Quick! Someone Spike My Kool-Aide
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by JasonComack
Last week I wrote that the calls for Mike Nolan's head might begin to get louder if the team continued to struggle. Well, Nolan certainly did nothing to prevent himself from moving closer to the chopping block this week.
When looking at a struggling team you can blame almost anyone or anything. Injuries, play calling, scheme, talent and so on. But in the end, it all comes back to the head coach.
Nolan put this team on the field, he elected to use a 3-4 defense, he is involved in the font office. He shares the responsibility of "shopping for his own groceries."
You want to like Nolan, and I think alot people have allowed his obvious flaws to pass because of it. He's classy, well spoken and intelligent. He has all the qualities a head football coach should. However, when it comes down to it he's a terrible game day coach.
His decision making is often questionable, particularly being ultra conservative with fourth and short situations. Of course he elected to do a smart thing and delegate alot of his responsibilities to coordinators this year, however the men he surrounds himself with often seem incompetent. Last year Billy Davis ran the defense and was so atrocious he was ran out of town. This year Nolan handed the keys to the offense to Hostler, who will certainly be run out of town as well. Besides the offense and defense what intangibles does Nolan bring to the table? Do his players play hard for him? Look at this gem from Rotoworld.com
> Walt Harris was carted off the with an undisclosed injury on Sunday. Harris was targeted early and often by Drew Brees and the Saints, almost always getting beat and often looking disinterested in the game.
So what does Nolan exactly do well?
Nolan at least seemed to be very competent at assembling talent and finding steals in drafts. The last three drafts have been applauded by almost every major media outlet. In hindsight were they really that good? Alex Smith is looking like a tremendous bust. Sure he doesn't have them most talent in the world around him but he has regressed tremendously this year. Brandon Williams, a first day pick, was cut. Vernon Davis, while admittedly raw, hasn't lived up to the billing of a high first round pick. And so on.
Year after year teams emerge out of no where, the Saints and Jets last year are a perfect example. In a league so filled with parity it's hard to imagine that after three years the 49ers aren't able to field a team that is NFL caliber. Seriously, the 49ers have looked like a CFL team for the last couple of games. It's completely inexcusable
And it all comes back to Nolan.
