Playbook Reversal: Jimmy Raye and Mike Martz = Flintstones and Jetsons

The San Francisco 49ers switch from apples to oranges by firing Mike Martz and hiring Jimmy Raye as their newest offensive coordinator. Raye is the gritty, run through you not around you coordinator Singletary wanted.

There are two things in life that are certain: Mama said knock you out, and the 49ers playbook will do a complete 180 degree turn.

Mike Martz is Elroy Jetson. He's extremely intelligent and an expert at what he does. Expect Elroy to fly around in that futuristic space car and grace his way into the endzone.

Jimmy Raye is Fred Flintstone. Fred is hopping in his car, barefoot, and pounding his way to work. His feet will be throbbing from all of that "driving," but at the end of the day the job will be done and it will be done well.

In seven seasons, the 49ers have had seven offensive coordinators. To say that they've been looking for an identity would be a humorous understatement. They've had all different types of coordinators. The good ones left for head coaching jobs, (McCarthy, Turner) while the not so good ones were, well, not so good (Knapp, Tollner).

Raye's history suggests that he's prime to bring Gore back to his 2006 form (1,695 rushing yards, 8 TDs).

Utilizing the 49ers strongest weapon in Gore seems to be like a no brainer, and Singletary feels Raye is one who can bring the best out of the fifth year Miami alum.

Last year Jimmy Raye helped the New York Jets become ninth in the league in rushing while Mike Martz boosted the 49ers up to 13th in the league in passing. While Martz did give the 49ers offense the jolt they lost when Turner bolted to San Diego, it didn't fit what Singletary envisioned.

According to his first press conference, Singletary wants to go out and hit people in the mouth. As non-football related as that sounds, that's the philosophy No. 50 is bringing to this organization. Jimmy Raye should know a thing or two about getting people primed to hit someone in the mouth.

Just ask Eric Dickerson.

With Mike Martz, eehh, not so much. Everyone knows about Mike Martz's system. He throws the ball. He throws it from first down to fourth down. He throws the ball in the weight room, and he throws it in meetings.

He's the orchestrator of The Greatest Show on Turf. But Singletary doesn't want a great show, he wants a victory. He wants to build a team based on defense and solid, clock controlling running.

Jimmy Raye brings that to the offensive side of the ball. He's not known for taking big risks with the football, and the 49er personnel isin't built for that. Raye wants to control the game, not dominate it.

One of the biggest signings this past off season was the re-acquisition of fullback Moran Norris. Norris lead the way for Gore during his 2006 Pro Bowl season. They also signed Marvel Smith, a Pro Bowl yet injury prone tackle with a fresh new piece of jewelry.

Following an overall quiet free agency splash, the 49ers drafted Alabama running back Glen Coffee, who runs extremely violent, and Bear Pascoe, a productive pass catcher and efficient blocking tight end.

The picks wouldn't have been very pleasing to Martz. Elroy would have loved the Michael Crabtree selection, it's just that he would have wanted the 49ers to trade their second round pick to jump up and pick Jeremy Maclin also instead of trading back to get Coffee.

49ers fans can actually anticipate a more balanced offensive attack from coordinator Fred as opposed to running 97 percent of the time as the reputation would indicate. However, they can rest assured knowing that their franchise back will get a healthy helping of carries. Whatever the case may be, they would love to see a guy stick around for more than one season.

In hindsight, Raye seems likely to man the offensive controls for at least a couple years. He's at the tail-end of his career, and is not quite ready to retire but is unlikely to accept a head coaching position at this point.

With Elroy it's no telling. We wouldn't be surprised to see Martz start up an airplane company.