Okay, so Mike Nolan is officially remaining head coach of the San Francisco 49ers after a disappointing 5-11 season. Nolan's overall record as coach of the Niners is pretty pathetic, but this season was especially troubling because of the progress he appeared to have made last year, when we went 7-9. Expectations were definitely to get to the playoffs this year, and we took a huge step backwards instead.
So I suppose you'd expect a typical Niners fan like me to be upset. But that's not really the case. I'm more ambivalent than anything else. I don't even think Nolan is that great of a coach. He completely mishandled the Alex Smith inury with the media, selling out his quarterback to the fans and his own team, by saying his shoulder was fine when Smith said it wasn't and was clearly playing in pain. Instead of being praised for trying to be a warrior, Smith was derided as somewhat of a wimp, and the fact is that because he tried to play through it, it probably cost him the rest of the season. So that's all on Nolan.
But beyond that, Nolan seems okay with me. Look, it's long been my opinion that when a team does poorly, too often is it just a knee-jerk reaction to fire the coach. Yes, the buck stops with him, but how can Nolan be praised for being a great coach after last season, and critisized for being a poor one now? You see this all the time. A coach does well with one team, is hired by another, then fired when that team does poorly. But it's still the same guy. There must be other factors involved.
Like injuries. Very early on, the Niners lost one of their star defenders, Manny Lawson, for the season. We all know what a mess the quarterback position was after Smith got hurt. The O-line was banged up, leaving little room for Frank Gore to run. Gore himself, along with Vernon Davis, missed some playing time. There's only so much you can do without your players on the field.
The other huge problem was the play calling. Jim Hostler, the offensive coordinator, was a disgrace. It's like he had a Tecmo Bowl instruction guide he was calling plays from. He refused to get Vernon Davis, the Niners' #1 pick a year ago, the ball the entire first half of the season. He has summarily been fired, and I expect the Niners to bring in someone more competent, which will elevate the offense next season. It certainly can't get any worse.
So for the most part, if Nolan keeps doing basically what he's been doing, the Niners should get better. After all, he did get the league to allow him to wear that classy suit on the sidelines. He should be given another shot based on that alone.
