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Could this be it for Mike Nolan?

When Mike Nolan was hired a few years, I was excited for the 49ers. After some seasons that should best be forgotten, a defensive-minded coach would be coming to San Francisco. The 49ers, who embraced an offensive attack since Bill Walsh arrived in 1979, needed to stop other teams from unleashing their offense.

In his third season, Nolan seemed to have done exactly that. The offense was loaded with talent to succeed. The defense was overhauled with great talent to stop the run and prevent the pass. This season was going to be the magical return to postseason glory. Then right when it seemed right, it all went wrong.

I admire Nolan as coach. He has an intensity that demanded the best from his players. The players seemed excited for the season, they wanted to play for coach. The son of former 49ers great Dick Nolan, it seemed like the perfect fit for the team.

I just don’t think being a head coach is the thing for Nolan. After the first two games where the Niners barely won, it was still very difficult for me to watch the team. The offense was very conservative and it didn’t seem that it would last throughout the season. It hasn’t.

The defense did great, but with the way the offense was going, there was no rest for the defense during games.

Nolan stood behind Jim Hostler throughout the whole ordeal. Even when Hostler demanded to stay on the sidelines rather than be in the booth during games, Nolan caved in. He didn’t demand respect from Hostler. Instead, Hostler ran over Nolan.

Week after week, we would continue to hear “I don’t know what’s wrong with the offense” from Nolan. A lot of it has been tied back to Norv Turner. Turner, who was in the process of grooming a dynamic offense, left to coach the Chargers, and there was a lot of patchworl that Hostler had to take care of.

Granted, it’s not an easy job to pick up something that works and put your own philosophy in. But Nolan had to know better than give Hostler that much responsibility.

The past few games have been the worst example of Nolan at his attempt to be a coach.

In Atlanta, the 49ers established a great run game early. Then Nolan decided to go away from it. Instead, the 49ers ended going to their pass game (which has been terrible) and settle for field goals. With a struggling offense, the 49ers opted for a field goal instead of a more aggressive approach to go for a tying touchdown. The defense was tired, yet the Nolan forced them to stop the Falcons.

Add game six to that losing streak. Strike one on Nolan.

Last week, on Monday Night Football, the 49ers were embarassed. Nolan allowed Alex Smith to return early, where we clearly knew that he was not at 100 percent. We all know that the Alex Smith experiment has already failed. A shutout to the Seahawks. I can take some solace that the 49ers went for it on fourth down. Fourth and short and the Niners take it right into the middle with a run. A play action, bootleg, shotgun… something was better than that choice. But Nolan stayed conservative in that sense.

Add game seven to that losing streak. Strike two on Nolan.

Yesterday, it was horrendous. No third down conversions until the third quarter? The defense played an amazing game, shutting down a healthy Rams team to only 13 points? With the 49ers getting close to the red zone, down 13-6, Nolan goes for a field goal.

A field goal.

The team is struggling and needs a boost of confidence. The team needs a touchdown, not a field goal. The team needs to want to win. A field goal doesn’t deliver that message.

Nolan opts to hope the defense to stop the Rams. Great idea, but that’s not what the Niners needed. Even if the team got stopped, at least that would plant the Rams deep. A better chance for the Niners to try again with more time left on the clock. Do you want to win or do you just want to crawl to the finish line Nolan?

Add game eight to that losing streak. Strike three on Nolan. You’re out.

I may seem harsh on Nolan, but look at what has happened throughout this whole season. Maybe Nolan isn’t the right man to lead the Niners. He’s a good defensive mind, but maybe being a head coach isn’t the thing for him. Nolan will be the scapegoat for this season and it’s just the way it works in the NFL.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 19th, 2007 at 3:48 pm and is filed under 49ers, Mike Nolan, General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.