49ers pick Mike Nolan to be Head Coach

[G_M]

[font=verdana,geneva,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Niners pick Nolan to be new coach



By GREG BEACHAM, AP Sports Writer
Last Updated 10:25 am PST Monday, January 17, 2005


SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) - Baltimore defensive coordinator Mike Nolan accepted the San Francisco 49ers' head coaching position Monday and began to negotiate a contract to take over the team that had the NFL's worst record last season.

Nolan, a longtime coordinator for four teams who has never been a head coach, will replace Dennis Erickson, fired earlier in the month after going 9-23 in two seasons out of the playoffs. San Francisco went 2-14 this season.

After wowing 49ers owner John York in an interview Thursday, Nolan accepted the offer Monday and flew to York's home in Ohio to work out a contract.

"(York) had a good strong list of candidates, and they felt that Mike was the perfect candidate to lead us into the future," 49ers spokesman Kirk Reynolds said.

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[VF21]

Hmmm. I wonder what he did to "wow" John York? Offer to work for sourdough bread and cracked crab?

I don't know enough about this guy to make an educated comment, so I guess I'll have to wait and see.

Mike was the perfect candidate to lead us into the future? Well, I'll bet he was among the cheapest.

/cynicism

 

[slugking50]

Just like an Orginazation down the tubes. Hire a Head Coach before you hire a GM.....

 

[RAIDER925]

UH OH for the niners

 

[Rowdyone]

Radio quote last night by York, "We've hired a coach with a vision for the future and we expect him to win". Someone needs to advise Dr. York that he needs quality players to win. And then the next question is who will be GM and what role will he play? They also need to decide if they're going to draft a top notch quarterback or trade down for multiple picks.

 

[living legend]

I agree with SlugKing .. I'm still scratching my head why the Niners didn't pick up a GM before a Head Coach who are going to share the same philosophy in personnel decisions. It doesn't make much sense ,but then again its York. Having said that, Nolan is a good pickup for the Niners; although I would have preferred Crennel. It looks like the Niners are trying to makeup for their mistake of not promoting Mora before he bounced for ATL.

Hopefully whoever steps in as GM does the right thing and doesn't draft Rodgers or Smith with the top pick and trades down. Unfortunately, with Lienart out there will be very few teams wanting that top pick. The one time the niners get the top pick there is no clear cut number 1... It'll be interesting..

 

[VF21]

And today there's an article saying the coach won't answer to the GM but will only be responsible to John York. Oh, this just keeps getting better and better...

"We've hired a coach with a vision for the future and we expect him to win".

Yeah? And I "expected" season tickets to the Kings for Christmas. I'm actually thinking my expectations might have had more possibility of coming to fruition than York's.

 

[Andriod_KiNg]

Im not here to bash or anything , but only way the 49ers will be back to thier winning ways is by getting a new owner.... York is one of the cheapest iv seen ... he doesnt even seem to be into the sport ....

 

[Rowdyone]

York gained control of the team by default. His wife, Denise, is Eddie D's sister and when he had his trouble with the league for his betting activities he had to divest himself so Eddie's people packed up and went to Cleveland along with Dwight Clark where they've taken one step forward and two steps back. So, in no way is York a football man. Just a big kid with a new toy.

 

[funkykingston]

Just like an Orginazation down the tubes. Hire a Head Coach before you hire a GM.....

I don't think the 49ers are hiring a GM at all. I think the plan is to hire a "director or player personnel" who will handle some of the day-to-day duties while giving a large amount of the GM duties to Nolan and his staff. At least that's the way I understand things.

I'm willing to give York another chance/season before completely giving up on the future of my beloved 49ers. If York was really the absolute cheapskate he's been made out to be, would he really have fired Erickson and Donahue and eaten the $10 million in salary? Not that I think York will ever be a "win at all costs" owner like Eddie D, but let's not forget that even DeBartolo had a rough go in the beginning. He fired what, three coaches, in his first couple years? And the OJ Simpson trade was one of the worst moves in NFL history.

I think expecting York to become Eddie D, or Mike Nolan to become Bill Walsh is unrealistic. But I think there's hope that both of them can exceed the (albeit low) expectations of this team's future. I certainly hope so. Because as a long time Kings fan, I don't want to go back to rooting for a perennial doormat.

Hiring Mike Singletary gives me a little more hope that maybe York has seen the light and we won't have the San Francisco Clippers. The draft and free agency are the next signposts.

 

[VF21]

You are much more optimistic than I, funky. I love the 49ers and have for as long as I can remember - and that's a long time.

I hope I'm wrong and I will look forward to being pleasantly surprised, but I'm not holding my breath.

I think what the 49ers do in the draft will go a long way towards showing just how serious York is about turning this team back in the right direction.