Mike Nolan named 49ers HC

It is not just about whether we have the cap room to pay Moose, it is about how much he is worth.

 

that's inferred in any contract.

However, we are still in cap issues, and were last year. The idea that we "did it right" and now we're free and clear? That's not the case.

SF seemed to make its cheap moves because it was cheap, not because they had no cap room. Losing TO to FA was no different than letting Mariucci go, they were being controlling and didn't want to pay for somebody else's guy.

 

We purged in 2001 and it gave us the cap room to do things like draft Peppers, bring in Stephen Davis, Jake Delhomme, extend Smith, draft Gross, pay Jenkins.

We have a pretty solid team and if we used our cap space to do it then so be it. San Fran has purged twice and still has a sorry team.

 

Again, it wasn't cap hit for them. It was just poor decision that pushed those players out.

 

John York is frugal. Bottom line.

Eddie D would personally hand out fresh towels to each player at halftime and after the game. York, on the other hand, decided a few years back that it would save the team money to lock up the Gatorade cooler in the locker room at night. It would not be unlocked until a team trainer arrived the next morning, often times up to an hour after the first players had already arrived and had been working out.

Replacing Debartalo with York was like removing the management from the Trump Towers and replacing it with management from your local Motel 6. Considerable dropoff in not only the desire to spend money on the finer things, but an overall lack of care or concern for little nothings, like meeting a player in the tunnel and greeting him with a hello, a fresh gatorade and a clean towel.

Now, that's not to say that York can't pull a 180 and change his philosophy. It may happen. And Nolan is a much better hire than Dennis "DWI" Erickson ever was. SO, I'm thinkin' he is on the right track.

 

Some say that using Seifert, Cross, and others to help decide the future 9ers coach was a way of showing that York would keep his hands off from now on. That "committee" would also likely be the one putting together who the GM will be.

 

Smart PR, if nothing else.

I actually thought it would have been pretty cool to see ol' GS back on the sidelines for the Niners again, at least until they could groom a younger coach to take over. It probably would not have worked, and Seifert may not have even desired to get back into it. Just thought it would be interesting.

 

Just read an interesting story about Gruden from when he was a 49ers assistant. It's a real magazine, so I'll just have to sum it up. There should be a way to copy and paste from real life to teh interweb without a scanner. Oh well, here goes. Gruden is an interesting dude, and I bet there are tons of cool 49er/GB stories involving him, Holmgren, Mariucci, and Andy Reid all on the same staff.

Gruden: I had an old car named "Uncle Buck." Ever see that John Candy movie, "Uncle Buck," with that car? I had a big, white 18-foot Delta 88. Bought it from a guy in San Jose for $500. I used to pull into the player's lot and there's Rice's black Porsche. Mike Sherrard had a nice ride. Montana had a Lamborghini or whatever the hell it was. I'd pull ol' Uncle Buck right between them. So late in the 1990 season, we have an important Monday night game against the Giants. At the pregame meal, Charles Haley comes up to me. He says, "Hey man, I got to drive with you to the stadium in that old car." He says, "I need to get in the right state of mind. I need to get in a war dog state of mind."
I didn't know if the car would make it. I didn't even know if it would start. So we're driving to Candlestick Park. I had no parking pass. Haley is reaching out the window, telling people who he is, and to get out of the way. I was a basket case. Imagine going into a Monday night without Charles Haley and me being responsible? I think Coach Seifert would have balked at the "Uncle Buck Broke Down" story.

 

Classic story. Good find, Rez.:applause:

 

Whether Nolan works out will be determined within the next three years.

I will say that, rather than going out and digging up a hall of famer caliber coach (Gibbs, Seifert, etc.), my philosophy lends itself to finding a understated, hard-nosed assistant somewhere to coach my team. History will show that the teams that find the relatively unknown assistant have the greatest success in the long run.

I think bringing in an elder statesman is a band aid on a long-term problem. But, I'm sure I'll get plenty of hell on this one, too.