was too much for Jim Hostler doesn't mean that all, or even most, other rookie OC's are doomed to be bad playcallers. Heck, Tom Rathman has never called a play, but I'd be interested in seeing him do it.

Ok Aaron.

Lets see who they hire.

You seem to think Singletary is the second coming of Bill Walsh, yes?

I guess thats why all the proven OCs are lining up everywhere but HERE.

Hey, exagerate much? I don't think now is the time to get down on the team or the coach. Martz wasn't the right fit for our coach. If you had a guy working for you, and it was a bad fit, wouldn't it be great if you could replace him with a better fit? That's all that is happening here. I didn't say he would get the perfect guy, but a better fit is a good thing for everyone. I'm not really sure where the Walsh comment came from, but a lot of people turn to exageration when they have no real argument, so don't feel bad. As far as proven OC's lining up everywhere but here, we have been turned down by ONE candidate, only one. Feel free to reference my earlier statement on exageration.

Hib you are a ignorant ranting 9er h8er. You are making claims that are not only wrong but blatantly mis-informning.

You claim: "My concern with Singletary is that he likes to set himself up to be the hero, and likes to blame others when things don't go right"

So you are saying he blames others when things do not go right? Really? I mean isn't Singletary the guy who immediately following the first loss stopped before going into the locker room, REMOVED HIS HAT AND PUT IT OVER HIS HEART, and apologized to us the fans? Are we talking about the same Mike Singletary that then went and apologized in front of the cameras?

Where are you pulling all this misinformation out of? The way it stinks I have a pretty good idea!

What if Notre Dame fired Charlie Weiss? you think he might be an option?

I heard that the Jets interviewed Jim Harbaugh from Stanford what about him?

As far as choosing an OC The 9ers are not a desirable looking place to end up as one. These OC are no more different than you or I. Would you really look favorably on the 9ers after they are heading for their 8th OC in 8 years? Does that speak well towards job security?

If you want to know the facts it is rumored that because of the Owners the 49ers franchise is a unfavorable choice to end up for anyone. This word is not just getting out to the coaches but also the players. Just think of how many FA's have walked the other way from us over the last few years for lesser offers elsewhere.

Another SF periodical had a great article about this yesterday in regards to the fall out of the Linehan declining the offer.

Just think, Linehan walked from a sure OC job to a mere possibility of another job with a few other teams.

The organization has a target on their back and it is not a good one. Why do you think the 9ers were the ones to get hit for merely "the appearance" of tampering when it is commonplace throughout the league? Something that is rampant enough that the rules changed because of it.

Only 3 ways to get out of the trench we have ourselves in.
1. Current or New Ownership starts earning respect
2. Calls the front office makes starts earning respect
3. Our coach can make our team become a team that must be respected.

I think our best option is #3 because the yorks do not deserve respect, McClueless is well clueless. The only hope I foresee is that our coach has something about him that no other coach in this league approaches. He has a spark that can ignite these players to believe they can win. That my friends is a priceless trait.

"If you want to know the facts it is rumored that because of the Owners the 49ers franchise is a unfavorable choice to end up for anyone. This word is not just getting out to the coaches but also the players. Just think of how many FA's have walked the other way from us over the last few years for lesser offers elsewhere."
Sorry, but this paragraph had me laughing so hard I could barely read the rest of your post. You want us to know the "facts" by listening to "rumors" that not even you substantiate in any way. I can't think of a single FA that has "walked the other way" the past few years. Quite the opposite, in "fact". Going back 8 years is nonsense. The past four years are all that's relevant: 2 OC's left to become HC's and 2 were canned. We have a new coach now looking for a "long term" solution at OC. That's a very viable job opportunity. Unless you're a guy like Martz with HC aspirations or Linehan with who knows what ulterior motives. I hate to break the news to you, but you're all wet.

First off I apologize for not proof reading my sentence it appears I spliced my two thoughts together and did not proof read my post. It does in fact read comically.

I meant for it to read like this: The fact is, there are REPORTED rumors going around that the 49ers franchise is an unfavorable place to end up for anyone. The rumors are substantiated enough to be printed on the SFC. (See: SFC Yesterday under "Linehan Fallout")

Now , I do have to disagree, going back 8 years is NOT nonsense. Quite the contrary. If the past 8 years are indicative of a pattern (which they are) then they are very relevant.

You want us to look at your timeframe of 4 years to try and justify it not being an issue? Then Hell lets break it down to just the two years that Mcclueless, our current GM, was responsible for. Hostler, wow what a choice! Where is he now? Then Martz. A guy who is notorious for allowing QB's to get hit and wanting to play long ball. EXACTLY what the 9ers were not built around. As a matter of fact lets just stop using any common sense and only cut the stats out that are relevant to our argument.

You can not remember any FA's who reportedly took smaller contracts to play for someone else?

What about Adalius Thomas? He turned down a lucrative 49ers offer to play for the Patriots.

I KNOW there have been more but I am not going to spend the hours of looking up old articles that I have read to figure out every one of them. In the last 3 years we have had about 2 or 3 though.

Now have we gotten some others to show up and accept our contracts. Sure, but we have had to pay a decent penny for them or snatch them up after they have been out for a while it has seemed. Even a bench warmer like A. Lelie who hasnt really proven much got 2+ mil a year contract.

Bruce was only 3 mil a year and he started and performed.

Just to be clear. I do not put all the blame on McClueless.

It rests mostly on the shoulders of the Yorks.

I am hoping that Jed has the vision and intelligence his uncle had and not the idiotic tendencies of his mother and father.

The fall we have been experiencing started when Jed's parents took over and a few years back and made the statement "We are going to run this franchise for profit" then proceeded to start clearing off the books of expensive talent and not replace them with a winning team. There was also a statement soon after that that the team was going to go away from the west coast offense. You know, the same system they had built and drafted around for 2 decades. This took us from a rebuilding phase to a demolishing phase. The only problem is the rebuilding phase since they demolished the old system has been chaotic. They can not seem to make up their mind which way to go. This is a ownership issue. We can not change the offense system each year and not have the personnel to effectively execute that system.

BTW
A quote I read the other day that I loved was "Yorks show what half baked ownership does in 7 yrs. They should write a book ' how to turn Gold into lead' "

So, your reported rumors all originate with Kevin Lynch's personal opinion on the Niner Insider. Anybody familiar with that blog site and its credibility can begin laughing hysterically right now.
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Yes, going back 8 years is nonsense because the Niners of today began with the hiring of Nolan and McCloughan. Anything past that is the early years of the York tenure when they were thrown into the fire after Eddie D. got heaved out for his gambling problems. Yes, they made mistakes. But they have learned and you refuse to acknowledge it.
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Calling someone McClueless means you are not being rational, you are promoting an agenda of dislike. McCloughan did not hire Hostler or Martz. And he's only been in charge one year, not two. You are very lazy with your facts.
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Your only example of free agents running the other way is Adalius Thomas - who got a chance to play for the Patriots and go to a Super Bowl. Pretty understandable. You KNOW there are more, can't remember any, are too lazy to research it, but are sure it was two or three. How about you're just talking out of your ear hole?

It would be funny if it wasn't so sad! Those who are blindly looking at Singletary as the best bet still don't see the inexperience of the man. But little by little they'll come to realize his ineptness for the HCing business because his flaws will become more and more evident.
I still can't believe this front office signed Singletary so fast! But it's plain to see for these past years that the Yorks have run the fanchise, that this organization has no stability.
If it's plain to see from the distance we're at, it's not hard to imagine that a pro coach could see the mess this franchise is in. Nobody wants to take a job that bodes poorly for them. It's easy to see in just the little while that Singletary has been on the job, that Singletary seems to be a head strong personality. That personality does not lead to the cooperation necessary for a smooth transition for an OC, nor does it lend itself to a somewhat open mind that a HC needs no matter who he is.
Besides, why would anyone of good caliber want to take a job with a front office like the York's run, when there are available coaching jobs for front offices elsewhere that have experienced personel and owners who know what they want! Not quick draw McGraw's who shoot fast and first, and then after look at the target they needed to hit.
But then maybe the Yorks just want to increase the total in their cemetary of coaches?

It's great when sports fans support their team. As a season ticket holder, I've supported the 49ers for many years with my hard earned money as well as my fan devotion. But it's time to realize that there are real problems with this franchise. It's much easier to see These problems when it's another team like the Rams or the Lions, but if we don't put pressure on these owners to sell to people who want to buy a team ( instead of handed one because your brother is a felon), or bring in a top level football guy( like Parcells, Holmgren, Pioli, etc.) and get out of the way, it won't change. The owners don't want any big fish in their pond. That's why they thought it was a good idea to give Nolan complete control. Then they made a mediocre personnel guy their GM. Then they made their next head coach a guy who's never been a coordinator. I have nothing personal against any of these people. It just doesn't make sense when you look around the league and see where most of the success has been.
It's time to let De Bartolo Jr. know he's got to step up and hire people who can put a real organization together because they already have been there.

I am not trying to promote an agenda against McCloughan. I am only showing my disdain for him. If you think me calling him McClueless holds so much power that I will sway people into thinking the same then… WOW …you must think everyone is really stupid.

Ok so TECHNICALLY he wasn’t the GM in 2006 SUPPOSEDLY (in name only) Nolan was. But Nolan didn’t even HC well, how much GM’ing do you think he did?

I also recall Nolan making a statement mentioned in an article stating as far as GM duties go he relies heavily on McCloughan for personnel decisions. I think that article was a little before the time that the Yorks stripped the GM title off Nolan and gave it to Scot... Ok found it, turns out it was Matt’s article… that hack (J/K Matt your articles are great)… here it is: http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/49ers/archives/009254.html

I also recall Nolan making a statement regarding McCloughlan’s hiring along the lines of Nolan no longer having the final say but he and McCloughan will continue to make joint decisions on every issue for the 49ers. I specifically recall it being about them making all decisions for the 49ers together as they have always been doing. That implies that had already been happening on everything pre hiring of McCloughan. I even think it may have been stated by Nolan that they had been doing it that way for a longtime already. I will have to look for that article and let you know where it was. It had to be Dec/Jan timeframe and I am sure it was on a reputable site like ESPN or the NFL site. But they are hacks to you too I bet. Hah! I was right it was ESPN: here is the link: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3180643

I guess I do not have the supreme knowledge you possess in regards to the credibility of other sites or blogs. Please let me know if ESPN and NFL are hacks too. Please also let me know if the quotes that Matt and the other sites were just fake quotes because hacks or not a quote is a quote.

I typically will read something and rate it based on its merit, not based on whether I disagree and let my own bias get in the way. (Like you obviously do with your personal love affair for the Yorks and how it makes you think they are learning)

The Yorks only fired Nolan because they would've lost their fan base if they hadn't. Yet you say "but they have learned" The 49ers of today started when Eddie was forced to turn the team over in 1999. Your just too love sick to see that. Since that moment the owners have made choice after choice that has been detrimental to the team’s success. Based on your statement you are chocking up from 1999 – 2004 as “the learning years” for the Yorks? Get a clue. Since when does it take 5 years to learn how the NFL works? And even so why havnt they made any accomplishments in the following 4 years? Some of my statements may have been personal opinions but yours are no better than a few of the other posters that only post biased rhetoric!

I am not looking for a perfect new HC. If that is what we are looking for we won’t find it. Walsh’s and Lombardi’s do not happen in a precognitive way. They are made by their actions. They are made by their success. If you think you can spot them before you hire them you are a fraud. I can only hope the “it” I see in Sing is an “it” that will grow into something special.