The San Francisco 49ers have been on the proverbial Oregon Trail for awhile now, looking for the greatness that no fan has seen since the glory days of, “three-time Super Bowl MVP Joe Montana, perennial Pro Bowler Ronnie Lott, all-time highest career quarterback rating holder Steve Young, and career touchdown leader Jerry Rice.” Well, they say that history is cyclical, and as a diehard 49ers fan, I get excited every time I remember what the first step towards the turnaround team of the 1980s and 90s was: their coach. In 1979, the team hired Bill Walsh, the man who would later become two-time Coach of the Year, take his team to three Superbowl wins, and go 102-63-1 as the 49ers head coach. I might be biased, but I think many agree that Walsh changed the way people think about football forever.
Fast forward to the present. After Sunday’s comeback win over the Washington Redskins, Mike Singletary was officially hired as the new head coach. After accepting the interim title back in October, he brought a struggling team to finish 5-4 under his guidance. This Hall of Famer and former Chicago Bears linebacker has a long road ahead of him if he wants to bring the 49ers back to prominence, but it looks like he’s off to a good start, especially seeing that recently fired coach Mike Nolan could only get that same team to a 2-5 record at the start of the 2008 season.
Now, the next real test is going to be during the off-season. Walsh had the intelligence and tenacity to make successful draft picks, as well as recruit some great free agents. Hopefully Singletary can do the same, bringing the team one step closer to coming full circle.
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