49ers fire Martz

By John Crumpacker, San Francisco Chronicle

It was one and done for Mike Martz as offensive coordinator of the 49ers as head coach Mike Singletary Tuesday afternoon fired the man who resurrected San Francisco's offense in 2008 after one season. The dismissal came after an early afternoon meeting in which Singletary expressed a desire for a different kind of offensive coordinator and by implication, a different kind of personality. He and Martz clashed several times during the last half of the season with Singletary serving as the team's interim head coach. "I am not what he is looking for offensively. I understand that," Martz said in a statement released by the club. "This is just a part of professional sports. I had an outstanding conversation with Mike Singletary this afternoon. I believe he will be an outstanding head coach."

For his part, Singletary said in a statement, "After an evaluation period I felt it was best to go in a different direction. This was not an easy decision because I appreciate Mike Martz, and I enjoyed working with him. He is a true professional, and I wish him the best in the future." Most poignantly, Singletary said, "I do recognize the need for a long term solution on the offensive side of the ball." That's because when the 49ers begin play in 2009 they will have a new offensive coordinator for the seventh straight season. It's a lousy way to build continuity on that side of the ball.

In his one season with the 49ers, Martz elevated the offense from 32nd and last in the NFL to 23rd, based on total yards. The team was 13th in passing offense and 27th in rushing offense. Frank Gore was a 1,000-yard rusher this season and Shaun Hill was the 12th ranked quarterback in the league, ahead of more well-known players at the position such as Eli Manning, Donovan McNabb, Jay Cutler, Jake Delhomme, Brett Favre and Ben Roethlisberger. Before Martz the 49ers had as their offensive coordinators Jim Hostler (2007), Norv Turner (2006), Mike McCarthy (2005), Ted Tollner (2004) and Greg Knapp (2003).

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