San Francisco 49ers 2009 Offseason Review

When Coach Mike Nolan was hired in 2005, it was supposed to signal an end to the Donahue era and its losing ways. The hiring of Nolan also marked the second time in three years that the 49ers were tasked with rebuilding. The Nolan era was dotted with many turbulent highs and lows.

Nolan used the No. 1 overall pick in 2005 on Utah QB Alex Smith. From Nolan’s perspective, Smith was to be the franchise QB of which to build the team around. Smith’s ride through his first four years in the NFL has been bumpy as well.

Saddled with four offensive coordinators in four years mixed in with some injuries, Smith never developed into the franchise QB that the team and its fans projected him to be. But the 2005 draft did bring some good fortune.

Frank Gore was plucked in the third round of what may be considered the best steal of the 2005 draft.

Throughout the years, Nolan mixed his erratic drafts with his erratic free agent signings. Some free agent signings were more exciting than others.

In 2005, Nolan threw a hefty contract at LT Jonas Jennings to protect Smith’s blind side. Jennings proved to be ineffective in that role as injuries kept him off the field for much of the past four years.

2006 brought CB Walt Harristo the team. Harris is aging, but continues to play at a high level as proven by the only Pro Bowl appearance in his career (2006). In the case of the above, Jennings was the signing that brought more excitement over Harris, but Harris proved to be more productive over the past three years.

So what was the result of Nolan’s efforts the past 3 1/2 years? 

2005 – 4-12; first year of rebuilding.

2006 – 7-9; progress with Norv Turner as offensive coordinator.

2007 – 5-11; regressed with the loss of Turner.

2008 – 2-5; fired after week 7.

We now head into the Scot McCloughan/Mike Singletary era. So one might ask “Wasn’t McCloughan the GM for Nolan as well?”

The answer is “yes” and “no”. McCloughan was acting GM, but he never had the authority of a traditional GM. Nolan had final say on all personnel matters. Did McCloughan have input? Sure.

But McCloughan had to fight really hard to convince Nolan that a certain player should be had. The most popular example is LB Patrick Willis. McCloughan really had to sell Willis to Nolan.

Had it not been for the persistence of McCloughan, Willis may not have been a 49er today. But give Nolan some credit. The current regime of McCloughan and Singletary were brought together by Nolan.

The combo of McCloughan and Singletary ushers in a new era. But this one does not require a roster overhaul from top to bottom.

The biggest news for the 49ers this offseason was signing new Head Coach Mike Singletary to a four-year extension. Let’s back up for a minute.

Almost halfway through the 2008 season, Nolan was fired and Singletary assumed status of Interim Head Coach. After the season, Jed York (son of John and Denise), was promoted to President, therefore overseeing entire football operations.

There are good things happening here.

First off, we must be careful not to lump young Jed into the same category as his father. John spent many years growing up while enjoying the presence of his uncle, Eddie DeBartolo. Jed shares a passion for football in the same way that DeBartolo does, unlike father John.

Some question that Singletary is responsible for the 49ers turnaround. Well, let’s view it this way: the 49ers started 2-5 under Nolan and finished 5-4 under Singletary.

Singletary’s first loss should be credited to a Nolan-esque game plan, which remained in place when Nolan was fired mid-week. So the personnel remains unchanged and Singletary prepares the game plans for the last 8 games where his record is really 5-3 in those games.

Nolan’s defense ranked No. 23. It was an improvement of 9 spots over the course of 3 1/2 years. Singletary raised it 10 spots to No. 13 in only nine games. Singletary brought discipline back to the team. I would strongly suggest that “yes”, coaching had a lot to do with the turnaround.

This offseason is the first offseason that GM Scot McCloughan gets to place his personal stamp on the team. There is no Nolan to look over his shoulder.

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