After the last three seasons I’ve headed south to Mobile, Alabama for the Senior Bowl since our coaching staff has volunteered to coach the all-star game.  The streak has come to an end however as the Senior Bowl announced that the Bengals and the Jaguars are coaching this year’s game.

 
Considering the horrible traveling luck I had getting down to Mobile, I am not sorry that I won’t be making a return trip, but I can admit that coaching the game was beneficial to the 49ers.

It brought us Manny Lawson, Michael Robinson, Patrick Willis, and Joe Staley - to name a few, and also allowed the 49ers a better look at some players NOT to draft. If a player wasn’t coachable during the week in Mobile, they became unlikely to land in San Francisco with the 49ers. If a player had any red flags when it came to character, the 49ers also had ample opportunities to be around those guys and dig a little deeper.  

This year, our scouts and coaches will have to work that much harder to track down the players for background interviews. 

 
Let the fun begin!

Ted Robinson will become the fifth play-by-play voice in the 63-year history of the organization. Robinson joins a prestigious group of announcers that have held the play by position including Bob Fouts (1946-62), Lon Simmons (1963-1980, 1987-88), Don Klein (1981-86) and Joe Starkey (1989-2008).

Robinson has ties to the organization, serving as the third member of the 49ers radio broadcast team in 1983 with Don Klein and Don Heinrich. He also anchored pre/post-game coverage on 49ers radio network from 1983-86 and anchored the 49ers locker room coverage after 1985 Super Bowl victory.

Robinson has strong local ties to Bay Area fans as he worked as a radio and television announcer for the San Francisco Giants for nine seasons, as the television announcer for the Oakland Athletics for three seasons, as television announcer for the Golden State Warriors and also as radio announcer for Stanford Cardinal football.

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I finally got word back that I hadn’t missed anyone on the list I put together of which guys on our roster are set to be free agents come Feb. 27th, so I just posted it.  CLICK HERE TO GET TO COMPLETE LIST!

Of the guys who have been around, only Billy Bajema and Ron Fields are scheduled UFA’s, a credit to GM Scot McCloughan and his team for identifying players early and locking them up before it’s too late (think Julian Peterson and Andre Carter).

There are several players however who signed one year deals, including DeShaun Foster, Bryant Johnson and Takeo Spikes.  49ers.com spoke to all three this week and they all seem very much as if they want to return, and we’ll have stories with each one over the next few weeks.

Other question marks who I didn’t include on this list since they aren’t free agents are WR Isaac Bruce, QB Alex Smith and T Jonas Jennings.

Mike Singletary was asked in his closing press conference whether or not any of the players mentioned retiring. He answered in the negative. My assumption is that Isaac Bruce will return to San Francisco, but he never definitively said so.  Isaac said he’d quit playing when he wasn’t having fun, or the good lord told him it was time to do something else.

Smith would have to take a pay cut to stay, one the former first round quarterback seems inclined to take.

This year marked the third season in four years since joining the 49ers that Jennings had his season curtailed by an injury, prompting questions about Jennings’ future with the team when he went on I/R in November.

“Jennings has two years left on his contract, but durability has been a question,” said GM Scot McCloughan. “As of right now, he’s a 49ers. It’s not his fault he got hurt. He’s done everything in his power to try to get back and to try to be able to play for us. When he did play for us, he has played well and we’ve had success with him as a tackle and they are hard to find.”

I’m not into making New Year’s Resolutions because if I’m going to resolve to do something, I’m not going to wait around to the new year to do it.

However, since it’s a day dedicated to identifying the ways we’d like to get better, I thought I’d do a quick blog on resolutions for the San Francisco 49ers.

First up, the 49ers should resolve to land a sure thing as our offensive coordinator like we did when Norv Turner came over in 2006. I’m envisioning Mike Shanahan, but I’m sure that’s a pipe dream given the number of vacant head coaching jobs out there.

Next, thou shall fish in free agency.  We can’t discuss any specific players on other ball clubs due to the tampering policy but there are some studs who will be available, including a few who fit the positions head coach Mike Singletary mentioned in his post-season wrap up presser.  Justin Smith was worth every penny we paid him last year, and I’d be happy with another one or two like him. 

Firm up the quarterback situation. Whether it’s Shaun Hill, Alex Smith, a free agent, or another kid coming out in the draft, identify the guy who can get it done on a long-term basis.

And since I just brought up the draft…. Singletary said you can never have too many pass rushers. I concur.  He also mentioned guard/tackle. My vote is for a tackle, of the Jake Long or Joe Thomas caliber. I think you can get a solid guard in free agency, but tackles are harder to come by without overpaying.

The schedule comes out usually in April.  I love Lambeau Field, but not in December.  If the schedule setters at the NFL office are listening, September please. Same goes for the Eagles game. Interestingly enough, all the other away games, save for Seattle, are either domes (St. Louis, Minnesota) or stadiums with retractable roofs (Arizona, Houston, Colts).

Good Health.  The 49ers lost Alex Smith, Shawntae Spencer and Jonas Jennings by week two to injury. Jennings didn’t go on I/R immediately, but the Seattle game was the last he played. Zak Keasey was lost for the year a few weeks later, while Arnaz Battle was the most significant injury of the second half of the season. All things considering, that’s not bad. Some teams I/R list looked more like my niece’s Christmas wish list.

Win Games. In the four years I’ve been here, we’ve had two finishes of 7-9. I’d like to say that 8-8 would even make me happy, but that would be a lie. I’m really aiming for 10 wins or more. In our division, that should at least get us into the playoffs. I’d particularly enjoy a win over the Eagles. They’ve beaten us badly the last two times we’ve played them and I’d like to return the favor.

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Highlights from Mike Singletary’s post-season press conference.

In addition to the dismissal of offensive coordinator Mike Martz, quarterbacks coach Ted Tollner and running backs coach Tony Nathan have been let go.

“To get where we needed to go, I felt those decisions needed to be made at this time,” said Singletary.

Singletary said his time table for hiring a new offensive coordinator was yesterday.

He refused to single out any potential candidates, but admitted the list is long and needs to be trimmed down quickly. He would prefer to find someone who has done it and been successful in the NFL, but pointed out that sometimes there are experienced hires made and it still doesn’t work.

“We will find the right guy, the right fit going forward, and hopefully we can have them a while and get the continuity that we need,” he promised. “I don’t want a band-aid. I don’t want a patch. I don’t want to compromise. We will find that person. And when we do, we have to act.”

That right person will need to fit Singletary’s philosophy, which he described in detail.

“I’m in the mode of more of a traditional style of offense, very much like the style that used to be here when Coach Walsh was here, but in a different mindset. I want to know that I have the ability to run the ball. I want to have the ability to know that I can impose my will on the defense.  I want to know that in the fourth quarter, I can run the football. I want to know that when they put eight people in the box, I can still run the football if I want to. I don’t want to make it seem like I am a 3-yards and a cloud of dust kind of a guy because I am not. I am very much into innovation, motioning people around, I’m very much into that. But when everything settles, and we need to control the football, I need to know that I can run the football and I’m not trying to do anything fancy at that time.”

 Singletary believes that is the offensive philosophy that has stood and will continue to stand the test of time.

“Look around the league today, those teams that are successful year in and year out are those teams that when it really gets right down to it, they’re saying, ‘You know what, it’s been nice playing you, but right now we are going to take the game over and we are going to run the football.’ To me those are the teams that will be successful year  in and year out and not go out of style.”

Singletary didn’t get into specifics about some of the players on the roster who are set to be free agents and whether they’ll be back or not, but in general, he feels the team could use a quarterback, a tackle or guard, a pass rusher, and possibly a safety.

“Our safeties have done a good job but going forward, we want to get a safety who has some range.”

Singletary was extremely straightforward when it came to why he refuses to name quarterback Shaun Hill as the team’s starter, explaining that he doesn’t intend to make a promise he can not keep.

“Whoever we could bring in here, Shaun Hill is going to compete. To me, competition is the greatest thing in the world. Whoever the starter is going to be, they have to want to compete.”

Pressed further for his opinion of HIll, Singletary said the following.

“I want to say this - under the circumstances, everything he did, I really appreciate. He did not surprise me in terms of what he did. That’s why I wanted to go with him. I think Shaun Hill is a leader. But the most important thing is that the best guy is our quarterback. I want the best guys on our football team to play. If Shaun is going to be our starter, he’s going to be the best quarterback we have, but I”m not into making decisions now because I tell the players, “Anything that I tell you, I want you to take to the bank.’ I don’t ever want to tell a player something and then come back and say, ‘You know what? I’m sorry that I said that.’ If I’m saying that he’s the starter right now, and something happens this off-season where we get a guy who is better, I’m going to go into the season and play Shaun when I’ve got a guy… I don’t want to do that. I don’t think it’s right to him, I don’t think it’s right to the club, I don’t think it’s right to the players. I don’t want to get into making promises just because somebody else says that I should. I want to do something because it is right. Right now, we are looking at winning football games, and right now, we want to get the best 11 guys on the field, period. And I want those 11 guys to compete.”

Asked if any of the older players talked about retiring during their exit meetings, Singletary replied, “Didn’t hear that.” (Presumably a question asked for veteran wide receiver Isaac Bruce)

Singletary expects to have some say in personnel, stressing the need for he and general manager Scot McCloughan to compromise and work together.

He has been in the draft room in the past and has had input, although he admitted that the drafting of linebacker Patrick Willis was all McCloughan.

“I didn’t push for Patrick Willis and I told Patrick this. I put the film on.  I was disappointed the first time. That was Scot McCloughan. Scot said, ‘Mike, this guy is really talented, you’ve got to look at him again.’ I looked at him again and I was like, ‘Scot, you really like this guy?’” 

Singletary said that after learning about Willis’ family history and the injuries he battled in college, he started to change his opinion.

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I just posted some of my thoughts on the 2008 season over on 49ers.com.

The 49ers red zone defense and the offense’s ability to stretch the field with explosive plays earned thumbs up, while the gross number of sacks and explosive plays given up by the defense earned thumbs down.

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Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan was just fired. This is by far the biggest surprise of this year’s coaching changes, although I’m quite certain he’ll get snatched up quickly for one of the open head coaching positions.

The San Francisco 49ers announced that offensive coordinator Mike Martz has been dismissed from the coaching staff.

“After an evaluation period I felt it was best to go in a different direction,” said Head Coach Mike Singletary regarding the dismissal of Mike Martz. “This was not an easy decision because I appreciate Mike Martz, and I enjoyed working with him. He is a true professional, and I wish him the best in the future.”

Martz also reacted to the news saying, “I had an outstanding conversation with Mike Singletary this afternoon. I believe he will be an outstanding head coach in the National Football League. I wish him nothing but the best. I am not what he is looking for offensively. I understand that. This is just a part of professional sports.”

This means the 49ers will have another new coordinator in 2009, thus marking the fifth straight season the 49ers will have changed offensive coordinators, dating back to Singletary first coming in with Mike Nolan in 2005.
 

“I do recognize the need for a long term solution on the offensive side of the ball,” said Singletary.

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The NFL just announced that the Pro Bowl following the 2009 season will be played on Sunday, January 31, 2010 and televised live on ESPN at 8 PM ET from Dolphin Stadium in South Florida, also the site of Super Bowl XLIV a week later on Sunday, February 7.

This will mark the first ever Pro Bowl being played prior to the Super Bowl.

The site and date of Pro Bowl games after 2010 will be determined at a later date and will include playing the game on a rotating basis in Honolulu, Hawaii, host of the NFL’s All-Star game since 1980.

My guess is that this will end up leading to a lot of alternates playing in the actual game. Usually the playoff teams have the most players chosen to the Pro Bowl. The Jets led the way this year with a league-high seven players, followed by the Titans, the Giants, and the Vikings who had six players each. All but the Jets ended up making the playoffs, although they were at the top of their division when the rosters were announced. 

But let’s just say that the Titans and the Giants end up in the Super Bowl. If the Pro Bowl was played prior to the Super Bowl this year, as it will be next, that would eliminate twelve players from participating in the game.

HC Mike Singletary will hold his final wrap up press conference on Wednesday at 2PM. We’ll have it streamed live on the homepage of 49ers.com.