49ers Fire Head Coach Mike Nolan

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According to a Fox Sports report today, the San Francisco 49ers have fired head coach Mike Nolan. With a bye week looming after a game against the Seattle Seahawks this coming weekend, it was initially reported the firing would happen after that game. But apparently, the powers-that-be want to see what defensive coordinator Mike Singletary can do with this 2-5 team before the bye week and before the offseason hits.

As much as I respect and feel bad for coach Nolan, this was probably the smartest decision the Niners could have made if they were even thinking about making a coaching change (and obviously they were). By giving coach Singletary a sort of trial run (and by no means is the team “mailing it in” this season), they will be able to offer him a job before a host of other teams tries to hire him off the open market this coming offseason. Coach Singletary will undoubtedly be one of the most sought after men to take over a head coaching spot at the end of this season.

In coach Nolan’s defense, he inherited a bankrupt team without even a glimpse of the talent from the team’s glory years. He was in his fourth season with the Niners and had an 18-37 won-loss record. Dismal, yes. But you certainly can’t throw all the blame on the head coach in this situation.

Source: Fox Sports, Photo: Newscom