MercuryNews - Mike Nolan on 2007

by Persiflage on Jul 24, 2008 11:47 AM PDT

There's a pretty interesting article about Mike Nolan in the Mercury News today. Basically, it's saying what we all know - something good needs to happen in 2008 or Nolan is done.

http://www.mercurynews.com/sportsheadlines/ci_9980709

What's interesting is it has Nolan taking the blame on himself for poor coaching decisions -

Nolan was more candid than expected about what exactly created the train wreck of 2007. He mentioned the unusual situation of 10 players or coaches (including Nolan) being emotionally hit by the deaths of parents during the season. It had a collective downer effect, Nolan said. But without prompting, he quickly shifted gears.

"Some things we can control, some we can't," Nolan said. "The things we could have controlled, in my opinion, would have made a difference. Had we had better depth, for example at quarterback . . . and had we made a better decision at offensive coordinator, all those things . . . they tie together. Because in some other areas, we did extremely well."

Then at the end of the article, Nolan is asked about problems last season with Alex Smith -

What about any lingering friction between Smith and Nolan, who are still here? Both say the issue - which burst into the open when the quarterback said he thought the coach was undermining him with the team - is now a non-issue. Nothing to see here. Move along. But is that so?

"If you look back . . . I didn't like what happened," Nolan said. "But again . . . there are things I can say and things I can't. As much as I was communicating with him, somehow, we weren't communicating enough."

And this year? Nolan and Smith will tell you they are back on the same page. But the coach, speaking about what he expects to see from whichever 49ers quarterback wins the starting job, did not mince words.

"Every player faces stress in their job," Nolan said. "People are built differently. Some respond differently than others expect them to respond, especially in certain positions. If you're the head coach, you're expected to act in a way that's more responsible than, say, the equipment manager. Well, if you're the quarterback, then you're responsible to react in a way that's more responsible than, say, the kicker. I'm just saying, there's a rule about that."

What do you guys think? I think we should be able to avoid bringing the problems of last year into this one. At least Nolan and Smith have got to know what's at stake.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors.

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hmmm

I’m not really sure what to think of what Nolan says. He is admitting there were problems, but it kind of seems like he’s passing the buck and trying to blame others without actually saying he’s blaming them.

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by David Fucillo on Jul 24, 2008 12:58 PM PDT reply actions

Eh

I see it a little differently. You can’t really admit what went wrong last year without taking “jabs,” as Purdy (who isn’t really that great of a writer, if you ask me) puts it, at the people or things that went wrong. He can’t say that his choice of coordinator was wrong without acknowledging that the coordinator did, indeed, suck. He couldn’t say that his choice of backup quarterback sucked without admitting that the he, indeed, did suck.

At least he’s acknowledged that those two mistakes were on his head, as it would be pretty easy for a coach to say “our offensive coaching staff left a lot to be desired,” or “if we hadn’t lost Smith and got stuck with a second string QB.” I think Nolan knows that he did wrong. The offensive coordinator thing was a little out of his hands, but truly believing in Dilfer was a mistake. Similarly, I’m sure he’s learned his mistake from the Alex Smith debacle. The hope is that the team has moved on from last season, keeping with them only the things they need to know to make them better.

One thing I did find interesting from the article is the blurb about “dysfunction” within the offensive coaching staff. I don’t think I’ve heard about Hostler giving Tollner the cold shoulder on the team flight or anything like that. It’s always been relayed to the public as “oh, Hos is working very well with Ted.” Perhaps those actions are why he wasn’t retained as a QB quarterback and was, instead, fired outright.

by sfgfan on Jul 24, 2008 3:40 PM PDT up reply actions

It seems as though Nolan is being much, much more loose, comfortable, and open in the public eye than he ever was before. I kind of like it.

My Dave Righetti is better than your Dave Righetti.

by howtheyscored on Jul 24, 2008 5:56 PM PDT reply actions

Maybe that's part of the lessons he learned last year.

Before, he was pretty good at giving generic answers (not quite as good as Brian Sabean, though) and the media just taking it and not prying further. After the Smith incident, where lack of communication was a key issue, maybe Nolan’s learned to not be as vague or not try to hold everything in.

I agree, though. I kind of like it.

by sfgfan on Jul 25, 2008 9:23 AM PDT up reply actions