49ers Keep on Rollin' With Nolan

Brian Billick will eventually have company on the unemployment line, but it's not coming from San Francisco. Turns out, a vote of confidence for once actually held true to its name, because after supporting Mike Nolan this season, the 49ers have decided to keep the coach for another go'round ... with a caveat.

As has been rumored, the 49ers are removing personnel decisions from Nolan's job description, and it appears, as has also been rumored, that Scot McCloughan is being promoted to GM.

Nolan's return was contingent on the fact that he fire offensive coordinator Jim Hostler, who was universally disliked in the locker room. His replacement is rumored to be Mike Martz, which is awesome, because Martz can establish an offense that falls far short of his reputation as an offensive genius and ignores its best weapon in Frank Gore. Totally the right choice. And what about Alex Smith, who seemingly can't get along with Nolan?

Quarterback Alex Smith, with whom Nolan clashed on several occasions this past season, is likely to return to the team after missing the final seven games with a separated right shoulder. It is believed that Nolan's willingness to iron out his issues with Smith, the No. 1 overall pick in the '05 draft, was contingent upon his retention by the Yorks.

I don't know about how this is all shaking out. Maybe the 49ers do become the 2008 version of the Browns. There's a lot of offseason to shape the team. But I don't really think this is the best start.