I caught up with Ira Miller, the dean of American football writers, late Monday and, as you can imagine, we talked about Mike Singletary and where the 49ers are headed.

Ira: I like what Singletary did with J.T. O'Sullivan and Vernon Davis. There's been ten years of laissez faire coaching over there. They got Mariucci who wants everybody to like him and then Dennis Erickson who I still think was a better coach than he was able to show with the 49ers. There were a lot of things beyond his control. And then this last guy he was worried about his tie being knotted right. Look, Singletary is a guy who played for Buddy Ryan and Mike Ditka. He's not going to be subtle. But he was a great player. Forty-Niner people would understand if we said Ronnie Lott is in charge. Ronnie took no crap from anybody and Singletary's not going to take it, either. He expects a certain standard. At the 49ers they're probably thinking, standard what standard?

Lowell: How will Singletary do as coach?

Ira: If we're talking won/lost I don't know. I don't think they'll win a lot of games and I don't' even know if strategically in a football sense he's the coach you'd want. He's the attitude they need. Nobody realized it but there was a toughness with Walsh and Seifert that's been lost. There's no accountability now. What do the 49ers stand for? I don't know if Singletary can win. They've got to go to Arizona, Dallas, Buffalo, Miami and St. Louis. What are we talking --  4-12, 5-11?  They're not going to be very good. But you have to start somewhere. They don't have a quarterback, no number one receiver, no number one pass rusher. Those are the things you start with in the NFL. You can't win without them. Quarterback and pass rusher those are your building blocks and they don't have them.

Lowell: Will Singletary survive to next season?

Ira: I have no idea. You're reading minds there.  The more interesting one is Scot McCloughan. Remember John York fired the last general manager (Terry Donahue) three months after extending his contract.

Lowell: What are your feelings about McCloughan?

Ira: I like Frank Gore and Patrick Willis, but tell me what else he's done. Look at the free agents he brought in. The day they signed Jonas Jennings I talked to one of the coaches in Buffalo, where they got Jennings from, and he told me Jonas Jennings will never play 16 games in a season. He's never come close. They gave ton of money to Nate Clements. What has he done? He's a really good corner but that's not where you win on defense. You win on pass rush. And they gave all that money to Justin Smith. He was a mediocre defensive end on a bad defense. Look at Alex Smith.

Lowell: Will Martz be back next year?

Ira: I think I've been pretty clear about Mike Martz. I don't like his style. If he has great talent, which he did at one point with the Rams, his up-tempo style is terrific. I remember going to practice at training camp with the Rams in August 2000. The ball never hit the ground. The pace of the practice was really impressive. Everything was boom boom boom. But he's got to have that talent. As head coach he was disaster as a game manager. As offensive coordinator he has great concepts if has two great wide receivers which he had, a great left tackle which he had, a great running back which he had, and he developed a quarterback. That was a very good team. They should have won the Super Bowl but didn't because of his coaching in part. He's not a great coach with mediocre talent. He's trying to get J.T. O'Sullivan to make himself a head coach again. Shaun Hill is a much better quarterback for the West Coast Offense and the West Coast Offense is a much better offense for what they have. They don't have a wide receiver who can stretch the field. They don't have an offensive line that can hold pass rushers out forever and they don't have a quarterback who's a great decision maker with great arm.

Lowell: Do they have the makings of a good team?

Ira: No. Could Joe Staley develop into a ten-year left tackle? Maybe. But you can't hide the quarterback in the NFL. You don't have to have great a quarterback. Tennessee is undefeated with Kerry Collins. But you can't win in the NFL without a pass rush. San Francisco is 31^st in points allowed. The only team that's allowed more points per game is Detroit. The 49ers are 21^st in sacks on defense. The offense is last in sacks surrendered - they lead league in turnovers with 20; the next sloppiest team has 16.

Lowell: What troubles you the most about the 49ers?

Ira: I'll go back to 2005 when I sat down with John York and questioned his need for football people in the front office, and he told me how great his people were. This is tenth year of post Steve Young Era and I remember thinking in 1997 and 1998 when Steve got healthy again he was the guy holding that team together. Once he was gone we saw what happened. The only bit of sunshine the last ten years was a couple of years when Bill Walsh rebuilt the roster. They do not have any football people in front office. As bad as the Raiders are, the 49ers are not much better. There's nobody there. If I hear one more word about this Paraag (Marathe) guy watching instant replay and helping with clock management I'm going to vomit. Stop. Get me football expertise in the front office. Get me people who know the league. I think there's got to be something to the Condoleezza Rice thing because it's so much like them and so stupid -- "This is a big name." Look around at the teams that are any good and make improvements and look at the structure of their front offices. Look at Miami with Parcells and look at Dallas without Parcells. The game is football. Bring me football people.

To read Ira's columns on Comcast.net, Google Ira Miller's Five Burning Questions and it will take you right there.