Mike Singletary: If He's Fired, Who Would Take His Place in San Francisco?

Mike Singletary gets yet another chance tonight in San Diego.

He gets another chance to prove that he deserves his job with the San Francisco 49ers. He gets another chance to keep his team in the playoff hunt in that beyond-horrible division called the NFC West.

This was supposed to be the year that the 49ers could fall flat on their collective faces, go 8-8 at the worst and still win that woeful division and the playoff berth that goes with it.

The NFC West is laughable, and perhaps it would have to get better to be considered laughable.

When the 5-8 Niners face the 7-6 Chargers, it's certainly not going out on a thin limb to predict that the Chargers will come out on top in this epic battle. Even at 5-9, Samurai Mike and his guys would still not be out of it. You think Seattle will beat Atlanta? You think St. Louis will beat Kansas City?

By Monday, you could be looking at a 5-9 San Francisco lot that is only a game behind the 6-8 Seahawks and the 6-8 Rams. What is that strange smell?

This all leads us back to Samurai Mike, who was chosen because he was perceived as a leader and motivator who was hired to, yes, lead and motivate his team, a team deemed talented enough to easily prevail in the division this year.

To say this has been a disaster of a football season in San Francisco would be to call a massive earthquake a minor incident.

If indeed Singletary were a Samurai, the end would be predictable. The Samurai were the military nobility in ancient Japan. When the Samurai were defeated or humiliated, they were expected to prepare themselves for Hara-Kiri, the ancient form of ritual suicide that defeated warriors would use to restore their honor in death.

Less drastic would be Singletary simply being relieved of his command in San Francisco, but you wonder if this ownership is strong enough to pull the plug.

If it were to happen, who would be next in line for the throne?

Here are some possibilities:

Jim Harbaugh: The Stanford coach would be the hot hire. It would certainly be more attention-grabbing than recycling one of the usual suspects.

Dante Scarnecchia: Who? You seldom hear the names behind Bill Belichick's success in New England. He's the assistant head coach and handles the offensive line.

Raheem Morris: His contract hasn't been extended yet in Tampa, and he's done incredible things this season with more rookies in his starting lineup than any team in the league.

Rich Bisaccia: The Tampa Bay special teams coach and assistant head coach will have a head coaching job in this league one day soon.

Monte Kiffin: How's that for a golden oldie? Maybe he's tired of working for his kid at USC.

Jim Fassel: He's on the Denver Broncos' radar. He's due for another shot.

Jon Gruden: Talk about the usual suspect. His name comes up everywhere, and even his kid, Deuce Gruden, threw out the possibility of his old man coaching the 49ers, albeit in 2012.

That's enough to stoke the fire for now. What the 49ers organization could really use is someone like Bill Parcells calling the shots. That would clean this mess up in a hurry. Problem is, the Tuna simply isn't a Left Coast kinda guy.

So check out the Niners tonight and see if they're still alive or heading into the oblivion that only the NFC West can provide.

It is laughable that Singletary and company are still breathing in this playoff race.