49ers' Hostler Looking For Ways To Fix Offense

By Dennis Georgatos, Mercury News

Jim Hostler insists he is engaging in some healthy introspection this week. That's one of the steps the 49ers' embattled rookie offensive coordinator is taking to repair an offense he termed "broken." "Right now, we're not hitting on anything," Hostler said Wednesday. "We're not hitting on it schematically. We're not hitting on it philosophically, and we're not hitting on it from an execution standpoint. "When it's as broken as it is for us, we're turning over every stone."
Those stones include:
• Considering moving Hostler from the sideline to the press box to call plays.
• Finding ways to put playmakers such as Frank Gore and Vernon Davis in better position to succeed.
• Making greater use of wide receiver Ashley Lelie.
• Re-examining game-week preparations.
The problems won't be fixed overnight, but Hostler said he hoped to make some significant changes by the time the 49ers resume play Oct. 21 against the New York Giants.
"We're not going to go from the little bit of success we've had right to the top of the line," he said. "We're going to gradually have to get confidence in what we're doing. We're gradually going to have to fix things and get the thing turned around." Which has been the whole point of this team's off-week review implemented by Coach Mike Nolan - re-evaluating the use of personnel and the game plan's structure with the aim of putting players in a position to succeed.

"Obviously, when you don't have success offensively, it starts with the guy at the top and that's me," Hostler said. "You can't blink. If you do blink, that's when you should be removed."
Plenty of critics think Nolan should consider that option. Hostler, 40, said he has avoided the newspapers, but he knows he has been a focal point of the criticism. The team ranks at or near the bottom of most significant offensive categories, including total yards, passing yards, first downs and third-down efficiency.

Still, Hostler has the backing of Nolan, who said Monday that his offensive coordinator's job performance would be reviewed but that he would retain his play-calling responsibilities. "It's my responsibility to call the right plays and if Mike feels that's not being done, well, he's the head coach," Hostler said. "In my case right now, he has backed me 100 percent."
That said, Hostler said he's keeping an open mind about changing his game-day vantage from the sideline to the press box. While Hostler continues to believe his play calls would be the same whether he's up or down, he said he expects to revisit the issue with Nolan this week and would be willing to change.

"Nothing is without evaluation when you're struggling like we are," Hostler said. "To be stubborn and say, 'Hey, I've got to be on the field, I feel better on the field,' that's not what we're after. It's about finding the best way for us to have success. And that's what we're going to do."