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Alex Smith repeatedly set aside his pride during seven seasons with the San Francisco 49ers.

It's good to see him make an exception when warranted.

Smith's free-agent visit to the Miami Dolphins might look like an attempt by that organization to further suppress the price for another free-agent quarterback, Matt Flynn.

But let's face it, Flynn was already languishing on the discount rack. Green Bay thought better of naming him its franchise player. Seattle, though interested, did not make Flynn an offer during his recent visit to the team's headquarters. And if the Seahawks do make an offer, they likely will not value him appreciably more than they valued Tarvaris Jackson, who signed for $4 million a year.

From Smith's perspective, a visit to the Dolphins -- or any team -- was exactly what he needed after the 49ers entered the chase for Peyton Manning.

San Francisco remains the best fit for Smith. But if the 49ers do land Manning, Smith will have to find a job elsewhere. There's nothing wrong with the 49ers looking out for their own interests by considering an obvious upgrade at quarterback. There's likewise nothing wrong with Smith looking out for his interests as well.

Smith swallowed his pride last offseason when he returned to the 49ers following a brutal six-year run with the team. He previously said and did all the right things through multiple coaching changes and organizational miscues. He did stand up to then-coach Mike Nolan when Nolan publicly questioned his toughness, one of the few times Smith has stood up for himself. That was absolutely warranted.

The circumstances are warranted this time as well. Even if Manning opts for Tennessee instead of the 49ers, can Smith be certain San Francisco would take him back over, say, a newly available Matt Hasselbeck? To what extent does Smith still trust his longtime agent, Tom Condon, and his latest coach, Jim Harbaugh? We do not yet have answers to these questions. Does Smith?

Condon has also represented Manning, an obvious conflict of interest. And Harbaugh, for all the public support he has offered Smith, must put the 49ers' interests over Smith's interests. Because in the end, football is a business, even for a team that went out of its way to promote itself as one big family.

Count Frank Cignetti's expected hiring as quarterbacks coach in St. Louis as the latest career parallel between the Rams' Sam Bradford and the San Francisco 49ers' Alex Smith.

Both were No. 1 overall draft choices.

Both began their careers under first-time head coaches with backgrounds on defense.

Both started as rookies.

Both watched their original offensive coordinators take head coaching jobs elsewhere after one season. Mike McCarthy left the 49ers for Green Bay in 2006. Pat Shurmur left the Rams for Cleveland in 2011.

Both appeared fortunate when their teams landed high-profile replacements. Norv Turner replaced McCarthy. Josh McDaniels replaced Shurmur. Turner and McDaniels had been head coaches, but both were best known for calling plays.

Smith and Bradford would experience coordinator changes once again while entering their third seasons. Turner left the 49ers to coach San Diego. McDaniels left St. Louis to rejoin New England.

In a coincidence of coincidences, Bradford and Smith will have approached their third NFL seasons with Cignetti as their new position coach, provided the Rams make official Cignetti's expected hiring. Cignetti coached Smith and the 49ers' quarterbacks in 2007. The Rams have targeted him to work with Bradford this season.

These circumstantial parallels will not necessarily produce the same results. Many other variables come into play.

Mike Nolan was entering his third and final full season as the 49ers' head coach in 2007, whereas Jeff Fisher is entering his first season with the Rams. The coaching situation in St. Louis appears more stable than the one Smith encountered in 2007, when the 49ers were breaking in a first-time coordinator and Nolan was nearing the end.

The Rams' new coordinator, Brian Schottenheimer, has much more experience.

Still, the parallels between Smith and Bradford through two seasons are uncanny, at least.

Smith suffered a serious shoulder injury during his third season. He missed the 2008 season before rebounding to throw 49 touchdown passes with 27 interceptions in three subsequent seasons.

NFL coaches and personnel people tend to be very much attuned to the credit/blame handed out for putting together their teams.

They should be. Their jobs often hang in the balance.

Terry Donahue, Steve Mariucci, Scot McCloughan, Mike Nolan, Mike Singletary, Trent Baalke and Jim Harbaugh were responsible to varying degrees for putting together the suddenly world-beating San Francisco 49ers. Some helped more than others. Some arguably did more damage than good.

Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com points out which current 49ers players joined the roster under which coaches and personnel people. Noted: Teams often don't get enough credit for the moves they decide against making. The 49ers have shown restraint in free agency over the last few years, taking care to maintain balance in the locker room by rewarding their own deserving players, such as Patrick Willis and Vernon Davis. They could have gone after Nnamdi Asomugha this past offseason and many of us would have supported such a move, but they've done quite well with the much cheaper Carlos Rogers, and they didn't set a new pecking order in their locker room with his signing. The 49ers could have thrown money at Aubrayo Franklin and Dashon Goldson. They could have re-signed Takeo Spikes. Every one of those moves would have drawn public approval. Instead, the team paid Ray McDonald, promoted NaVorro Bowman and let the market settle on Goldson before re-signing him at a reduced rate. It's impossible to know how the season might have played played out had the team acted differently, but a 5-1 record makes every move appear a little wiser.

Grant Cohn of the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat details what goes on during quarterback meetings.

Bay Area News Group has a story about 49ers receiver Michael Crabtree tweeting that a Raiders fan police officer pulled him over and caused him to miss his flight.

Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch checks in with Rams receiver Mark Clayton, who is returning from the physically unable to perform list. Clayton: "It's been a complete year since I've done anything team-oriented and practice-wise. I'll feel like a college freshman kind of coming back in and getting started with everything again."

Also from Thomas: Sam Bradford remains hopeful about playing Sunday despite a sprained ankle. Thomas: "It occurred on the Rams' last offensive play of the game against Green Bay. Basically, the entire pocket collapsed on him and he got hit from a few angles. There was such a heap of humanity that game tape doesn't really show exactly how Bradford's left ankle was hurt."

Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic looks at what options the Cardinals had in signing a No. 2 receiver opposite Larry Fitzgerald. Somers: "I think it's unfair to place a ton of blame on the two receivers for the failures in the passing game. Quarterback Kevin Kolb has struggled the past three weeks, both with accuracy and decisions. The protection has been leaky. And there have been too many drops by everyone -- receivers, tight ends and running backs. It's important to note, too, that this offense is built differently than those in coach Ken Whisenhunt's previous four seasons. The Cardinals have threats at tight end, and everyone assumed the acquisition of Todd Heap would mean fewer opportunities for the second and third receivers. But the Cardinals have had trouble getting the ball to Heap and rookie Rob Housler, who have the skills to make catches deep down the middle. Those kinds of completions would relieve pressure on Fitzgerald, too."

Also from Somers: The Cardinals have made a couple of unnamed offensive tweaks, typical for a bye week.

Eric D. Williams of the Tacoma News Tribune says former Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren has no plans to coach again, according to what Holmgren told Sports Radio 950 KJR in Seattle. Holmgren on how long he plans to be with the Browns: "It’s hard to tell for sure, but I’m pretty sure it’s not going to be 10 years. We still have our home in Seattle. And like I said, the kids are there, the grandkids are there. And I don’t think they are going to be moving anywhere too soon. So our vision is to kind of get back to that area at some point. Exactly when that is (I don’t know). I would like to see improvement here and lay the foundation here so they can feel good about their team again before I make any changes at all." Noted: Holmgren's use of the word "they" to describe the Browns could simply reflect him adopting a Northwest mentality when speaking with people he knows from Seattle. It also could reflect his previously stated desire to have stayed with the Seahawks.

Jerry Brewer of the Seattle Times is past the point of rehashing what precipitated Holmgren's departure from the Seahawks, and what it means now. Me, too.

Clare Farnsworth of seahawks.com provides an update from practice, noting that Tarvaris Jackson was a limited participant.

Frank Gore should be frustrated over his contract situation, and he is, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Unfortunately for Gore, he's a 28-year-old running back coming off an injury-shortened season with one year remaining on his contract. Getting a lucrative long-term extension right now will be harder than getting one when he's pushing 29 years old next offseason.

The reality is that Gore has probably signed the final long-term, big-money deal of his career. He's sacrificed his body for the 49ers when they didn't have enough help around him. He's played hurt, demonstrated tremendous toughness and remained a team player even when the organization was suffering through dysfunction, particularly on offense.

There are two sides to this story.

The 49ers tore up Gore's rookie deal in 2007 after only two years, rewarding him for exceeding expectations that came with his status as a third-round draft choice.

"It's a little early," then-49ers coach Mike Nolan said at the time. "Frank just finished his second year. But we identified somebody we want in Frank. He's a young player and we wanted to extend it and it's still very early in his career."

The alternative for Gore would have been playing out that rookie deal, then signing a more representative extension a year or two later, in which case Gore would have multiple years remaining on his deal. Cashing in when he did, in 2007, reset the clock.

I do not envision the 49ers giving Gore millions in new money under the current circumstances. The team has a first-year head coach, a promising backup in Kendall Hunter and legitimate questions about Gore's durability.

The lockout has come at a good time for NFC West alumni Oshiomogho Atogwe and Mike Singletary.

Neither will have to worry about football matters intervening when Atogwe, late of the St. Louis Rams, marries Jill Singletary, whose famous father coached the San Francisco 49ers through last season.

Bob Duff of the Province has the story. Atogwe and his bride-to-be have the wedding website.

According to Atogwe, this marriage might never have happened if the 49ers hadn't named Mike Singletary interim head coach after firing Mike Nolan. Atogwe had met the Singletary family a few years earlier at a Pro Athletes Outreach event in Arizona. Atogwe was in his second year with the Rams at the time. Jill Singletary was still in high school, but she evidently made a lasting first impression.

"Fast forward roughly three years (end of 2008)," Atogwe wrote in their online wedding journal. "I'm playing for the Rams. ... Mike Nolan, the then head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, gets fired and his interim replacement is, (you guessed it) Mike Singletary. Now, not only was I happy for him, but lo and behold thoughts of a daugther, who should be around 19 or 20, resurface, yet again ever so smoothly placed there by God. So I, being the obedient servant that I am, I take the initiative of reaching out to her via Facebook and as she says, the rest is history."

Jill was apparently wary enough to make sure their first face-to-face meeting took place in a safe setting -- her aunt's house. Having a Hall of Fame linebacker as her father had to add a sense of security as well.

Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee provides one more piece of evidence affirming Alex Smith's intentions to re-sign with the San Francisco 49ers. Barrows: "Smith, who is an unrestricted free agent, spoke publicly for the first time since the 2010 season ended. He said he didn't want to be quoted but said the thrust of his comments could be relayed. The main thrust -- that there's a good likelihood that he will return to the 49ers for a seventh season." The 49ers have already met with him, given him a playbook and declared Smith part of the team. It's become a foregone conclusion Smith will return for 2011. As coach Jim Harbaugh told NFL Network in his latest comments on the matter: "We're well-documented on the record that we very much want Alex to be a 49er next year. And he really is a 49er. In my mind, and hopefully in his mind, he is a 49er and we look forward to him competing for that starting quarterback position next year."

Also from Barrows: Is Kendall Hunter the next Brian Westbrook?

Mindi Bach of CSNBayArea.com has this to say about Smith's likely return: "When he met with new 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh in January, the two men hit it off immediately, Smith said. He said he liked the idea of playing for an offensive-minded head coach who played quarterback in the NFL. Mike Nolan and Mike Singletary, 49ers head coaches since 2005, both came from defensive backgrounds."

Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com explains why defensive backs Colin Jones and Curtis Holcomb appealed to the 49ers in the draft. General manager Trent Baalke on Jones: "When you look at the measurable, he's 6-foot, 210 pounds, runs low 4.4s and you can see it on film. He loves special teams. You look at the TCU film, covering kicks, covering punts, he's the first one down and he's not afraid of contact."

Tony Softli of 101ESPN St. Louis looks at potential free-agent defensive tackles for the Rams to consider this offseason. The Giants' Barry Cofield and the Seahawks' Brandon Mebane made the list. Softli on Cofield: "Cofield has developed into one of the league's best interior defensive linemen. He has explosive use of his hands with quickness out of stance and plays behind pads. Good run stopper with football instincts and a nose for the ball. Solid lateral movement over and around trash, a dominant interior lineman with some nasty in his play. Pass rush is adequate, but reacts well to screens and hustles to second level."

Mike Baldwin of the Oklahoman says former Rams and Steelers defensive back Clendon Thomas will be enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame. Thomas picked off three passes for the Rams in 1961, then had 15 interceptions for the Steelers over a two-year period. Baldwin: "A second-round selection, Thomas played 11 years in the NFL with the Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers. Playing primarily defensive back, because of his size and speed, Thomas was considered one of the top athletes in the league. Selected to the 1963 Pro Bowl and a three-time second team All-Pro selection, Thomas played in 137 professional games. He compiled 27 interceptions and 10 fumble recoveries. Thomas, 75, is a member of the Steelers Legends team. He also intercepted a Paul Hornung pass and returned it for a touchdown."

Clare Farnsworth of seahawks.com says Bobby Engram was "humbled" to earn a spot as the third receiver on the Seahawks' 35th anniversary team, determined by online fan balloting. Farnsworth: "Finishing second to Steve Largent (5,004 votes) was Brian Blades (3,487), and coming in third -- as the slot receiver -- was Bobby Engram (2,254). Darrell Jackson finished fourth (1,388), followed by Joey Galloway (941), Daryl Turner (211) and Koren Robinson (95)."

Also from Farnsworth: Engram's former teammates reflect on the receiver's contributions. Lofa Tatupu: "His understanding of what the route needs or what the coaches expect out of it, the way he could read coverages, his understanding of route concepts and what the defense was doing -- it was all second to none. You put a nickel or a corner on him on the inside, he’d eat him up all day. Bobby was a professional in every sense of the word. He was an amazing guy – a guy you love to have in the locker room, a leader."

Brady Henderson of 710ESPN Seattle asks whether Seattle could be in line to host a Super Bowl. ESPN.com's John Clayton put the chances at "virtually none" thanks to a combination of factors including hotel rooms, weather and stadium size.

Darren Urban of azcardinals.com shows off a sensational "Grand Cannon" poster featuring then-Cardinals quarterback Neil Lomax standing before a Grand Canyon backdrop.

Pat Kirwan of NFL.com thinks Arizona would be a good fit for Carson Palmer if the Bengals decided to trade the disgruntled quarterback. Kirwan: "There’s no denying his talent and experience. If you’re looking to duplicate some of the things you did with Kurt Warner, he’s your best choice." Palmer would instantly make the Cardinals a leading candidate to win the NFC West, in my view. His addition would energize the team and revive the offense, particularly with three capable running backs to lessen the load.

Greg Bedard of the Boston Globe checks in with Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, who offers thoughts on an unusual offseason -- and on his contract situation in particular. Hasselbeck said he feels as though the Seahawks want him back, that he is not upset talks failed to produce an agreement and that he understands the labor situation's complicated negotiations for most potential free agents. Hasselbeck: "I think it’s genuine, I think it’s sincere that they want me back, it’s just a matter of how badly. I know that I would like to be there, I think I can help them keep going on what we’re building there, it’s just a matter if it fits into the new agreement and how they want to do things and whatever else they look at." Sounds like Hasselbeck has a good grasp of the big picture and isn't caught up in the emotional aspect of negotiations. That is best for all parties.

Lowell Cohn of the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat says the 49ers and Alex Smith would benefit from moving in different directions. Cohn: "The Niners and Smith are like an unhappy couple that spends years in couples therapy never working anything out because the marriage was a dud from Day One. If the 49ers re-sign Smith he would be a bridge to the new guy they draft next week -- Christian Ponder, Jake Locker, whomever. But would he be a good bridge or would he collapse and plop into the swirling waters below? I say he’s collapsible. He’s already gotten two head coaches fired. Granted, Mike Nolan and Mike Singletary did a lot to get themselves fired, but their insistence on Smith was a deal breaker and a job ender, for sure." He'll get no argument from Roddy White.

Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com says Smith would have re-signed with the 49ers by now if remaining with the team were his priority. Maiocco: "If Smith had his sights set on returning to the 49ers, why wouldn't he have signed a new deal before March 3 and then started organizing workouts with his teammates in the Bay Area? Smith has already passed up a golden opportunity to step up as a leader among his peers during the lockout." Smith was smart to wait. How the 49ers address the position in the draft will shape whatever role he was going to have with the team. His value goes up if the 49ers fail to address the position seriously. His options elsewhere become more appealing if the team makes a bold move to shore up the position.

Also from Maiocco: Prince Amukamara and Robert Quinn could be options for the 49ers at No. 7 if Von Miller and Patrick Peterson are not available.

More from Maiocco: Receiver Julio Jones was scheduled to visit the 49ers.

Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee has the 49ers trading back to No. 10 and selecting Quinn with the 10th overall choice, acquired from Washington, in his latest mock draft.

Lynn DeBruin of the Associated Press explains why former 49ers quarterback Steve Young is having a hard time getting a ski cabin built for his father. DeBruin: "Young owns the land but not the water rights. Salt Lake City owns water rights in the canyon dating back to a court ruling more than 120 years. And the city isn't about to begin selling its precious resource or permits to build housing in its watershed."

Paola Boivin of the Arizona Republic thinks the Cardinals should use the fifth pick in the 2011 NFL draft for Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert, if possible, in part because of his accuracy. Boivin: "It's too hard to ignore the fiasco last season that saw the Cardinals go through four quarterbacks. Chew on this for a minute: Seventy-nine quarterbacks threw passes in the NFL last season. In the category of quarterback rating, the Cardinals' foursome ranked 59th (Derek Anderson), 63rd (John Skelton), 67th (Richard Bartel) and 73rd (Max Hall). Accuracy was the deal-breaker. Anderson completed 51.7 percent of his tries, Hall 50 percent and Skelton 47.6. Bartel was the leader of the group at 57.1, but he attempted only 28 passes."

Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch asks whether or not St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke can devote enough attention to the team after becoming majority owner of Arsenal recently. Miklasz: "Kroenke's style can work with the Rams. He can keep his distance and still field a winning team as long as he has a sharp management team in place. Having an aggressive, hands-on owner doesn't ensure success. (Just ask the Washington Redskins, owned by Daniel Snyder. Or the Dallas Cowboys of Jerry Jones since Jimmy Johnson left as coach-GM in the early 1990s.) Truth is, it's just too soon to know how all of this will play out in St. Louis." The Rams could do much worse than having a stable owner with deep pockets and the sense to let football people do the football work.

Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch looks back at the Rams' 2008 draft and says Chris Long's emergence has changed perceptions. The team's defensive coaching staff at the time preferred LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, but general manager Billy Devaney and then-coach Scott Linehan wanted Long. Thomas on Long: "He enjoyed a breakout 2010 campaign, and his disruptive play went beyond his career-high 8½ sacks because he also had team-high totals of 16 quarterback hits and 21 QB pressures. He was in the backfield a lot. Coupled with a near-career year by right end James Hall, the Rams improved their sack total by 18 over '09 -- tying Detroit for the largest increase in the league."

Tony Softli of 101ESPN St. Louis offers thoughts on players drafted with the 14th overall choice, the first-round pick held by the Rams this year.

New San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh has repeatedly offered praise for quarterback Alex Smith.

The two have met several times, leaving the rest of us to focus on whether bringing back Smith could make sense for the 49ers heading into an uncertain offseason. We've spent less energy discussing whether returning to the 49ers would make sense for Smith.

Getting a fresh start in a new place could help Smith shake the expectations that arguably dragged him down as the first player chosen in the 2005 NFL draft. But the grass is not always greener someplace else and there's a decent chance San Francisco could stand as Smith's best option, as I noted in response to a New Zealand-based 49ers fan, Mike, during a recent Facebook exchange.

Smith might be unlikely to find another situation featuring:

• A sharp offensive-minded head coach. Smith's previous head coaches, Mike Nolan and Mike Singletary, had defensive backgrounds. Both had their strengths, but neither handled quarterback situations very well. Smith questioned Nolan's motives and raised concerns about Singletary's demeanor during games. Harbaugh understands NFL quarterbacks. He was one, after all.
• Players Smith knows and likes. Vernon Davis and others have consistently backed Smith. Smith has friends on the team.
• Enough talent on the roster to be competitive. The 49ers are starting over from a coaching standpoint, but they have more talent than the typical rebuilding team. They opened the 2010 season with the youngest starting offense in the league, a unit featuring multiple recent first-round draft choices (Joe Staley, Mike Iupati, Anthony Davis, Vernon Davis, Michael Crabtree and Smith).
• A division as unsettled as the NFC West. The 49ers were 6-10 last season and still finished only one game out of first place.
• An unsettled quarterback situation. If Smith signed right now, he would be the best quarterback on the roster and the favorite to start. There's no guarantee the 49ers will land a player clearly more talented before the regular season.

Smith will have to consider options elsewhere, of course, and the 49ers will look to upgrade. But these specific criteria could, in the end, trump the overriding notion that a fresh start would be best no matter what.

Al from Kingston, Jamaica: Sando, greetings, mon. Die-hard Ram fan here, probably the only one you'll meet living In Jamaica. My question for you is, am I the only St. Louis fan who gets agitated when the Cardinals talk about Kurt Warner is if playing for their franchise made him an all-time great? Hello! Though he had a few great seasons in Arizona and he may have brought them to the Super Bowl, he didn't win it with them. He won it with the St. Louis Rams. I could go on.

Mike Sando: Sometimes I'll hear from people wondering whether Warner, if elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, would go in as a member of the Rams or Cardinals. He would go in as neither because the Hall enshrines people, not their employers.

I think there's enough of Warner to go around for two fan bases, plus those St. Louis Cardinals fans who follow the team since its move to Arizona.

Warner did win a championship with the Rams, but his postseason numbers were better with the Cardinals. It wasn't Warner's fault the Cardinals' defense failed to hold the lead after he found Larry Fitzgerald for the go-ahead touchdown pass late in the game.

The first chart breaks down Warner's production by team for regular-season games, based on information from Pro Football Reference.

The second chart focuses only on playoffs and Super Bowls. Warner holds the three highest single-game yardage totals in Super Bowl history.

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Mad Mike from Houston writes: As a Hall of Fame voter, how does Cris Carter not get into the Hall of Fame? Doesn't make sense to me. It is about football and the guy is No. 3 all time. Nuts!

Mike Sando: I had the same thought before I was a voter. The voters have basically said he wasn't one of the five best candidates in a given year. Specifically, voters have left him off the final 10. That is a bit of a surprise given his numbers, but a few factors could be at work here.

One, there are some really strong candidates out there. Putting in Carter would mean leaving off someone else. Two, Carter has competition from other top receivers, specifically Andre Reed and Tim Brown. Voters might have different opinions on which of the three is most deserving, and this could split the receiver vote, hurting any one candidate's chances. Three, passing and receiving numbers have become inflated, inviting questions about how to interpret them.

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Brandon from Pullman, Wash., writes: I think it's interesting that the Steelers, winners of two recent Super Bowls against the Seahawks and Cardinals, didn't have the luxury of beating up on an NFC West team this time, and had their hats handed to them. Coincidence? Maybe. Is there any precedent for teams beating up on the same division in the Super Bowl?

Mike Sando: I just see no connection. Seattle was a 13-3 team in 2005 and not just a product of a weak division. That team had the best offensive line in the league, a record-setting running back, a Pro Bowl quarterback and some good players on defense. I thought it was a pretty strong team independent of the division.

The 2008 Cardinals were more of a surprise team based on their regular season. I did not think the Steelers beat up on them, though. Arizona led the game in the final few minutes.

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Jerome from Mt. Vernon, Wash., writes: Mike, looking at one of your fellow ESPN.com writer's article showing teams' payrolls, the Seahawks are one of the lowest spending teams out there. Do you anticipate an active offseason for Seattle? Re-signing Raheem Brock, while adding Robert Gallery and the Raiders' stud cornerback could really do a lot to solidify our weaknesses.

Mike Sando: The Seahawks have a large number of players without contracts for 2011. That is why the payroll is lower. The number will come up as they add players to fill out their roster. They will need to sign a quarterback, and that will add several million. I do think Seattle will try to be active, but the labor situation could limit its options.

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Alex from Lancaster, Calif., writes: Hey Sando, I'm a big fan. Keep doing what you are doing here on the blog. I'm a longtime Niner fan, and every year I'm looking for that one thing that will return us to greatness again. Jim Harbaugh could be it ... but we have thought that in the past about many different things: Mike Singletary, Mike Nolan, Jed York taking over ... and Alex Smith, which brings me to my question: We have had many discussions about what would have happened had the 49ers taken Aaron Rodgers over Alex Smith, but my question is whether the Packers would have won the Super Bowl last night if they had drafted Alex? Assuming he would go through everything the same, I think yes. Thoughts? Thanks, and go Niners!

Mike Sando: Answering that one definitively would be unfair to all involved. Rodgers' has a brasher demeanor and I think that serves him well. I'd give Rodgers the clear edge even though Smith would have fared better had he gone to the Packers.

DALLAS -- Sixteen years have passed since Steve Young defined his legacy while leading the San Francisco 49ers to their fifth Super Bowl championship.

The 49ers haven't been back to a Super Bowl since and they haven't even sniffed the playoffs since 2002. That was four head coaches and one interim coach ago.

Ten quarterbacks have started games for the 49ers since 2000; the number was 12 for the previous 19 seasons, and two of those guys are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The losing and instability stand in stark contrast to the standards two other proud franchises, Green Bay and Pittsburgh, have set in reaching this Super Bowl. The Packers and Steelers have weathered downturns and gotten stronger.

What happened to the 49ers? Who deserves the blame? Why? What will it take to restore the 49ers' status? Those were the questions I asked on the blog Wednesday. There was no shortage of material in the comments section, but one of the shortest answers summarized most of the feelings.

"Bad ownership picking bad leadership picking bad coaches picking bad talent," Claatuop wrote.

Total system failure, in other words.

It's the ownership

Green Bay and Pittsburgh feature arguably the strongest, most stable ownership situations in the NFL.

The Packers have had the same basic philosophy toward personnel since Ron Wolf became their general manager in 1991. Wolf has long since retired, but the Packers' current GM, Ted Thompson, learned under him. Green Bay has likewise run a version of the West Coast offense since Mike Holmgren became their coach in 1992.

The Steelers have had three head coaches since 1969.

The 49ers enjoyed stable ownership until legal troubles forced Eddie DeBartolo Jr. to give up control of the team in 2000. The team posted winning records under coach Steve Mariucci in 2001 and 2002, but Mariucci was out after that season and the team hasn't had a winning record in any season since.

"For the 49ers, it all comes down to ownership," caseytb4949 wrote. "After the Eddie DeBartolo fiasco, ownership of the team transitioned to his sister, Denise, who had little interest in the 49ers. Her husband, who exerted practical control of the team, was and is not a football guy. What's worse, his ego was such that it precluded him from hiring sound football minds. He hired an inexperienced GM, Terry Donahue, and forced out a winning coach in Steve Mariucci. His GM then went on to completely gut the team's talent."

Harsh words, but the evidence supports the general idea, minus the ego part. Quite a few comments suggested the 49ers have put business before football since DeBartolo's departure.

"It was 'Eddie D' leaving and the departure from the Bill Walsh coaching/personnel tree," kingjames988 wrote. "When you move away from what made you great, you almost always end up with less success."

John York and Denise DeBartolo York have handed control of the team to their son, Jed. Jed York, as team president, has shown he values the 49ers' past and the values that made the organization great, but there's little evidence to this point he knows how to return the team to its previous standing.

Its' the leadership

The 49ers have bounced from one leadership team and front-office model to another.

They've handed over total control to a head coach (Mike Nolan). They've had a GM (Scot McCloughan) work with a head coach (Mike Singletary) who had final say over the 53-man roster. They've gone without a GM (after McCloughan left the team abruptly last year).

The current setup is more traditional, with new coach Jim Harbaugh working under new general manager Trent Baalke.

Frequently shifting leadership has made it tougher for the team to develop players and maintain a consistent philosophy. Bad luck has compounded matters, as when offensive coordinators Mike McCarthy and Norv Turner took head coaching jobs.

The 49ers sustained Walsh's philosophy on offense and overall, at least to an extent, into the last decade. But Walsh's influence was eroding all the while. And when Donahue took over as general manager in 2001, Walsh was available only as a consultant. He was out of the organization by 2005 and died in 2007.

"Going from Walsh to Donahue was a complete swing-and-miss, and he fired Steve Mariucci after a year where the Niners went 10-6 and won one of the most epic playoff games of all time," Joey Barrows wrote. " 'Mooch' was perfect for the Niners and bad management messed that up."

What started as a reasoned explanation turned into a more emotional rant mentioning Dennis Erickson, Tim Rattay, Ken Dorsey, the York family's ownership, Turner and Mike Nolan. It concluded with, "And don't get me started on Mike Singletary. Dear Lord."

It's the coach

Walsh set the standard. George Seifert sustained the legacy. Mariucci maintained offensive continuity. They all won.

The 49ers haven't had a winning season since Mariucci lost an internal power struggle.

Singletary projected strong leadership, but he had never been even a coordinator, let alone a head coach. Nolan had never been a head coach, either. In retrospect, the 49ers could have benefited from more seasoned leadership on the sideline, particularly without more experienced leadership in the front office.

"It seems that every department performed poorly after Mariucci left," catterbu wrote. "There is also a certain chicken-egg sort of scenario that has taken place. Instability with coaching leads to poor development of players since the same coaches are not there for very long, which leads to poor performance and firing of the coaches. It's the cycle that must be broken. I think that many of us 49ers fans still love the team, but have almost grown numb to the pain."

Harbaugh has succeeded as a head coach at the college level. He has expertise on offense, something the 49ers haven't had in a head coach since Dennis Erickson replaced Mariucci. The 49ers ranked fifth in yards and ninth in points under Erickson while going 7-9 in 2003, but they parted with quarterback Jeff Garcia after the season.

Which leads to the next problem area.

It's the quarterback

One of the greatest 49ers, retired receiver Jerry Rice, offered his thoughts Thursday morning between appearances on ESPN. He pointed to management problems and the 49ers' decision to draft Alex Smith over Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers with the first overall choice in 2005.

"I mean, there are certain draft choices that you make or you don't make and it's going to cost you," Rice said. "This guy (Rodgers) was right there at Cal. He wanted to be a 49er. But we decided to pass on him and go with Alex Smith. This is not all his fault, but Alex Smith at Utah was more of just a shotgun passer. That is a whole different scenario there. Then with him having so many offensive coordinators and stuff like that, it was major."

The 49ers won at least 10 games in every non-strike season between 1981 and 1998. Young played only three games in 1999 before retiring.

Joe Montana and/or Young were the quarterbacks during that brilliant run from 1981-1998. The 49ers had limited success with Jeff Garcia in subsequent years, but they haven't acquired or developed the right quarterback. Sometimes it's that simple.

"The Niners were once a team that was built upon a strong mixed offense," SFDM12 wrote, "but over the years they have had some key ingredients, but always lack one important piece: a stable quarterback that can handle the pressure and deliver."

Having the wrong quarterback magnifies problems that might not matter so much otherwise, whether it's losing a coordinator or making a mistake in the draft. Rice thinks the quarterback issue is even bigger now than when he played, because players are less apt to rally around a lesser one.

"When I played the game, if it was not Montana or Young, I had to do whatever I had to do to make that guy under center better, and I took pride in that," Rice said. "But with the guys today, they are not going to do that. If they feel you are not capable of doing it, they are not going to waste their time. You are done. It's a whole different generation of guys. I'm not saying they don't love the game, but I could tell with the Niners that they did not feel confident that this guy was the leader and they could win games with him."

For that reason, and because the 49ers have pretty good talent elsewhere on the roster, Rice said he thinks the 49ers should pursue a veteran quarterback.

The road back

The 49ers' ownership isn't likely to change. The leadership and coaching positions appear set.

Quarterback remains a massive question mark.

Harbaugh has a five-year contract and a clear offensive philosophy. He should be able to offer some continuity on offense, at least. And he has said he'll reach back into the West Coast tradition Walsh established three decades ago.

"That was the philosophy he was using at Stanford," Rice said. "It is very simple where these players can just go play football. I think that is going to help. I think having a GM in place is going to help because it takes some of the pressure off Jim Harbaugh."

They will, of course, need the quarterback.

"Since the hiring of Nolan, they have at least tried to do the right thing, and the roster talent has grown immensely," WakeTripper wrote. "With Jed at the helm, there seems to be a new attitude, more similar to the 'Eddie D' days. And now, capped with the hiring of Harbaugh and his desire to bring back the West Coast Offense, us longtime fans can at least have hope that the Niners can regain their team identity and return to their former status as one of the great teams in the league."

Frequent coaching turnover is part of life in the NFL.

The Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams and San Francisco 49ers have had 10 head coaches, interim or otherwise, since Arizona hired Ken Whisenhunt for the 2007 season.

Pete Carroll, Steve Spagnuolo and Jim Harbaugh remain from a group that has included Mike Holmgren, Jim Mora, Scott Linehan, Jim Haslett, Mike Nolan, Mike Singletary and Jim Tomsula. NFC West head coaches are set for 2011, but all four teams have staff openings.

As Qwest12thMan noted in the comments of an earlier item, the Seahawks are losing another high-profile assistant coach. Jerry Gray is leaving his job coaching the secondary to become assistant head coach and secondary coach at Texas, his alma mater.

Seattle has now lost offensive line coach Alex Gibbs, quarterbacks coach Jedd Fisch, defensive line coach Dan Quinn and Gray from Carroll's inaugural Seattle staff. Gibbs' departure affected the Seahawks' commitment to the specific zone-blocking scheme he promoted. The team wants a more consistent approach from training camp through the season, and coaching continuity should allow that to happen.

St. Louis remains without an offensive coordinator after interviewing former Denver Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels for the role. The Rams' staff could face additional changes if the team hires a coordinator from the outside. NFL Network suggests McDaniels could be headed to the Rams.

The 49ers have multiple positions open.

Arizona remains without a defensive coordinator, an indication Whisenhunt could be waiting for a candidate to become available following the playoffs. Whisenhunt's history with the Steelers makes Pittsburgh a logical place for him to turn, but linebackers coach Keith Butler might be off-limits. Ray Horton coaches the Steeler's secondary. Their line coach, John Mitchell, is also assistant head coach.

A few nuggets following news that the San Francisco 49ers have identified Stanford assistant head coach Greg Roman as their next offensive coordinator:

• This was an expected move once Stanford hired David Shaw over Roman as successor to new 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh.
• Roman has worked closely with Harbaugh, a bonus. The comfort level is already there. The 49ers haven't had this built-in comfort level between their head coach and offensive coordinators in recent seasons.
• Roman might have done a marvelous job at Stanford, but Harbaugh's background on offense diminishes, to a degree, the value of the 49ers' offensive coordinator. Put another way: The 49ers will be less reliant on their offensive coordinator because their head coach can do the heavy lifting on that side of the ball. That is a welcome change, although the defensive hires now become more important than they were under, say, Mike Nolan.
• The 49ers have not ranked higher than 18th in points per game or 24th in yards per game since ranking among the NFL's top 10 in both categories back in 2003, Dennis Erickson's first year as head coach. The bar has been set pretty low, in other words. Harbaugh and Roman need to jump over it pretty quickly.
• Roman has coached in the NFL with Carolina, Houston and Baltimore. That helps. He was quarterbacks coach for the Texans when current 49ers backup David Carr was their quarterback in 2004 and 2005. I don't know if that makes Carr more or less likely to return as a backup, but the 49ers know they still need to find their long-term starter elsewhere.

We should expect Harbaugh to continue piecing together his staff at an accelerated rate now that Stanford has hired a head coach.

Facebook friend Robert asks: What's your take on the fact that a big-name head coach won't want to join the Niners because the coach wouldn't have enough power? To me personally, I felt like they gave Mike Singletary too much power for not having any experience. So, if they were willing to give him so much power, why wouldn't they give an established coach enough power?

Mike Sando: We do not know how much power the 49ers will wind up giving their next coach, or whether it is indeed a fact that a big-name coach will not want to join the team. I do not think the 49ers gave Singletary significantly more power than most coaches enjoy. They gave him discretion over the 53-man roster, but Singletary did not determine which 80 players would be in camp to begin with.

Jim Harbaugh's name surfaced early in the process. There hasn't been much on that front recently. It could be because the 49ers will not pursue a coach until they hire a GM. It's also possible Harbuagh isn't itching to leave Stanford for the 49ers.

A thought after Mike Lombardi interviewed for the 49ers' job as general manager, then quickly said he wasn't a candidate and the team would hire in-house candidate Trent Baalke within 48 hours: Lombardi and Harbaugh's agent, Jack Bechta, have both worked for National Football Post. If Lombardi wasn't impressed with what he encountered in speaking with the 49ers, Harbaugh's camp might know some of the details.

The 49ers have some talent on their roster, but this head coaching job is not as appealing as some others. A big-name coach might look at the 49ers and ask a range of questions, including:

• What might it be like working for a young, inexperienced team president? Jed York is 29 years old. He is full of enthusiasm and good intentions. Does he know what he is doing? That was York, not Bill Polian, sending out an in-season text message guaranteeing a division title when his team was struggling.
• Will the 49ers compete from a resources standpoint while they continue to play in dilapidated Candlestick Park? The team is now hoping to have a new stadium by 2015, a long ways off.
• Will ownership stand behind the next head coach? Mike Nolan had to force ownership's hand after getting word a coaching change was looming. Singletary delivered the intensity York said he wanted, but could not survive one losing season. Of the team's past three head coaches, Nolan was the only one to coach even three full seasons.
• Who will play quarterback for this team? Alex Smith, Troy Smith and David Carr aren't the answers. All three could be gone. The team will be starting over at the most important position. Singletary got only one full season. Is there enough time to develop the next quarterback?
• Will the relationship between York, the GM and head coach wind up pitting two against one? York said it's critical for the GM to be "a person that is going to live and die with your coach." Sounds good, but the previous GM, Scot McCloughan, wound up absorbing power from Nolan, and Baalke has already outlasted Singletary. If Baalke becomes GM, the next coach is the newcomer. Any big-name coach will want the dynamics on his terms.

We're looking at an incomplete picture here. Questions outnumber answers. I summarized a few of my early thoughts in this video piece.

Thanks to @rcurtis67 for asking how Jon Gruden could be out of the running in San Francisco, which precipitated some Googling, which led to this NBC Bay Area item about Peter King's comments Tuesday night:

"The 49ers have not been trendsetters in anything recently, except losing. But I do think what they’re going to do this year is going to set an example for a lot of teams in this league to follow. ‘In’ are going to be the young, hungry, affordable, mostly assistant coaches in the NFL. ‘Out’ are going to be the been-there, done-that, won-Super-Bowl guys -- Bill Cowher, Jon Gruden. A lot of people have said, ‘Hey, Gruden is a good candidate for this San Francisco job’. And I’m told flat-out he is not a candidate for the San Francisco job. Instead, a guy like Jim Harbaugh, the Stanford coach, who I’m told by several people around the league is going to be the hot guy this coming offseason. Harbaugh is a guy the 49ers are definitely interested in -- and I think he is going to have interest in them."

The 49ers have gone with first-time head coaches for their last two hires. Neither succeeded. Before hiring Mike Singletary and Mike Nolan, the 49ers went with Dennis Erickson, who did have experience as a head coach. That failed, too. We have no evidence the 49ers' current leadership knows how to identify, develop or support successful head coaches. That does not doom the 49ers to failure in the future, but if they do not hire strong, experienced leadership, it's especially important for them to find an exceptional head coach.

Hiring head coaches with previous experience in the role can carry risks, too. If the 49ers go that route, they need to make sure that coach remains hungry. They would want to make sure he could assemble an ascending, forward-thinking staff. Gruden is a grinder by nature. I would not question his hunger or drive. The 49ers' current leadership could view his strong personality as a threat, however. And if teams really are going to focus on hiring cheaper coaches from the pool of assistants, Gruden obviously would not fit that mold.

ST. LOUIS -- This was supposed to be the year when a little continuity would help push the San Francisco 49ers back into the playoffs.

Not so much.

Mike Singletary's firing as head coach Sunday night capped one of the more tumultuous seasons an NFL franchise could have.

General manager Scot McCloughan resigned abruptly before the draft. Recent high draft choices forced their way out (Kentwan Balmer) and retired (Glen Coffee). Singletary fired Jimmy Raye as offensive coordinator three games into the season and 19 games into Raye's tenure. The team bounced from one quarterback to another and back after gushing over the progress Alex Smith had made in his second season with the same system.

There was no way Singletary could return for another season after the 49ers fell to 5-10 and out of the playoff picture with their 25-17 defeat at St. Louis in Week 16. There was no point in keeping him around for Week 17, either. Might as well start moving forward.

The next head coach of the 49ers presumably will possess some of the qualities Singletary did not. The next head coach will differ in style and substance. The next head coach will also fail if the 49ers do not land the right quarterback, but that is a story for another day.

Singletary's replacement should have:

• Experience as a coordinator. Singletary had never called plays or installed game plans. That made it tougher for him to fix problems that arose. It hurt his credibility as a head coach. Good intentions are not enough in the NFL. Coaches must have answers.
• A track record with quarterbacks. Singletary was ill-equipped to handle quarterbacks and it was obvious when he would feud with them during games. Offense is about execution and precision, particularly at that position.
• The ability to hire a quality staff. The 49ers have some good assistants, but when it came time to hire an offensive coordinator, Singletary had trouble landing preferred candidates. Scott Linehan turned him down, for example. Singletary's relative inexperience as an assistant coach meant he had fewer relationships with assistants around the league.
• A background on offense. Singletary and predecessor Mike Nolan were defensive head coaches. This organization needs to get the quarterback thing right. I think that's easier with an offense-minded head coach. Five of the NFL's six highest-rated passers have offense-minded head coaches.
• Passion tempered by the self-control of a CEO. Singletary has the instincts of a middle linebacker. That could be good -- think Vernon Davis getting his career on track with some tough love from Singletary -- but too often it was bad. Having more of an even keel can help a head coach last.
• Charisma. Singletary had plenty of it. The next coach should, too. After all, the 49ers are trying to get public support for a new stadium.

Team president Jed York told reporters Sunday that he planned to hire a general manager, and that the GM would play a leading role in hiring a head coach. That structure makes sense. The team handed over too much power to Nolan back in 2005, only to take some of it away as coach and team struggled to produce desired results.

Candidates possessing the qualities outlined above will come at a price. They might command more power than the 49ers initially want to hand over.

Two big names come to mind: Jon Gruden and Mike Holmgren. Both have ties to the Bay Area. Both have coached MVP quarterbacks. Both have charisma and credibility. Both have backgrounds on offense. Holmgren has ties to the 49ers' glory years, a bonus.

Gruden has said he has no plans to leave ESPN. Holmgren is under contract to the Cleveland Browns and it is unclear whether he could surface elsewhere even if he wanted a change. We do know Holmgren wants back on the sideline.

The 49ers should aim high. They've put together a roster with front-line talent in several positions, but as Singletary proved, that isn't enough.