This article and opinion, follows my call that the best thing the Yorks can do is hire someone to be "the man" and call all the shots. I suggested Holmgren - who is mentioned as an option - but is there a better choice out there to restore this proud franchise to what it once was?
From Nancy Gay, San Francisco Chronicle
So it's settled. We've seen enough from Mike Singletary over the past six games to know he's got the personality, charisma and leadership qualities necessary to turn a listless 49ers roster into a cohesive team that hits hard, tackles well and can efficiently move an offense downfield to score. It sounds so simple when you break it down like that, doesn't it? Teams such as the Giants, Titans, Colts, Steelers and Panthers get this done almost weekly, so they take quality football for granted. We don't. So bravo to young 49ers owner Jed York, who made the midseason move from Mike Nolan to Singletary knowing the risks - his interim choice had zero head coaching experience. That took guts. Now it's time for Jed to lead the York family in taking the next step in transforming the 49ers from a has-been franchise with a case full of dusty Lombardi Trophies into a 21st century football operation that can compete and win in today's NFL.
Hire a team president.
Make sure he is an experienced, dynamic football mind and personnel expert who knows how to navigate the complex world of NFL business and personalities. Unfortunately, this doesn't mean Mike Holmgren is the man for this job. Sure, Holmgren has strong 49ers' ties and a personal history. He's beloved here, with good reason. He would satisfy those who yearn for the good ol' days under Eddie DeBartolo. But that era is over. For all of Holmgren's great strengths as a coach and leader of men, his weaknesses as a personnel evaluator and glad-handing administrator were so obvious - Holmgren is a teacher, not an executive - that the Seahawks stripped him of his general manager duties in 2002. Holmgren is built to coach. He's not in his element studying film of a 20-year-old cornerback from McNeese State, or struggling to get his payroll under the cap limit.
If not Holmgren, then who?
Look at the most successful NFL franchise this decade, the winner of three Super Bowl titles since 2002, for the answer. Scott Pioli, 43, the Patriots vice president of player personnel, should be the Yorks' choice. This is the man - perhaps the most impressive young executive in the NFL - with whom the Yorks should entrust their entire franchise. Let him run it his way. Let Pioli completely reorganize the 49ers football operation from a payroll and personnel standpoint. Allow Pioli and his people to run free agency and the draft, lifting this burden from Singletary so he can focus on what he does best - motivating and coaching players.
And the Yorks should stay out of the way while he does it.
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