Great start McSingletary!

This is great news! Welcome back Tommy, Franky is going to love you! Also, Jed needs to bring in Shanahan as a Executive VP of Football Ops and have him personally oversee and groom our new offensive coordinator, at least we will have some continuity on offense for the future!

I like it!!! Nice move. Now let's lock up Lenahan. His track record is as good as any as an OC.

Nice move by the Niners! Way to go, Matt. I guess your work on the Lakers-Warriors game was fortunate for you tonight...putting you close to the Raiders facility.

Late change of plans. Not going to the Warriors game after all. --Matt M.

Matt,

Don't get me wrong, I like the Singletary hire and love the Rathman hire, but I am starting to think that the media (some beat writers who will remain nameless for my question here) are stearing the direction of the team. Are Jed and Mike susceptible to that kind of influence or did they simply get it right and hire the best people.

coach sing's track record

1.benching jto.....great
2.putting vernon in his place.....great & entertaining
3.drops trousers as to visualize a crappy performance.....entertaining & kinda gross all at once
4.takes team from 2-5 to 7-9......dramitic improvement
5.fires martz....tough choice but the correct one.
6.brings in rathman.....great move.

its been a good run of not so bad news coming in from this guy. lets see what he does with the offensive cord. spot and the draft? it seems as if he is really putting things togather in the very way in which he said he would , which in contrast to past and current coachs around the league. that is why he won in the locker room. why he won late in the season. and so far winning in the off-season. way to go coach

Matt (or anyone)- I am confused. Is there not a rule that coaches cannot be hired away from another team as a "lateral" move? I seem to remember that. Obviously I'm wrong, but I was wondering...Thanks...

I am glad to have Rathman back, I hope he climbs the ranks right here with the 49ers.
Just a little curious, isn't this like hiring a HC before a GM.
I would have thought that the new OC would have something to do with picking someone for that position...for offensive philosophy stabiltiy and effectivness in teaching the offense.

Matt
Great reporting! Feels good to have one of the parts of the legecy back in the fold. Sing must have an OC already in mind or verbally agreed to make a hire like this.

Hey Matt, I think that this is a great move, but isn't this contrary to what Coach Singletary said was his reason for firing Tollner and Nathan in the first place? I believe his stated reason was so that the new offensive coordinator could hire his own coaches. Just wondering.

Sorry for the duplicate, posted on the wrong thread.

Rathman's contract expired, so he can coach where he pleases. As I understand it, the rule applies to coaches currently under contract with another team (ie, Callahan going to the Browns with Mangini).

Rathman's contract with the Raiders ended so he was a free agent. He had plenty of options so the Niners had to tie him down quick or risk losing him to another franchise like Seattle. I don't think it tells us anything about the new OC.

It was noted in MM's Last post that Rathman's contract with the raider's already expired, which means he's free to do whatever he wants now. It is true though that there are rules preventing coaches from making "lateral" moves in jobs.

OUTSTANDING!!!!!!! Well done Coach Sing!!!! I couldn't be happier. Welcome HOME Tom!

Great first hire. I'm lovin' it. Made my night! GO NINERS!!

Heads up: As per inside sources from the Natn'l Football Post Sam Bradford should declare early for the Draft barring injury from Thursday's nights game.

to think these two guys used to hunt each other down on the grid iron and now they are hunting buddies. Wouldn't you like to hear them talk about the games they played against each other and the stories they would tell..these are to great American Gladiators that played the game the way it should be played. There were peace keepers in the locker room back in the 80's and very early 90's. Woody didn't take any crap...Woody was one of the guys that puked after a loss. A long lost tradition of the 49er locker room.

Nice to see that Tom is back!
Looking for feedback???
Nolan's downfall started when Turner left, not his fault. He sealed his fate when he hired Martz. Although he is one of the top offensive coordinators in the game, it was a mistake. Nolan seemed to focus on the short term instead of finding a coach that would be around for a few years and have a qb coach that could take over for hime at some point.

You do great work Matt!

Mike,

Think he'll be the first pick by Detroit? I'd say its way better than 50-50.

For me I think it IS 50/50. It depends who they hire as HC/OC/QB Coaches. Do they want a more NFL ready QB or Bradford with his accuracy & crazy production. But I do think they go QB to get a new face of the franchise & bury the Millen bad taste.

The thing that I question about Bradford is the Defenses he goes up against. Their conference has weak D's. We'll get a taste of how he stands up to a top notch Defense Thursday night. Florida plays fast on both sides of the ball. I suspect Bradford will struggle some but I just want to look for signs of does he wilt or does he fight? Is he determined? It's not his fault his Conference has inferior Defenses but how does he look like he will adapt? That's what I want to get an idea of Thurs night.

I'm jazzed about bringing Woody back into the fold. Now I'm hoping for an OC with WCO pedigree who can fulfill Singletary's offensive vision. Shurmur or Haskell would be most cool. Great Hire ! I'm excited ! Oh yeah . . . we need to bring in FB Leonard Weaver on day one of Free Agency.

Beautiful baby!!

I think Bill Callahan would be a perfect fit, he was a great o/c with gruden running the west cost. He was very versatile in pounding the ball or throwing 50 times a game.Right now he is in limbo with the jets as oline coach after the firing of Mangini.He did great things with Gannon as qb and Hill seems to resemble him quite a bit with quick release,good pocket awareness but not a strong arm.Did Rathman work with him?

Now that we have Tommy back, could the delay on the OC hire be related to a playoff team still being alive?
I'm pretty sure Tommy worked with Marty Mornhinweg in Detroit?
Any chance we could be waiting on Marty in Philly?

Grumpy - another thing to consider. Stafford has gone against the BEST DEFENSES week in, week out for 3 straight YEARS in the SEC. He has to get pressured regularly & has taken some pounding. That's also coupled with a suspect OLine & average receivers (BUT STUD RB in Moreno who majorly helped in taking the pressure of Stafford.)

Definitely should be ready in the toughness department. That takes a toll on you by the 3rd year.....I ask could that be the reason for his on/off play esp this last 3rd year? I have to put that into my analysis when trying to evaluate him. Because of all that he's making re-think that he'll fall into the bust category. I think he has a chance to make it. It's the inconsistency, bad body language often "off" performance, & why the badly missed easy throws (I saw a number of times) that are the questions.

Fritz Shurmur would be a great hire, but unfornately he passed away several years back.

I really like what he started to ge together in oakland with fargas and mcfadden. Hopefully he can work with gore so he doesn't keep getting beat up.

Question: could the delay on the OC hire be related to a playoff team still being alive? I'm pretty sure Tommy worked with Marty Mornhinweg in Detroit? Any chance we could be waiting on Marty in Philly?

My response: Not completely sure. But, remember, if the 49ers have their eye on an assistant who is still in the playoffs, he would NOT be a coordinator. Mornhinweg worked with Rathman with the 49ers, not with the Lions, but the 49ers aren't going to hire him away from the Eagles, where he is assistant head coach/offensive coordinator. --Matt M.

Hey Mike, I saw your reply on my LSU OG, Herman Johnson, he'll be worth watching on Mobile at the Sr Bowl I think.
Nicknamed 'The House', I'm impressed with the Alan Faneca reference myself.
Watch the left side of Oklahomas OL tonight. Loadholt/Robinson, either guy would look good wearing a gold helmet IMO.
Now that Everette Brown declared, I'm anxious to see/hear more about the kid.

Hey guys here's the latest top 100 from the Natn'l FPost (partnered with Rivals) Updated JAN 4TH.

LINK:
http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/2009/01/nfl-draft-updated-top-100-prospects/

Thanks Matt, good point.
I thought Marty was simply their OC and wondered if he's due to walk after they are finished.
Couldn't locate anything on his contract terms.

Fantastic news. The Lions can have him – he'll enjoy the view of Ford field's ceiling.

Question: I thought Marty was simply their OC and wondered if he's due to walk after they are finished. Couldn't locate anything on his contract terms.

My response: Every stable team I've ever been around never allows thier assistants to reach the final year of a contract. I'd be very surprised if Marty were not signed through 2009. --Matt M.

Question: I think that this is a great move, but isn't this contrary to what Coach Singletary said was his reason for firing Tollner and Nathan in the first place? I believe his stated reason was so that the new offensive coordinator could hire his own coaches.

My response: No, it's not contrary at all. Mike Singletary said nothing about the new offensive coordinator hiring a running backs coach.

This is Singletary's direct quote: “Normally, the offensive coordinator that comes in, he has a person that he likes to have with him, and normally that’s a quarterbacks coach. That’s the flexibility that we have allotted him, whoever that is."

So, basically, Singletary said on Dec. 31 that he would hire the running backs coach and the new coordinator would hire the QBs coach. --Matt M.

Great hire, good to see Tom Rathman come back to where it all began.

Marc - the OK/FL game is TOMORROW night right??!

I'll keep my eye out on Robinson. Marc the guy I really want is Loadholt. He would be perfect for our power running. 350 lb mauler who loves to run block & plays nasty, he's who I'll be really keeping my eye on vs top competition. Let's see his pass pro too which will need work. I heard it was only Orapko that schooled him but badly. Couple him with Rachal & that right side will be dominant. Oher & ASmith will be long gone. I'm not too sure on Eugene Monroe.

I saw Grumpy talking about zone blocking at the Gate. So things could really change in a month. If we go zone blocking I don't think Loadholt is a good pick. But my next 2nd rounder would be absolutely money in that department...Russell Okung. A very athletic 300 lb junior who can easily add weight. That could possibly change the dynamics of our 1st Rd pick too since Jason Smith would be a stud zone blocker. If we go to that style I would love to get Coach Cable from Oakland if they hire a new HC. I saw some right ups on Robinson & their good. That game better be tomorrow....

Any chance Issac Bruce decides to retire rather than stay around for '09?

Question: Any chance Issac Bruce decides to retire rather than stay around for '09?

My response: That would not shock me. I asked Singletary if any of his veterans mentioned "retirement" in their day-after-season meetings. He said no. But, with Bruce, you never quite know what you're going to get. I could definitely see Bruce being completely turned off if the 49ers hired Linehan as coordinator. --Matt M.

For the OC job they should take a look at who he will bring in as QB coach as well as his staff.
Looks like we got some tuff guys as coaches as well as the players so far, just hope they prepare for what will probably be a tough division.
Mora will probably use Wallace like Vick and their D is still intact.
Rams will most likely be rejuvinated by a new HC and shouldve been a good team this year as well.
Its up to Warner for AZ to do this next year, they might go downhill unless they get a QB in the draft or if Leinart can succeed or take A.Smith if him and the 9ers were to fall through.
The schedule looks tough next year so i think they go 6-0 vs the Div. like AZ.

Can someone explain why Linehan is such a great OC for the niners to have when he had a better receiving core with holt, a decent qb in bulger and a monster RB in Jackson pretty much the same setup as SF.

Well technically here in the East it's Thursday already so I apologize.
Yes it's Thursday night, I'm looking forward to the line play believe it or not.
FL Dl vs OK OL.

I'm in the East coast too. You were right, I'm zonin'. Been watching a lot of OL/DL play myself lately. Hey, all for the good of the team if they even listen to our 2 cents....lols

All about making our team better, we all have the same results in mind.
Good news is Singletary is starting by finding a strong run game. Nolan started by finding coachable character guys.
New HC, new reasons for optimism.
I particulary like the chances of adding quality OL help probably in the 2-3-4 Rd range.
If we go DE 1, OL 2 I'm concerned about a NT.
We all share thoughts, the rest is up to Scot and Mike.
The fun is in the research and predicitions after all.

Rathman's a great hire...not only one of the tops in the business, but he brings back a link to the glory days when our team was one to be feared. I'd imagine Gore will be ecstatic working with him.

FWIW, I took my first look at close to 20 mock drafts yesterday...lots of different opinions on our 1st pick, but the one who got the most votes was Taylor Mays. Stafford got the most QB votes, although Bradford was a close 2nd. I'd say Stafford looks the most NFL-ready...great arm, size, pocket-pressence, and GA played a pro-style offense. However, I'm not at all convinced McSingletary will take any QB that early, nor am I convinced either guy would still be on the board at #10. Also possible one or both will stay in school. My own choice would be either Mays or best OT on the board, likely Carl Monroe.

Frank I agree, please stay away from a QB until the mid rounds.
I'm all for a beat down Defense and a smash mouth running game.
Look at the teams that are still playing. AZ is lucky to be there without a stellar run game but they survived one round.
The rest of the teams are all solid run and solid defensive clubs.
If we can't gets Suggs, Maualuge would make sense, but after all, it's a speculation game at this point.
We'll have tons of fun trying to guess what happens.

Ball control. How has Rathman been on teaching holding on to the ball? Also the same goes for the new qb coach.Your comments Matt?

Well according to espn, with the Raiders, mcfadden and fargas both had 3 fumbles, 1 lost each. this year, gore had 6 fumbles 3 lost foster had 2 fumbles 1 lost, and robinson had 1 fumble 1 lost. so he can't be worse than what the niners have had this year. Whoever the OC brings in for the QB coach, hopefully will fix Hill's mechanics because he had 8 fumbles in 1/2 a season which is pretty atrocious. not as bad as JTO with 11, but not that much better either.