San Francisco 49ers Fired Mike Singletary - Advice For Jed York

YouTube, Metacafe, DailyMotion, Blip.tv, StupidVideos and Viddler

When it was announced that the San Francisco 49ers fired Head Coach Mike Singletary, my mother made a quizzical observation: "I wondered about that, because it seems like he's always arguing with somebody." That was telling.

My Mom doesn't know or pretend to know football, but she does know people, and Singletary's explosive exchange with Troy Smith didn't sit well with her. Now, for good measure, she didn't agree with Troy Smith "trying to show him up" as she put it, either.

But Singletary, as the head person, is expected to hold a more dignified position than he presented on the sidelines. "The 49ers need someone like Bill Walsh," she said.

They do.

That's what brings me to this portion of my blog post: the idea that the 49ers, and more to the point, Team President Jed York (in photo), need in a general manager, a person who embodies the style of the late, legendary head coach of the San Francisco 49ers.   And to find that person, York must first read one book cover-to-cover: Building A Champion.

That's the book on making a winning football franchise.  A book written by Coach Walsh, with Brian Billick, who was a Niners assistant under Walsh, then went on to earn a Super Bowl ring as Baltimore Ravens Head Coach, and is now an NFL Network Analyst.

In it, Walsh lays out a blueprint the 49ers once followed, and have gotten away from.  Just look at the coaches the Yorks have hired since the end of the Walsh / Eddie Debartolo era and the time when Denise Debartolo York took control in 2000:  John York, Ted's father, replaced Steve Mariucci with his first hire, Dennis Erickson in 2002.  In 2003, Erickson posted a 7 and 9 record.

Eventually, Erickson gave way to Mike Nolan, who's best year was 7 and 9 in 2006.  Nolan stepped down for Singletary mid-year 2008.  In total, Erickson, Nolan, and Singletary have a 45 win - 82 loss record, or roughly a 6-win, 10-loss average.

In total, the York's have produced a 6 and 10 organization.

By contrast, Bill Walsh, George Seifert, and Steve Mariucci posted a combined .656 record, and that includes Coach Mariucci's worst years with the Niners: 4 and 12 in 1999, and 6 and 10 in 2000.  Then Steve came out of his slump with 12 and 4 and 10 and 6 records.

And in its entirety, the 49ers under Walsh's approach and coaches set lofty standards for sports organizations to follow.  What Niners like legendary defensive back Ronnie Lott called "The 49ers Standard."

That's lost on this organization, and solely because it seems the Yorks as a whole are afraid to use the platform Coach Walsh left for them.   But it's there.  In books and on video tape.  It's there.

All Jed York has to do is study it until his eyes drop off.    He should do that before he even thinks about hiring a GM.