Oct. 25, 2010
RATTO ARCHIVE
49ERS PAGE49ERS VIDEO
Ray Ratto
CSNBayArea.com
ComradeMaioccos reportage on the Yorkies newfound discontent with MikeSingletary is both realistic, believable and logical in so many ways.He was supposed to be their human shield, and now he is merely one moredirectional arrow toward the reason the franchise is, well, the way itis.
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And now with the 49ers in England (John Y. is head of the leaguesinternational committee, so this week must be going over like a hotlead latte), the chance of even more reasons to de-head the coacharises.
But if they really do think Singletary is not the coach for this team,the question about timing naturally arises. Mike Nolan got taken out aweek before the bye two years ago because the family had had enough,and because leaks about Nolans security were busting out everywhere.
And now . . . hey, leaks!
It seemed unthinkable that they would can Singletary before the seasonwas over, but if the ubiquitous people close to the situation arestarting to whisper, that means the situation is way worse than that.
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This season is lost, and anyone who clings to the idiotic hope that thedivision is so bad that even this start can be overcome is flat crazy.This team is done, dead, doomed, and there will be no argument allowedin their defense. No coaching change will affect that in any way.
Thus, the only real reasons to fire Singletary are if he is making itno fun to own the team again (which is why Nolan got it), or if thereis some bright young assistant just itching for a chance (which theredoesnt seem to be). The first reason is weak. The second makes somesense.
But in a clever organization, one with deep institutional knowledge andthe people who know every human being in the league backward andforward and where all the brains are kept, there is a third. Theressomeone out there worth getting, and the process is already beingcreated to get him.
And even he will fail unless he has a strong, independent and smartgeneral manager running the football side. That has always been theYorks greatest failing, both father and sonunderestimating the needfor someone to be in charge of the football department withoutinterference from the non-football department. Someone to hire thecoaches and scouts, do the contract math and set the tone by which theorganization is run.
That means a transfer of power, and thats where the whole process of moving forward ceases.
When that changes, when the Yorks can stop being tired of the coachestheyve hired and move on to being tired of operating a franchise withthese kinds of results year in and year out, then we can talk about afranchise turning the corner. But firing Mike Singletary, whenever thathappens, will make them feel good. You decide whats more important.