Press Conference can be accessed here (will be archived later):
http://cbs5.com/sports/mike.nolan.49ers.2.621776.html
The technician testing the microphone went to the podium and announced that he is the new coach of the 49ers and will now take questions. :-)
John York opens saying that they have had productive meetings over the past two days. "How do we put the 49ers back on the winning track which we started 3 years ago?"
Scot McCloughan will be the new general manager of the 49ers.
Until this season, the 49ers were on the right track. Over the past two days, they have analyzed this frustrating season. Based on York's discussions with Nolan and McCloughan, he believes that they can overcome this season.
Scot McCloughan is up at the podium
Scot McCloughan thanks the ownership for believing in him. It was a big part for Nolan to be around and they will learn from their "downs" and get better. The team is going to build through the draft and supplement through free agency.
Mike Nolan is up
Nolan is excited about this move. Scot and he have a great relationship. It will allow Nolan to focus more on football issues.
Nolan says that he does not believe that he had to convince ownership to allow him to come back for a 4th season. They discussed a lot about what happened this past season. They discussed the good and the bad and what could be changed. At no time was the decision to make Scot the GM his call.
Nolan does not believe that the way the team works together will change. The two will still continue to communicate on all the issues regarding players and personnel.
Nolan prides himself on playing the best players. Scot will bring the good football players onboard and it is the coaches job to use them correctly.
Nolan continues to meet with all of his assistants.
Offensive coordinator Jim Hostler has been let go and will not be back in 2008.
Nolan feels that the faults of 2007 were collective and start at the top with the head coach.
The decision making regarding the coaching staff remains with the head coach.
Nolan is trying to get better all of the time.
It is critical to surround yourself with the best people you can.
Nolan repeats that this move will allow him to focus more on the things that happen on the football field.
Scot McCloughan back up at the podium
The coaches need to be involved in any decisions regarding players as much as possible. They do not want to shove a player on a coach. Nolan and he are not always on the same page when it comes to a player, but they try to combine their opinions to find the right guys. The final call is McCloughan's, but he values the coaching staff's opinions.
Right now, there has not been much thought in hiring more "football people" for the front office. Numbers wise, they are ok right now.
Alex Smith will be in competition to be the starting quarterback. Competition is important in training camp. They are in talks to resign Shaun Hill. They still have to sit down and discuss the situation with Trent Dilfer. If a player falls in their lap with the draft or free agency, they will sign them.
Mike Nolan back up at the podium
Nolan need to have a good relationship with every player, not just the quarterback. Nolan says that he cares for Matt Maiocco and Matt Barrows. :-)
He cares about the players and wants to have the right relationships with each one.
Nolan will be around Smith more often. He wants more interaction.
Nolan will remain the voice of the team but will not be the final decision maker. Nolan will have the final call when it comes to the coaching staff.
The team has already started discussing free agency and who they will go after.
Scot McCloughan back up at the podium
For whatever reason, the team could not get any rhythm going. The players never quit playing though and a lot of that was because of Nolan. The players wanted to play for him and win for him. They are going to fix it and get better players in San Francisco.
Mike Nolan back up at the podium
Nolan is not disappointed by what has happened regarding the new structure. He is very excited about it.
Permission has not yet been requested by any teams to talk to Mike Singletary.
Nolan has a list of people that he would like to go after for offensive coordinator but will not discuss it right now. Hostler was let go because they are all held accountable for what they do. Nolan does not believe that him being stripped of his power is a result of his possible failure in 2007.
Scot McCloughan back up at the podium
When McCloughan took the job, he knew Nolan would be the head coach. Nolan is passionate about football and to get this thing right and get over the hump. McCloughan got a new contract because it was the right thing for the team to do. For him to be locked in, they had to give him a new deal.
Mike Nolan back up at the podium
At no time was there a discussion that Mike Nolan might not be back.
The players have been exposed to a lot of language when it comes to the system that they use. Sometimes they will have to adjust the system to fit the players that they are using.
Scot McCloughan back up at the podium
The goal going forward is to improve. McCloughan is passionate about football and he and Nolan want to win. They go into each Sunday expecting to win. Last year, they said that they would be disappointed if they did not make the playoffs. McCloughan will be disappointed if the players don't believe that they can be a playoff contending team next year.
Mike Nolan back up at the podium
Other than letting go of Hostler, there are other things that they need to fix. There will be things on the offensive staff that will stay the same and other things that will change. Nolan is not necessarily looking for someone that he has worked with to become offensive coordinator. Nolan does "know" most everyone. Some more than others. Even going up against someone helps him understand someone better. He hopes to get someone of the caliber of McCarthy and Turner.
Regarding Mike Singletary, Nolan is very supportive of his coaches getting jobs. Losing Singletary would be tough, but they would work to find the right guy to replace him should he become a head coach.
Nolan feels that the communication between he and Smith was bad. He would like to improve that communication.
Scot McCloughan back up at the podium
The players know that Nolan has their best interest in mind. McCloughan has a good relationship with the players as well. Nolan has to be the one to control the locker room. The head coach is the leader of the team.
Mike Nolan back up at the podium
The press conference took place today, rather than Monday as it was originally scheduled, to better prepare for the meeting. They wanted to fully discuss what happened in 2007.
Someone started to discuss a scenario where the 49ers have homefield advantage, Nolan is offered a contract extension and the team is on the verge of moving to a new stadium in Santa Clara. Nolan cuts in and jokes that he likes that line of questioning and would like to start a new press conference pretending that is where they are.
You would like to surround the coordinator with people that can learn from him and do the job to better prepare for the future.
McCloughan finishes by saying that he reports to ownership. His first big decision is free agency but the team will not hit free agency as hard as they did last year.
End of press conference