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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

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49ers Fire Head Coach Mike Nolan

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I had high hopes for San Francisco 49ers rookie receiver Josh Morgan. He caught nine passes for 182 yards and a touchdown in the 49ers’ first two exhibition games. He looked like the second coming of T.O. to the Bay area. Then he apparently caught a staph infection from the infield dirt at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum because he sort of disappeared for a while. Josh started missing practice time and didn’t play in the Niners’ final preseason game. And the only information head coach Mike Nolan revealed was that Josh had an “undisclosed illness.” Josh has appeared in all three regular season games, but he’s clearly been limited and troubled by this illness.

Matt Maiocco from PressDemocrat.com (who has been covering the 49ers for 14 years) spoke with Josh a couple days ago and confirmed that he did have a staph infection. And now, reports have surfaced that teammate Keith Lewis has a staph infection. This matter has been kept private and I can certainly respect that, but it seems the league has a very serious matter on their hands if one of their fields is causing this type of illness. If this is a serious strain of staph — like MRSA — it’s very aggressive and potentially deadly. Poor Josh dropped 15 pounds battling with it, but it seems he is well on the road to recovery. So, I still have high hopes for not only his return to 100% health, but also to have a great rest of this 2008 season.

I sent an email to my media relations contact with the 49ers and have yet to hear anything back. I also asked 49ers.com blogger Chrissy Mauck about it. She responded almost immediately but told me the media relations staff would be the appropriate people to handle the matter. So, there’s still no “official” word from the team on exactly what is happening with these staph infections.

Source: PressDemocrat.com, Photo: Newscom

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Josh Morgan Had Staph Infection

Things have gone from bad to worse for San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith. Not only did he not win the starting QB job he was expected to win this preseason. But he just re-injured his surgically repaired right shoulder this week and is doubtful for tomorrow’s game against the Arizona Cardinals. That means Shaun Hill will be the back-up to starter J.T. O’Sullivan and Michael Robinson would be the emergency quarterback. It was a non-contact injury but there are no other details at this time. Head coach Mike Nolan said:

“Yesterday Alex Smith sustained a non-contact injury to his surgically repaired right shoulder. He will be consulting with his surgeon in Birmingham for treatment recommendations. At this time there are no specifics to the injury or a timetable.”

This re-injury has some people believing Alex may have thrown his last pass for the Niners. I’m not sure I would go to that extreme just yet, but his history with this shoulder isn’t good. If you’ll recall, Alex suffered a Grade 3 shoulder separation in Week 4 last season. He returned to the starting lineup four weeks later but was ineffective and placed on IR following a bad loss to the Seahawks. Dr. James Andrews repaired the shoulder in December and Alex is consulting with him again about the current injury.

Source: SacBee.com

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Alex Smith Injures Shoulder Again

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J.T. O’Sullivan was named the starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers today. After watching J.T. in three preseason games, especially his impressive 7-of-8 for 126 yards and a touchdown performance in a 37-30 win over the Bears last night, I have to agree. Head coach Mike Nolan said:

“J.T. O’Sullvan will be our starter going into the season. He has good command of our offense. He’s played well in all three preseason games. And now it’s time to get ready for the season.”

After starting training camp third on the depth chart behind Alex Smith and Shaun Hill, it’s been J.T.’s understanding and execution of offensive coordinator Mike Martz’s master plan that has vaulted him into this starting position. After all, he’s the only QB in camp with experience in a complex Mike Martz system (J.T. played for him in Detroit last year).

I must admit I expected more from Alex and Shaun this preseason. I wasn’t even sure J.T. would make the team. Look at the facts. He entered camp with 26 career regular season passes thrown and they were all last season in Detroit. He’s played the backup role for six different teams in eight years. And he made the trek to NFL Europa (where he played extremely well and was named the 2007 NFLE MVP). But maybe this is his perfect opportunity from which a great story is forthcoming.

Check out my interview with J.T. from his NFL Europa days.

Source: PressDemocrat.com

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J.T. O’Sullivan Named Starter for 49ers

The NFL Scouting Combine signage around Indianapolis states: “The 2008 NFL Season Begins Now.” Thus, just three weeks removed from my trip to Arizona for Super Bowl XLII, here I am in Indy for a fresh start to a new football season.

There used to be an offseason in the NFL, but that’s a thing of the past. Almost immediately after the Super Bowl you’ve got the Combine, the Draft, mini camps and OTAs. It never ends. This is my 4th straight year working the Combine and each season has been bigger in terms of media coverage. This year there are a reported 500 members of the media credentialed, including 14 reporters from ESPN. There’s even a mini “Radio Row” outside the Media Work Room. Crazy. But it clearly shows how popular the NFL has become.

The Combine and Indianapolis have some sentimental value to me. Back in 2005, this is where I wrote my very first blog entry and recorded my first-ever podcast. So returning here each year is always kind of special. I love this city and I love this event.

For those of you who aren’t aware, the NFL Scouting Combine is the annual job fair for prospective new NFL players. For six straight days from the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, players are put through a series of drills, tests and interviews with more than 600 NFL personnel including head coaches, general managers and scouts. These players and NFL personnel also take time to meet with the media in the form of “press conferences.” It’s actually not unlike Media Day at the Super Bowl, minus the freaks.

Day One is typically a warm-up day, but it’s not without it’s fair share of stories. In the Media Work Room were head coaches Lovie Smith (Bears), Dick Jauron (Bills), Eric Mangini (Jets) and Mike Nolan (49ers); plus Kevin Colbert (Steelers director of football ops) and Scot McCloughan (49ers GM). Michigan OT Jake Long, widely considered one of the best at his position and a potential Top 10 pick, also answered questions. Obviously he’s been prepped well as he said all the right things. In his four years at Michigan, he committed only two penalties (that were called) and gave up only two sacks. Pleased that he stayed at Michigan for his senior season (rather than entering the NFL Draft a year early), Jake said:

“Last year I didn’t feel I was good enough to come out, I wanted to improve on things and those things I improved on. I feel I’m a smarter and better player than I was last year. I’m smarter in identifying the defenses. I worked on the little things in my game and I’ve gotten a lot better.”

The Media Work Room will be especially busy the next two days. Ten head coaches and an assortment of team VIPs will be here tomorrow; plus more players than the place can handle. For now, I really need some sleep.

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NFL Scouting Combine 2008: Day One