Nolan Talks About Afghanistan

Coach Mike Nolan went on a conference call Thursday to talk about his eight-day trip to Afghanistan with sports byline USA host Ron Barr and former 49ers cornerback Eric Davis. Nolan went on the trip shortly after organized team activities were over in June.

Nolan called it an amazing experience and said he still has to digest what he saw. He was struck by the troops and their commitment and stories, but also by the Afghans and how they lived their lives. Nolan, Barr and Davis went to a different base almost daily and then went to Forward Operating Bases or FOBS to meet with troops several times a day.

The question Nolan fielded most was "How do you feel being away from home?"

As a football coach working insane hours, soldiers wanted to know how he dealt with the absence of his family, something the soldiers deal with every day. Besides that, the troops wanted to talk football and about life back in the U.S. Nolan said that troops generally come from a base in one area of the country, so he got lots of questions from Bills, Giants, Jets, Steelers and Falcons, and some 49ers fans from Travis Air Force Base. He also got Cowboy questions.

"Cowboy fans are everywhere," Nolan said.

At no point did he feel endangered, although he did wear a helmet and flak jacket every day. He also said the ride from an base two hours outside of Kabul into the capital city was an experience.

"We went in a convoy and we had sort of a fortified Winnebago," he said. "The doors were six inches thick."

The drive grew very serious when the convoy traveled over gravel roads where IED's or Improvised Explosive Devices can be buried. Nolan said the military is trying to pave as many roads as possible.

Nolan said he didn't talk with any soldier who was in his first tour. "Most of them were their fourth, fifth or sixth tour. A lot of them sign up for more duties."

At night, Barr would do his radio program and sometimes had guests from the states. He would then put on soldiers who wanted to ask questions.

Nolan admits to being fairly non-political and he said politics hardly ever came up.

"You don't even think about the political side," Nolan said. "You think about the human side."

Nolan also witnessed a lot of team work, particularly on the convoys where soldiers were in constant communication with each other about potential hazards.

"The communication is very real and very serious," Nolan said. "If one of them slips up, another one could die."

He said communication is so essential that the troops are attentive listeners, even when they are talking casually and that you listen to them in return.

He was asked if he learned anything he could teach to his team.

"Troops want to know that they are loved," Nolan said. "They need to know that someone cares about them and that their job is important."

NOTE: Nolan was asked one football question about the quarterback rotation when training camp opens in two weeks. He said he'll rotate Alex Smith and Shaun Hill and try to get J.T. O'Sullivan reps when he can in practice. He said if everything is on track, the coaching staff would determine the starter by the third exhibition game Aug. 21 in Chicago, and that the starter would have to continue to prove himself to remain the starter.

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | July 10 2008 at 11:15 PM

Mike Martz at the Coaching Clinic

Offensive coordinator Mike Martz's presentation last weekend focused on two of his high school coaches in a seminar with high school and college coaches. One was an ambitious coach looking for the next job, who didn't really care for the kids and didn't know too much about football.

He taught his players to lead with their head, which Martz did and he sustained a severe neck injury that required the insertion of a metal plate. His next coach at Madison High in San Diego opened his world to possibility. Martz said his older brothers were better players than he was, nevertheless, the coach knew Martz loved the game and told him to pursue it in junior college. Martz went on to play at Mesa College in San Diego, then to UC Santa Barbara and when the school dropped its football program, he landed at Fresno State.

In the bastion of offensive coaching in San Diego at the time, Martz became fascinated with Don Coryell's offense at San Diego State and with Sid Gillman's schemes at the Chargers. His storied career began as a high school coach and his message to the coaches was simple - be unselfish and set goals for everyone.

Martz meets with players and sets their goals for training camp and the season on 3x5 cards.

Martz also told the coaches to appeal to the player's passion of the game and to "whisper" coach them. He urged them to set up a structure and then ask for accountability. Martz then ended with a quote, "Give of yourself, ask for nothing in return and excellence will be yours."

NOTES: Skeebers is right in his post last week. Everyone is clever enough to get their points across without gutter talk. He's also right about young fans. The site should be for everybody, so let's not turn people off with what we write.

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | May 19 2008 at 10:02 PM

Singletary

Sorry for the scant posts of late. I had a large project due unrelated to the blog and had done three shifts of weekend work lately. Also, I was scheduled to appear on 49ersparadise.com and 49erswebzone.com for a web chat Wednesday night. That's been re-scheduled for next Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

As far as the motivation for the coach's clinic, many NFL team's coaching staffs run them. In Baltimore when Mike Nolan was there, he said their clinic brought in 500 people. Is there a public relations element? Possibly, but after attending the clinic and watching the 49ers coaches talk about the influence of high school coaches in their lives, it seemed valuable.

As many of you know, because of its intensive nature, football, more than any other game, can shape young lives. Particularly for those kids without a male influence in their household.

SINGLETARY'S MESSAGE: The 49ers linebackers said one day a year ago that reporters should get a chance to hear linebackers and assistant head coach Mike Singletary speak. He addresses the entire team often and his speeches are memorable. Singletary knows when to pause, when to inflect, when to speak in a hushed tone. He's captivating.

When he addressed the coaches last weekend, he spoke about the influences of his coaches all the way back to Pop Warner. After finally convincing his mother to let me play, he joined the team late, and he received equipment that was too big for him. He said his first assignment was to tackle a kid named, "Cookie." He did everything wrong, and Cookie ran him over, cleating him in the process.

But the coach noticed a willing spirit and Singletary was put at middle linebacker, the position he played for the rest of his football life. Read More 'Singletary' »

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | May 15 2008 at 09:12 PM

Coaching Clinic

The San Francisco 49ers conducted the first ever coaching clinic sponsored by Mike Nolan, the coaching staff and the team. Nolan and defensive line coach Jim Tomsula were behind the effort to invite high school and college coaches for a night and a morning of networking and instruction. Nolan also allowed me to attend.

I learned the view from afar is much different than from up close. Nolan spoke the first night and the next morning, he had all his coordinators in Mike Martz (offense), Greg Manusky (defense) and Al Everest (special teams) speak along with assistant head coach Mike Singletary, the next morning.

After that, position coaches broke into rooms for about two hours of instruction on their area of expertise.

Most of the position discussion was about fundamentals. I went first to hear secondary coaches Vance Joseph and Johnny Lynn. Both showed different ways cornerbacks break and "bail out" and the different styles they use. Some, like Shawntae Spencer, bend at the knees in their crouch, which is unusual for a taller cornerback like Spencer. Others, like Marcus Hudson, bend more at the waist.

Even at the pro level, the coaching of technique is constantly emphasized. Nolan said sometimes, coaches will even change a player's stance, something that's usually established in Pop Warner. Some coaches are amazed how little coaching players get at even the major colleges. Singletary, for example, said cryptically that linebacker Patrick Willis was just "scratching the surface," a frightening thought considering Willis led the league in tackles last year. Read More 'Coaching Clinic' »

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | May 14 2008 at 08:49 AM

Everest Honored

As the optimists and pessimists stake out their territory on this blog - one matter that hasn't been discussed in the lively back-and-forth - and that's special teams.

The optimists might have a take on the special teams in their on-going fight over the nay sayers. The special teams played remarkably well and in fact, given how horrendous the offense was, the special teams were among the best in the league. Just imagine what might happen if the 49ers drafted explosive returners to augment the soaring punting of Andy Lee and the voracious cover units coached by Al Everest.

The unit's new coach last year won complements with players throughout the team and might even supplant linebacker coach and assistant head coach Mike Singletary as the team's best motivator. Everest and assistant Jeff Rodgers were recently recognized by their peers as the best special teams coaches of 2007 through the Aguilar Kicking Academy.

I imagine the outfit was started by NFL kicker Louis Aguilar, but I couldn't get the web site to work aguiarkicking.com.

Maybe others will have better luck.

On the news front, tight end Billy Bajema signed his tender offer, which the team extended to him on March 19. Also there has been a Jonas Jennings sighting during the 49ers' on-going off-season program. Jennings has been beset by a personal issue that's kept him in Georgia.

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | March 31 2008 at 10:04 PM

Nolan's Media Blitz

Many have asked about tackle Jonas Jennings's excused absence from the beginning of the offseason program, which started Monday. Jennings has a serious family issue and his absence has nothing to do with his recovery from ankle surgery or is an indication that Jennings is on the outs with the team.

Others asked about the prospect of signing free-agent linebacker Takeo Spikes, who visited the team last week. Spikes is recovering from shoulder surgery and was released after failing his physical with the Eagles. The 49ers might be waiting to see how the 31-year-old recovers from his shoulder problems.

Coach Mike Nolan was on KNBR with Tom Tolbert and Ralph Barbieri Tuesday afternoon and then was in studio with the NFL Network's Total Access with Rich Eisen, Jamie Dukes and Rod Woodson. There's no specific reason for the media blitz, however, Nolan had some interesting things to say. On KNBR, Nolan said:

Read More 'Nolan's Media Blitz' »

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | March 19 2008 at 10:04 PM

Foerster Hired

The 49ers ended speculation outside the organization on the future of offensive line coach George Warhop with the hiring of former Ravens offensive line coach Chris Foerster. Now Warhop and Foerster, both with histories as pass-protection experts, will co-coach a unit that yielded the highest sack rate in the league last season.

Just after the season, two league sources predicted Warhop would be fired after the 49ers gave up 55 sacks, which tied the Chiefs for the league high. But Kansas City attempted 553 passes to the 49ers 537. According to Footballoutsiders.com, a site tracks many aspects of NFL football through unique statistical approaches, the 49ers adjusted sack rate was 10.3, also a league high. The adjusted sack rate takes intentional grounding, situation and opponent into account.

Prior to this year, when team sacks ballooned from 35 to 55, Warhop was known for improving the pass protection of his lines. In his five years in Arizona, the Cardinals went from yielding 78 sacks before his arrival in 1997, to 50 in 1998, to 45 in 1999, to 35 in 2000, to 29 in 2001. In Warhop's final season, Cardinal quarterbacks were sacked 41 times. Read More 'Foerster Hired' »

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | February 15 2008 at 09:46 PM

Baalke and Nathan Hired

The 49ers have a full complement in their front office after Monday's promotion of Trent Baalke.

A Western Regional scout, Baalke will now move from his Colorado home to Santa Clara to assist general manager Scot McCloughan. Ethan Waugh, who has been the college scouting administrator will likely take Baalke's spot.

Now with Vice President of Football Operations Lal Heneghan handling legal issues and league matters, Scot McCloughan dealing with trades, contracts, the draft and the overall shape of the team's roster and Baalke overseeing the college and pro personnel departments, the team has a front-office roster rivaling any for depth of football staff.

The 49ers continue with Tom Gamble overseeing pro personnel, David McCloughan as the college scouting director, Paraag Marathe as director of football operations and lead contract negotiator and Terry Tumey as the director of football operations.

Here's a chart on what everyone does:

Heneghan - He used to work in the league office and he helped craft the current NFL salary cap. He handles the overall functioning of the staff in Santa Clara, deals with legal issues and consults the league on matters pertaining to the team.

McCloughan-He spent three years as Packers scout for the crucial Southeast region. He moved to Seattle as the director of college scouting and then to Mike Holmgren's consternation, became the 49ers vice president in charge of player personnel.

Baalke - He will likely serve as McCloughan's right hand after he moves from Colorado to Santa Clara. A former college scouting coordinator for the Redskins, Baalke has been a Southwestern regional scout the last three years for the 49ers. In his new position, he'll oversee both pro and college scouting departments.

Read More 'Baalke and Nathan Hired' »

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | February 04 2008 at 11:26 PM

Coaches Gone Wild

Marcos was throwing out some Alex Smith contract figures. From my understanding his guaranteed money was a little over $27 million, about $8 million of which he gets this year. So if Smith was traded, the cap hit wouldn't be horrendous, but that's not going to happen.

General manager Scott McCloughan ardently believes that Smith can still be productive and he may be right.

And Eastcoastniner, free agency starts at the end of February. I'll be sprinkling in evaluations from tape and those in the know about the top prospects.

DennyPat asked about hiring Tom Rathman as the running backs coach, which is a fine idea. Unfortunately, Rathman is under contract with the Raiders.

A few days ago, kmac535 asked about the Senior Bowl and I taped all the practices and the game. I've pouring over the tapes the last few days and the most interesting aspect of it all are the coaches wearing mics at practice.

Linebackers coach Mike Singletary, Raiders offensive coordinator Greg Knapp and 49ers offensive coordinator Mike Martz were all wearing a wire. Here are some observations on all three.

Knapp: Granted he is a Raider, but he runs an impressive practice. Knapp multitasks better than Martha Stewart, he's yelling out plays, down-and-distance, and instructions to players and coaches. He does it with a positive vibe and has players practicing up-tempo but controlled. Interesting that head coach Lane Kiffin was stripped of most of his authority this week. It wouldn't be surprising if the Raiders half-hoped Kiffin would quit so they could then promote Knapp. By the way, what is it about the Raiders. A few months in that place and head coaches look like they've spent four years on the Russian front. It happened to Norv Turner, Art Shell and now Kiffin is looking bedraggled.

Singletary: Imagine being a college linebacker performing a drill and Mike Singletary says, "Good job." Not only is he a legend at linebacker, he has sheer charisma that's hard to top. He's also very sparing in his praise and is often critical, which is OK. Defensive coaches are typically much harder on players than offensive coaches, which brings us to ....

Martz: He drilled his quarterbacks on drops, timing, and spacing. At one point, Martz the meticulous, looked over at a wide receiver before the start of a play and stopped everything. "You're supposed to be 4 yards outside the numbers," Martz instructed holding up four fingers, "widen out just a tick." The receiver widened about 18 inches and then Martz re-started the play.

While demanding, Martz is almost soothing with his quarterbacks. When Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan fumbled while getting the ball to a running back, Martz stepped in looked at Brennan and said softly, "That's on you. That's on you." He then told Brennen what he did wrong.

To Martz the most important qualities of a quarterback are intelligence, toughness and accuracy. He admitted in an interview with NFL network that coaching quarterbacks is more involved because of the prevalence of the spread offense in college. Quarterbacks not only don't know how to take a quarterback drop, but their mechanics get lazy.

Spread quarterbacks have to learn to throw in rapidly closing zone defenses in the NFL and Martz says that's why timing is so important. If a quarterback's knees are too high in his drop, it takes him too long to set up and it throws off the timing. Martz also said quarterbacks have to get used to reading defenses on their last two steps of their drops, something most don't have to do in college. Martz also taught his group that drops are different depending on coverage. If a cornerback is playing back on a receiver who's going deep, Martz instructed to take the standard 5-step drop. If the corner is playing press, Martz said to take three steps, pump, to get the corner to bite, and then take two more steps and release.

The detail was fascinating.

Tomorrow, just for kmac, we'll start evaluating the Senior Bowl prospects, even if it is a week late.

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | January 31 2008 at 09:24 PM

For the Record

After reading the posts related to the Ted Tollner hire, it should be noted that Tollner and 49ers offensive coordinator Mike Martz have a similiar grounding in the Don Coryell passing-game philosophy. When Tollner was Coryell's offensive coordinator at San Diego State (1973-80), Martz was coaching at San Diego Mesa College.

Both are versed on the "digital" system, a streamlined language where passing routes are reduced to numbers not names. Tollner branched out in the West Coast/Bill Walsh offense later.

Posted By: Kevin Lynch (Email) | January 30 2008 at 06:41 PM