Jim Hostler, Your NEW Offensive Coordinator

by David Fucillo on Feb 28, 2007 9:48 PM PST in San Francisco 49ers News

After the circus that was Norv Turner's whirlwind courtship by the Cowboys and Chargers, a little normalcy has returned to 4949 Centennial Boulevard. The team announced today that quarterbacks coach Jim Hostler has been promoted to offensive coordinator.

Hostler has eight years experience in the league and was a Division II college assistant coach. After graduating from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Hostler served in several capacities with the Indians over ten years before moving onto the NFL:

2000: Offensive Assistant/Quality Control, Kansas City Chiefs
2001-2002: Offensive Assistant/Quality Control and Asst Wide Receivers Coach, New Orleans Saints
2003-2004: Quarterbacks Coach and Wide Receivers Coach, New York Jets
2005-2006: Quarterbacks Coach, San Francisco 49ers

While his only time as an offensive coordinator was at the Division II college level, he certainly has amassed a solid amount of experience at the NFL level. I think his best attribute is that he has been the primary tutor to Alex Smith in the two years Smith has been in the league. While Norv Turner is a proven commodity as an offensive coordinator, it will be interesting to see what Jim Hostler brings to the job.

It seems Hostler was quite impressive in his interview with Mike Nolan and in fact, Nolan seems to feel Hostler reminds him of himself when he was battling for a coordinator's job. For a more thorough rundown on that, check out Matt Maiocco's story about Hostler putting together game plans to prepare.

In the meantime, Nolan has begun interviewing to fill the quarterbacks coach position beginning with Frank Cignetti, who has worked with Hostler in the past and most recently was offensive coordinator for Butch Davis at North Carolina.

Do you think Hostler will be his own man and successfully navigate Alex Smith towards becoming a solid, if not great, quarterback? Or will this allow Nolan to keep one hand in the offense while trying to balance the whole act?

Tweet Comment 4 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

It really sucks for Nolan.

He came into this offseason thinking he could get an experienced defensive coordinator, coupled with Norv, and it would allow him to focus on coaching the players more, rather than being a coordinator AND coach. Now he's got two (relatively) inexperienced coordinators, and quite a few question marks.

What is weird is that I don't see Nolan going into the season wanting to control everything. He may do with Manusky that he did with Billy Davis in his first year as coach, and thats give him a little time to show he can indeed call the plays. He may just do the same with Hostler as well, seeing that it's not like Hostler's new to what the 49ers have been trying to do all along with Turner's offense.

The first few weeks of the season may be the most troubling. We may see a smooth transition. We may see a bad transition, with Nolan taking control of one or more of the coordinating duties.

by sfgfan on Mar 1, 2007 9:16 AM PST reply actions

I'm not sure

but I'm looking into changing careers and getting into the quality control business.

by methodrampage on Mar 1, 2007 9:46 AM PST reply actions

quality control

I've always wondered what that position does. Maybe they take surveys to see what people think of how the plays are being run. Or maybe they're a glorified laundry person and they make sure the uniforms are of the highest quality?

Niners Nation - The premier 49ers blog on the Internet!

by David Fucillo on Mar 1, 2007 10:54 AM PST up reply actions

I think...

... I've read on Maiocco's blog (or somewhere else, not sure) that a QC person helps the team do what it needs to do when it needs to do it. One example is that QC people usually have a hand in clock management, making sure the proper personnel gets sent out with the proper units, and monitors who's ready (or isn't ready) to go back into the game.

I could have completely misunderstood what I read previously. I could also have made all this up in my head at one point or another. In any case, it makes sense to me.

by sfgfan on Mar 1, 2007 11:53 AM PST up reply actions