Coaching Staff: 49ers Hire Bobby Engram As Offensive Assistant

Last week Jim Harbaugh lost one of three of his offensive line coaches and former-49er Ray Brown to the Carolina Panthers.  Brown decided to leave and take a similar position for the Panthers. This move left Harbaugh with an opening on his staff that was finally filled.

Today the 49ers announced that former Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Bobby Engram has been hired as an offensive assistant.  This will be the first coaching job for Engram, who retired in 2009 after 14 years in the NFL.  Engram's role will likely be to work with the young wide receivers and help them grasp the West Coast Offense. 

Engram played eight seasons in the West Coast Offense learning under Mike Holmgren, Gil Haskell, and Nolan Cromwell.  In his 14 years as a player he played for the Seattle Seahawks, Kansas City Chiefs, and Chicago Bears.

VIDEO: Brian Wilson on George Lopez

Brian Wilson is either the best actor that baseball has ever seen or this guy is as George Lopez said "mother f---in' crazy."  I don't want to ruin the appearance by transcribing hear for those who haven't seen the video but it is can't miss TV.  You HAVE to watch it.

Before I get to the video I do want to say that I am a bit concerned about him.  It is hard to be a certified ninja and focus on baseball.

Aaron Rodgers and Packers on their way to Super Bowl

Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers are on the way to the Super Bowl after beating the Chicago Bears 21-14.  The Packers will try to win their 13th NFL Championship in their first visit to the title game since Brett Favre took them in 1997 when they lost to the John Elway led Denver Broncos.  The Packers lead all of the NFL in championships with three Super Bowl victories and nine championships.

Rodgers, the former Cal Bears quarterback, will make his first appearance in the Super Bowl after leading the #6 seed Green Bay Packers through the playoffs.  Even though Rodgers threw two interceptions, he did enough throughout the game that the Packers defense was able to shut down the Chicago Bears.  B.J. Raji's pick-6 and Sam Shields' two-interception performance were the main reasons why the Bears could not get anything going on the offensive side of the ball.   

It also didn't help that Jay Cutler left the game early in the third quarter with a knee injury.  Todd Collins was brought in and after throwing four incompletions was replaced by the third string quarterback, Caleb Hanie.  Hanie played rather well and brought the Bears to within a touchdown of tying the game.  His only mistake was the interception he threw that was picked off by B.J. Raji and ran back for the touchdown, which included an Aaron Rodgers-like celebration, and ended up being the difference in the game. 

UCLA names Mike Johnson as new coordinator

On Friday, Jim Harbaugh announced his new coaching staff and Mike Johnson was not part of that staff.  But that’s okay because there was already speculation that he was going to be the offensive coordinator at UCLA, even though he was offered a job on Harbaugh’s staff. 

Now, two weeks later, UCLA has announced the hiring of Mike Johnson and the firing of current offensive coordinator Norm Chow.  Chow is expected to take the Utah offensive coordinator job which should be interesting since Utah will be part of the Pac-12 this year.

As well as the coordinator duties, Johnson will also be coaching the wide receivers while head coach Rick Neuheisel will take over coaching quarterbacks.

Oakland A's quietly improved this off-season

The MLB off-season in the Bay Area has been all about the World Series Champion San Francisco Giants.  Meanwhile, the Oakland A’s have been in the background quietly getting better.  They have taken a roster that was comparable to many AAA farm teams and brought in some experienced hitters in hopes of generating the same kind of success as their across the bay rivals.  The A’s front office has been open to spending money for the first time in a longtime as was shown by their chase for Adrian Beltre.

Let’s look at their moves so far this offseason:

David DeJesus (11/10/2010)…. The A’s traded RHP Vin Mazzaro and LHP Justin Marks to the Kansas City Royals for David DeJesus.  DeJesus will likely be the starter in right field on opening day and also could DH occasionally. 

Edwin Encarnacion (11/12/2010)…. Edwin Encarnacion was claimed by the A’s off of waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays in November.  Encarnacion has been a big disappointment in the league.  He was expected to be a star in Cincinnati and never panned out before being traded to the Blue Jays.  In 2010 he hit .244 with 21 homeruns but that was not good enough for even the Blue Jays to keep him. 

In early December, Encarnacion was not tendered a contract along with Jack Cust and Travis Buck.  Encarnacion’s time with the A’s was about three weeks.  I wonder if the A’s ever even paid him??

Rajai Davis (11/17/2010)…. Davis was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for RHP Daniel Farquhar and Trystan Magnuson.  This deal basically came down to Billy Beane just trying to get anything he could for Davis.  With the addition of Hideki Matsui and Josh Willingham, there was no room for Davis on the roster.

Ryan Sweeney (12/3/2010)…. Ryan Sweeney agreed to a one-year deal with the A’s.  By agreeing to this deal the A’s and Ryan Sweeney were able to avoid arbitration.  Sweeney is expected to be the fourth outfielder for the A’s behind David DeJesus, Josh Willingham, and Coco Crisp.

Brandon McCarthy (12/13/2010)…. The A’s signed former Texas Rangers pitcher, Brandon McCarthy, to a one-year deal.  McCarthy spent last season in the Rangers triple-A organization.  He is expected to compete for one of the starting pitching spots in the rotation.

Joey Devine (12/13/2010)…. The A’s avoided arbitration with Joey Devine by signing him to a one-year deal.

Hideki Matsui (12/14/2010)…. Former New York Yankees designated hitter, Hideki Matsui, signed a one-year deal with Oakland.  Matsui is expected to be the DH primarily.

Josh Willingham (12/16/2010)…. The A’s traded RHP Henry Rodriguez and outfielder Corey Brown to the Washington Nationals for outfielder Josh Willingham.  Willingham is a big improvement over Rajai Davis in the outfield and will bring homerun power to Oakland. 

Philip Humber (12/17/2010)…. The A’s claimed RHP Philip Humber off of waivers from the Kansas City Royals.

Humber was later designated for assignment after the A’s acquired Guillermo Moscoso from the Rangers.

Rich Harden (12/21/2010)…. The A’s signed former A’s pitcher Rich Harden to a one-year deal.  Harden was with the Texas Rangers last year and went 5-5 with a 5.58 ERA in 18 starts.  The oft-injured pitcher will fight Brandon McCarthy for the final spot in the rotation.

Guillermo Moscoso (1/8/2011)…. The A’s traded minor league pitcher Ryan Kelly to the Texas Rangers in exchange for right-handed pitcher Guillermo Moscoso. 

Brad Ziegler (1/15/2011)…. The A’s and Brad Ziegler agreed to a one-year deal to avoid arbitration. 

Grant Balfour (1/18/2011)…. The A’s signed Grant Balfour to a two-year deal with a club option for 2013.  Balfour pitched for the Tampa Bay Rays last season and was 2-1 with a 2.28 ERA.  Balfour will be a nice addition to an already good bullpen.

The A’s also agreed to terms with Dallas Braden, Kevin Kouzmanoff, Conor Jackson, and Josh Willingham.  They also designated Clayton Mortensen for assignment.

Brian Fuentes (1/19/2011)…. The A’s signed reliever Brian Fuentes to a two-year, $10.5 million deal.  Fuentes will likely be the main setup man for Andrew Bailey.

It’s clear that Billy Beane has been very busy this off-season in completely upgrading the roster.  With all of these moves, I expect the A’s to compete with the Texas Rangers for the AL West division title.  Although, they are not big names that he brought in neither were the players that Brian Sabean brought in that helped the Giants get to the World Series.

Report: Giants and Andres Torres Agree to One-Year Deal

According to Mychael Urban of CSNBayArea.com, the Giants have come to agreement with their last arbitration eligible player.  Andres Torres and the Giants have reportedly agreed to a one-year, $2.1 million deal.

Torres was looking for a deal in the range of $2.6 million through the arbitration process while the Giants submitted a number of $1.8 million.  Torres was looking to take advantage of a career year in which he hit .268/.343./.479 as the starting center fielder for the Giants.  Whether this kind of production will continue is anyone’s guess but that’s why the Giants only signed him to a one-year deal.

The signing of Torres likely marks the end of the offseason for the Giants who had seven players eligible for arbitration.  Santiago Casilla ($1.3MM), Mike Fontenot ($1.05MM), Javier Lopez ($2.38MM), Ramon Ramirez ($1.65MM), Cody Ross ($6.30MM), and Jonathan Sanchez ($4.80MM) all came to agreement prior to the scheduled hearing and now Torres joins that bunch.

Golden State Warriors: Mid-Season Grades

By the time that I actually post this the 42^nd game of the Golden State Warriors will have already started.

 

The Warriors are at the halfway point and we really don’t know too much about them other than they are finally healthy for the first time in 2.5 years.  It seems worthless to grade them on the first half of the season when two of their three best players were injured during that time.  If I really wanted an accurate reading of the Warriors I would wait 20 games and grade the team then but I don’t want to.

So here we go.  The team as a whole has been average, which is what you expect for a team that is hanging around a .500 mark.  Through 41 games, the Warriors are 18-23, which is just 8 games short of the 26 total wins they had last year.  With the entire team healthy and an easier record for the second half one could expect to go .500 the rest of the way.  That would likely give them a record of 39-43—not .500 basketball but quite the improvement over last year’s 26-56 record.  The problem is, that under .500 teams don’t make it into the playoffs in the Western Conference.  The last time a team with a .500 record or worse made it to the playoffs was in the 98-99 season with the Minnesota Timberwolves* and that was a strike shortened season.

*Rockets made it in with a .500 record the year before (1997-98)

The Warriors need to get 48-50 wins to have a hope of getting that 8^th seed.  That means they are going to have to win about 30-32 games the rest of the way.  Not going to be easy for this team.

Now let’s get to the grades.

Monta Ellis: You have to start with the best player on the team.  If you would have asked me last year, I would have been on board with trading Monta especially after how Curry looked and it was extremely obvous that they could not play together.  Monta seemed to be the problem and Curry appeared as the solution.  Now, if I had to pick I would keep Ellis and trade Curry and in fact the Warriors might do that.  Although Ellis is not a top-10 player in the league, he is the best player on the Warriors and averaging 25.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 2.3 steals.  He has been clearly the leader and the team pretty much lives and dies with his performances but I can’t give him an A because he doesn’t appear to help them win. Grade: B+

Stephen Curry: Curry missed 8 games with an injured ankle that was a result of his time with Team USA in the off-season.  He has not been overly impressive in the first half of the season as most people expected an improvement over year 1.  So far his defense has been not impressive and has not seemed to improve.  He also has a knack for make terrible mistakes like fouling players’ inopportune times. Grade: C-

Dorell Wright: Let me first say that I am a huge fan of Wright.  I have been for a long time, even when he was with the Heat.  He is the best defender on the team; he can shoot the three, and is an average rebounder.  I’d like to see him do a better job at getting to the charity stripe as he has the best pump fake in the league.  With all that said he has been a nice pickup by GM Larry Riley.  Grade: B-

David Lee: David Lee missed 9 games with a fluke elbow injury after hitting Wilson Chandler in the mouth.  The injury may have only kept him out for 9 games but the aftereffect was much more than that.  It’s hard to grade him for the full season because of the effect of the injury but even before the injury he didn’t look like the David Lee that was playing for the New York Knicks.  I am very curious to see what he does in the second half of the season.  Grade: C

Andris Biedrins: If it wasn’t for the last three games in which he has shown much improvement then I would give Biedrins an F.  He is doing a better job at getting involved in the offense and it seems that Curry and Ellis are also trying to get him involved to build up his confidence.  Biedrins is another player that I am curious to see what he does in the second half of the season. Grade: D

Vladimir Radmanovic: Earlier this season I couldn’t wait for Radmanovic to get traded as he is one of the expiring contracts that is likely to be moved.  He couldn’t hit a shot and he tends to make the most ridiculous mistakes.  But ever since he hit the game winning shot against the Kings on December 21^st, he has been pretty impressive.  He’s a nice role player on this team. Grade: D+

Reggie Williams: Reggie has been a good sixth man for the Warriors.  He averages 10.1 points per game and is a nice player off the bench.  He’s a player who needs to do a better job on his individual defense. Grade: D

Acie Law: Acie Law came in mid-season to fill a much needed role as the backup PG.  Law’s never going to be a starter in the league but has found a nice role with the Warriors.  I’m pretty happy with what Law has been able to do and come in a shore up the bench. Grade: C

 

Ekpe Udoh: It’s hard for me to grade Udoh as he is a rookie who has only appeared in 17 games this season.  I would like to see him play more than he does now because he plays defense which tends to be lacking on this team. Grade: Incomplete

Louis Amundson: Amundson has been injured for half of the season.  There’s not much that his game offers other than rebounding and a bit of defense. Grade: D-

Charlie Bell: With how much Bell makes, one would think he would play more than he does.  Most games he doesn’t even dress since he is behind Acie Law on the depth chart. Grade: F

Dan Gadzuric: Gadzuric doesn’t get a bunch of playing time but he has been a nice player when he does play.  Overall I have been impressed with him in his limited minutes. Grade: D+

Brandan Wright: Brandan Wright has been an utter disappointment ever since Chris Mullin traded Jason Richardson for him.  The story of his career is that he’s always injured and not good enough to get any playing time.  The story is continuing on this year. Grade: F

Jeremy  Lin: Lin is another rookie that is hard to grade.  If we graded him on fan response then he would be an A because the fans absolutely love this guy and so does Joe Lacob.  He has definitely improved as the year has gone on in his limited minutes but with Law now entrenched as the backup point guard and Bell behind him there are no minutes for Lin.  He is now in Reno playing for the Big Horns in the D-League. Grade: Incomplete

49ers Coaching Staff: Coaching Staff Complete

Today Jim Harbaugh met with the media to announce his official coaching staff. As expected Jim Tomsula (defensive line), Tom Rathman (running backs), Mike Solari (offensive line), and Ray Brown (offensive line) will all be retained. That makes three coaches for the offensive line but it should be noted that Brown will also help out on the tight ends as well. He will probably help with the blocking aspect of the tight end position.

Harbaugh also announced the most recent hire which was to replace Kurt Schottenheimer with Brad Seely as the special teams coordinator. Seely was in Cleveland the past two seasons in that same role. Harbaugh also added that they hired Ejiro Evero as the quality control coach. Last year Evero was with the Buccaneers as the defensive quality control coach. I imagine that is just a nice title and ultimately all they do is watch film.

Of course, Harbaugh was asked about Jed York’s conversation on KNBR as it relates to Alex Smith’s future with the 49ers. Harbaugh did not rule out Smith’s possible return but based on Alex’s no way in hell response at the end of the season, it is unlikely we will see Smith in a 49ers uniform again.

“I’m not into absolutes and ‘alwayses’ and ‘nevers — those kind of bold statements,” the coach said. “My part is an evaluation. And that will be of Alex and our football team. That’s the neat thing about being the head coach — you get to coach them all. You get to evaluate them and be a part of the team evaluation.”

Giants About Finish Roster Moves; Javier Lopez & Jeff Suppan Signed, Zito Still a Starting Pitcher

The Giants have about finished their off-season work by getting almost all of their players signed to avoid arbitration. They are still working on signing Andres Torres but all indications are that the deal will be done before the arbitration case.


The Giants recently agreed to a deal with lefty reliever Javier Lopez on a one-year contract. The financial aspects of the Javier Lopez deal have not been released but we know that it should be between the $2 million that the Giants offered and the $2.875 million that Lopez was asking for in arbitration.


The Giants also added another pitcher by signing former Brewer, Jeff Suppan, to a minor league deal. The deal reportedly offers an invite to big league camp in Spring Training and also offers Suppan an opt-out clause if he does not make the Giants opening day roster.


Suppan gives the Giants another arm for Spring Training and they could choose to keep him as a long reliever through the season.

Just in case you are wondering, there is no way that the Giants finally cut Barry Zito and replace him with Suppan. Absolutely, NO WAY!!!

Blake Griffin's Rookie Card Worth as Much as My Car

Normally, I only post things that are related to Bay Area sports teams but I found this and it was just too good to pass up.

Blake Griffin is the hottest player in the NBA right now if for no other reason than he SportsCenter highlight whore each night. Each dunk is better than the previous one and each dunk is viewed on YouTube probably a million times an hour.

The Blake Griffin memorable season keeps on moving forward. Griffin recently agreed to be in the dunk contest during All-Star Weekend which will make the dunk contest a must see event for the first time since the 2000 dunk contest.

Now NBA blog, The Rookie Wall is reporting that Blake Griffin’s National Treasure rookie card is worth more than my car. One of the versions of this card, only five were made, is reportedly worth $14,999.

Actually, that’s a better investment than my car.

Tommy Lasorda not excited for the Giants World Series Victory

For some reason, a reporter in Visalia found it necessary to ask former Los Angeles Dodgers’ manager, Tommy Lasorda, his thoughts about the Giants’ World Series victory while he was at a banquet in Visalia on Wednesday. Anyone who knows anything about the Giants-Dodgers rivalry would know that Lasorda would not be happy about the Giants success. It is no different, then if you asked me if I would want the Dodgers to win a World Series.

When asked the question Lasorda pretended not to hear the question but then finally decided to give the reporter what he wanted to hear.

"Who was that? I didn't hear that. What was that?," said Lasorda jokingly. "Well it took them 50 years. It may take them 50 more, I don't know. They had a great year and they have a good manager. They did a good job. They played exciting baseball. They have a good pitching staff so that's enough about them."

Jeremy Lin lighting it up in the D-League

Golden State Warriors’ young point guard Jeremy Lin has been down in the D-League since January 11th has been putting on quite the show. In his second visit to the D-League this year, Lin was named, along with Marcus Landry, the D-League’s Co-Performers of the Week while with the Reno Bighorns.

Lin is averaging 20.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2.8 steals in his most recent stint in Reno was named to the All-NBA D-League Showcase First Team.

Barring injury Lin should spend extended time in Reno as the need for him on the Warriors’ is minimal at this point. With Acie Law looking good as the backup point guard, I would not expect to see Lin anytime soon.

Latest 2011 NFL Draft Order

As we get closer to the draft we will be looking at possible options for the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders in the draft.  As it stands now, the 49ers are the only team in the Bay Area with a 1st round pick.  The Raiders traded this year's first round pick to New England in the Richard Seymour deal.


1. Carolina Panthers (2-14)
2. Denver Broncos (4-12)
3. Buffalo Bills (4-12)
4. Cincinnati Bengals (4-12)
5. Arizona Cardinals (5-11)
6. Cleveland Browns (5-11)
7. San Francisco 49ers (6-10)
8. Tennessee Titans (6-10)
9. Dallas Cowboys (6-10)
10. Washington Redskins (6-10)
11. Houston Texans (6-10)
12. Minnesota Vikings (6-10)
13. Detroit Lions (6-10)
14. St. Louis Rams (7-9)
15. Miami Dolphins (7-9)
16. Jacksonville Jaguars (8-8)
17. New England Patriots (fr. the 8-8 Oakland Raiders)
18. San Diego Chargers (9-7)
19. New York Giants (10-6)
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-6)
21. Kansas City Chiefs (10-6)
22. Indianapolis Colts (10-6)
23. Philadelphia Eagles (10-6)
24. New Orleans Saints (11-5)
25. Seattle Seahawks (7-9)
26. Baltimore Ravens (11-5)
27. Atlanta Falcons (13-3)
28. New England Patriots (14-2)

Raiders Coaching Staff: Coordinator Search Begins, Ravens DC Fires Verbal Missles at Al Davis

By now everyone has heard that Al Davis has hired Hue Jackson as the new head coach. It’s the right move for the Al to hire Hue but you have to feel sorry for Hue as this could definitely be a career-derailer. Al may give Hue the title of head coach but he is no more than an interim head coach in Davis’ eyes.

Now that Hue Jackson is in the seat as head coach, he will now watch Al Davis pick his coordinators. That’s right, Hue doesn’t pick them.

One of the Raiders’ first choices for defensive coordinator was Baltimore Ravens’ secondary coach, Chuck Pagano, who was recently promoted to that same position after Greg Mattison left for Michigan. Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post wrote that according to Pagano, that was never an option.

“He will earn every cent that they pay him, and it won’t be much” Pagano said when congratulating Hue Jackson on the job.

Pagano was asked by a reporter if he would go back to Oakland as a coach, “Two years was plenty.”

Although Pagano is not interested in the job, another assistant on the Ravens staff is. Aaron Wilson is also reporting that Ravens’ offensive assistant, Al Saunders, is a favorite to land the job.

Saunders was once a head coach in San Diego and has worked in the NFL for the Kansas City Chiefs, St. Louis Rams, and Washington Redskins. He has also coached collegiately at the University of Tennessee, Cal, Utah State, USC, and Missouri.

49ers Coaching Staff - Harbaugh adds 3 more; Singletary gets new job

Jim Harbaugh’s coaching staff is starting to come together. The 49ers are reporting that Harbaugh has added Ed Donatell (defensive backs coach), Jim Leavitt (linebackers coach), and Geep Chryst (tight ends coach).

The hiring of Ed Donatell was reported at the Raiders press conference by new head Hue Jackson. Donatell was the secondary coach last year in Denver and prior to that was a defensive coordinator in Green Bay (2000-03) and Atlanta (2004-06).

Former USC assistant coach, John Morton will likely be taking over for Jerry Sullivan as the receivers coach. When at USC, Morton was the passing game coordinator and receivers coach on Lane Kiffin’s staff. Morton has worked with Harbaugh in the past at both the Oakland Raiders (2002-03) and University of San Diego (2005). At the Raiders Harbaugh was an offensive assistant and Morton worked as a “senior offensive assistant.”

ProFootballTalk first reported the 49ers interest in Jim Leavitt over a week ago and now he appears to be one of the newest additions. Jim Leavitt, most recently was the head coach of USF before he was fired for allegedly grabbing a players throat and then slapping him in the face. Leavitt declined those allegations and just recently settled out of court with USF for $2.75 million. It does not appear that he has any relationship with Harbaugh other than they were both in the college ranks. With the hiring of Leavitt, that would likely end the Jason Tarver era with the 49ers. He had quite a nice run with the 49ers as he has been an assistant since 2003.

One of Harbaugh’s most recent hires is Geep Chryst as tight ends coach. Chryst has been on the Carolina Panthers coaching staff as tight ends coach for the past four seasons. Chryst worked for both the Chicago Bears and San Diego Chargers when Harbaugh was a player.

It has not been made official but reports are that John Morton has been hired as the new wide receivers coach.

Former USC assistant coach, John Morton will likely be taking over for Jerry Sullivan as the receivers coach. When at USC, Morton was the passing game coordinator and receivers coach on Lane Kiffin’s staff. Morton has worked with Harbaugh in the past at both the Oakland Raiders (2002-03) and University of San Diego (2005). At the Raiders Harbaugh was an offensive assistant and Morton worked as a “senior offensive assistant.”

The 49ers coaching staff looks like this currently:

Head Coach – Jim Harbaugh
Offensive Coordinator – Greg Roman
Quarterbacks coach – none
Running Backs coach – Tom Rathman*
Wide receivers coach – John Morton
Tight ends coach – Geep Chryst
Offensive line coach – Mike Solari and Tim Drevno
Defensive coordinator – Vic Fangio
Defensive line – Jim Tomsula*
Linebackers coach – Jim Leavitt
Defensive backs – Ed Donatell
Special Teams coordinator – Brian Schottenheimer

*These hiring’s are not official but all indications are that Harbaugh wants them to return under their current roles.

***

It didn’t take long for Mike Singletary to find a new job. Singletary confirmed on local radio in Chicago that he has accepted a position to be the linebackers coach on former teammate Leslie Frazier’s coaching staff. Both were part of the 1985 Chicago Bears that won the Super Bowl.

In his radio interview Singletary talked about his experiences as head coach with the 49ers and see’s this as an opportunity to move forward and get back to head coaching.

It sounds like he still plans to be the greatest head coach of all-time as he compared himself to Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll.

Giants avoid arbitration with four players

Today is a big day for the San Francisco Giants. The Giants front office came to agreement with a few of the arbitration eligible players, which is important since today was the first day that arbitration figures were to be submitted.

According to ESPN Deportes, the Giants first started their day by agreeing with reliever Santiago Casilla on a one-year deal worth a total of $1.3 million.

They also avoided arbitration with NLCS MVP Cody Ross, who signed a one-year $6.3 million deal, and also avoided arbitration with pitchers Jonathan Sanchez (one-year $3.7 million) and reliever Ramon Ramirez one-year $1.65 million.

The Giants still have to get deals done for outfielder Andres Torres and left-handed specialist Javier Lopez. Andres Torres is asking for $2.6 million, while Lopez is asking for $2.875 million.

Bryant Young Hired as Florida Gators' Defensive Line Coach

Former San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Bryant Young has been added to the coaching staff of the Florida Gators. Young will serve as the defensive line coach on new Florida Gators coach Will Muschamp’s staff. Young will be working with defensive coordinator Dan Quinn on the Gators staff, who coached Bryant Young from 2001-2004 in San Francisco.

Bryant Young retired as a 49er in 2007 after 14 years in the NFL. The four-time Pro Bowler got his coaching career started after he worked for Notre Dame, his alma mater, in 2009 as a graduate assistant. Then, last year they worked for San Jose State as their defensive line coach.

Bryant Young was a fan favorite because he played for the 49ers of all of his 14 years in the league and never really asked to be traded or complained about some of the teams that he was on. He was the last player of the 1994 Super Bowl Champion team to leave the 49ers.

Giants Announce 22 Non-Roster Invitees

It’s getting close to that famous spring training day where pitchers and catchers report and for the World Champions (god, I love saying that) that means it’s non-roster invitees time.

Brian Sabean announced today that the following 22 players will get an invite to Spring Training with the big club:

Pitchers: Casey Daigle (RHP), Waldis Joaquin (RHP), Shane Loux (RHP), Guillermo Mota (RHP), Felix Romero (RHP), Jason Stoffel (RHP), Ryan Vogelsong (RHP), Wilmin Rodriguez (LHP), Ryan Verdugo (LHP), and Matt Yourkin (LHP)

Catchers: Tommy Joseph, Hector Sanchez, Chris Stewart, and Jackson Williams

Infielders: Brandon Belt, Brandon Crawford, Charles Culberson, Brad Eldred, and Nick Noonan

Outfielders: Gary Brown, Terry Evans, and Juan Perez

Of the players that are on this list Guillermo Mota, Brandon Belt, and Brandon Crawford are the only ones that could end up staying with the big club. Belt could possibly make the team as the starting first baseman if he shows good in the spring and Crawford could make the team as the backup shortstop.

To read more about each of these players being invited you can read the Giants press release.

Nnamdi Asomugh Not Opposed to Rejoining the Raiders

The best defensive back in the league, Nnamdi Asomugha, is now a free agent due to the fact that he did not meet some incentives in his contract that he should have hit if he was not injured this season. Smart people in football are expecting him not be back with the Oakland Raiders if for no other reason than it’s the Raiders.

But Asomugha does not seem mind and would be willing to come back and play for the Raiders.

“There’s a chance, there’s a good chance,” Asomugha said in an interview on ESPN’s Sportscenter.

Asomugha will pretty much have a choice of any team he wants to play with. I can’t think of one team that would not want to have him and given the choices that he will have it is hard to believe that he will be back with the Raiders.

49ers Coaching Staff: Jim Harbaugh adds Fangio, Drevno, and Roman

Earlier today we wrote that Jim Harbaugh was ready to add former Stanford assistant Greg Roman to his staff with the 49ers. Since that report, the 49ers have announced the addition of Greg Roman as well as two other former Stanford assistants. Both Vic Fangio (defensive coordinator) and Tim Drevno (offensive line) will join Harbaugh in Santa Clara. Drevno will be the offensive line coach and will share those duties with current offensive line coach Mike Solari.

The announcement of Fangio as the new defensive coordinator ends Greg Manusky’s time with the 49ers but he already has another job for the San Diego Chargers’ as their coordinator. Manusky worked for the Chargers in the past as their linebackers coach (2002-06) before he was hired by Mike Nolan to be the 49ers defensive coordinator.

Vic Fangio, like Greg Roman, has a lot of experience in the NFL. 2011 will be his 25th season coaching in the NFL of which 11 of them were as a defensive coordinator. He was a coordinator at Carolina (1995-98), Indianapolis (1999-2001), and most recently with the Houston Texans (2002-05).

Fangio will take over a defense that ranked 13th in the league but will continue to run the 3-4. He worked with Dom Capers when he was at Carolina and is known to be very aggressive much like Capers.

It is being reported that former Broncos assistant, Ed Donatell, will join Harbaugh’s staff as the defensive backs coach. Donatell was the secondary coach last year in Denver and prior to that was a defensive coordinator in Green Bay (2000-03) and Atlanta (2004-06).

Tim Drevno will join the 49ers and is set to be the co-offensive line coach with current offensive line coach, Mike Solari. Unlike the other assistants, Drevno has no NFL experience but has 18 years of coaching experience at the collegiate level.

Drevno has been with Stanford for the past four seasons (2006-10), the last two as the offensive line coach. Prior to joining Stanford he was the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at the University of San Diego (2003-06). He also coached at Idaho (2000-02), San Jose State (1999), UNLV (1998), and Montana State (1993-97).

Stanford Assistant Greg Roman Hired as 49ers Offensive Coordinator

Now that Stanford has announced that David Shaw will replace Jim Harbaugh as the new head coach of the Cardinals it is time for Jim Harbaugh to make his move to hire his former assistants. The first guy that has accepted a role with the San Francisco 49ears appears to be Stanford assistant Greg Roman according to the San Jose Mercury News.

Greg Roman has 12 years of experience coaching in the NFL having worked for the Carolina Panthers for seven years, Houston Texans for four years, and the Baltimore Ravens for two years. He was with Jim Harbaugh for two years at Stanford where he was responsible for the offensive success while coaching the tight ends and offensive tackles.

Roman did wonders with the offensive line for Stanford and coached them to be one of the best lines in the country. They gave up only seven sacks in the entire season and were the #11 team in the nation in rushing yards.

Sacramento Kings to Rename Arco Arena

While the Sacramento Kings owners are still trying to get a new arena for the Kings to play in, that hasn’t stopped them from trying to make the most out of the current dump (I mean arena) that they call home.

According to the Sacramento Bee, the Kings are close to a new deal with Power Balance LLC that would give them the naming rights to Arco Arena. The deal is said to be a five-year agreement between the Kings and Power Balance to change the name of Arco Arena to Power Balance Pavilion which should be announced on Thursday.

With the new name change, comes a new logo change according to the always comical blog, The Basketball Jones.

49ers Coaching Staff: Rumors Afloat of New Coaching Staff

Less than one week on the job and Jim Harbaugh has met with most of the assistants to discuss their future. Although, with the CBA in question, it could be a long time before the coaches actually coach the players Harbaugh is still getting a move on putting together his staff. Harbaugh has some options on his current staff that he may want to keep but all indications is that he told both of the current coordinators, Mike Johnson and Greg Manusky, that they are welcome to look for other coaching jobs because he would be looking elsewhere to fill their current roles.

Greg Manusky got his job search started off early last weekend when he interviewed for the Carolina Panthers’ head coaching job, which ultimately was given to Chargers’ defensive coordinator Ron Rivera. Manusky has also interviewed with the Arizona Cardinals and has an interview scheduled with the Dallas Cowboys to interview for defensive coordinator.

Manusky’s counterpart, Mike Johnson, has been busy looking for a job as well. According to BruinsNation.com, Mike Johnson has already found that new job as the new offensive coordinator for UCLA. Johnson was offered a job by Harbaugh to stay with the 49ers but it was not as the offensive coordinator. The report is very interesting since the current OC, Norm Chow, has not been fired but has reportedly agreed to a job with the Utah Utes.

There have been some rumors as to Harbaugh’s new assistants but nothing has been announced by the 49ers. It has been reported that Harbaugh is looking to bring both his offensive coordinator, David Shaw, and his defensive coordinator, Vic Fangio, from Stanford to the 49ers. The 49ers is not Fangio’s only suitor though. According to Adam Schefter, Fangio has spoken to the Cowboys about their coordinator position and he is also thought to be in the running to replace Harbaugh at Stanford. David Shaw is also in the running to replace Harbaugh at Stanford.

Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee is reporting that former USF coach Jim Leavitt is being discussed as the new linebackers coach for the 49ers. Leavitt was fired last January for allegedly grabbing a player by the throat and then hitting him in the face. If Leavitt takes over as the linebackers coach that would likely leave current linebackers coach and longtime assistant Jason Tarver without a job. Tarver has been with the team since 2001 so I would assume that he could get another job with the team, maybe coaching another position.

I expect the 49ers to start offering the new assistants contracts and announcements by the team being made by the end of next week. I would think that Harbaugh would want his staff put together before the Senior Bowl.

Trent Baalke and Jim Harbaugh: The Search for a Quarterback

The San Francisco 49ers went after Jim Harbaugh to be their head coach because they were looking for someone with an offensive background. After having two defensive-minded head coaches and a failure at finding a franchise quarterback it was very much welcomed by fans.

Harbaugh has proven he has an innate ability to develop successful quarterbacks after having successes with Josh Johnson at University of San Diego and turning Andrew Luck into a first overall pick in the NFL draft, whenever he decides to leave Stanford. 

Jim Harbaugh also has a history of evaluating quarterbacks and being "spot-on" as to their future NFL success.  Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area reports that when Harbaugh was with the Raiders back in 2002 and 2003 he was evaluating the quarterbacks in the NFL draft and giving them pre-draft grades.  "Harbaugh placed a second-round grade on Tony Romo, who went undrafted. He had a higher grade on Jaguars fourth-round draft pick David Garrard, who has been a solid NFL starter the past four seasons. Harbaugh did not have a good grade on Joey Harrington, the third overall pick of the Lions in 2002" according to Maiocco.


The 49ers have a lot of room on their roster for quarterbacks with only one quarterback under contract for the 2011 season, whenever it comes. Currently David Carr is under contract through the 2011 season but it is unlikely that he will be viewed as anything other than a backup quarterback.

Nate Davis, a fan favorite, will also not be in the discussion after signing a future contract last week with the Seattle Seahawks. Davis is next in line of former 49ers to join the Seahawks where Scot McCloughan, former 49ers GM, has a front office position.

Trent Baalke and Jim Harbaugh will first look in the NFL draft for their starting quarterback and with the #7 selection they will have some choices. Whether they use that pick on a quarterback is up to Baalke, who now has full control of the 53-man roster. Baalke and Harbaugh will also likely look at free agency and the trade market for a starting quarterback but unlike previous years that period will likely be after the NFL draft, which might work out for the 49ers.

With no new CBA signed, teams cannot trade players or sign free agents until a new CBA is agreed upon. If the CBA is not signed before the NFL draft then free agency will start after the draft. The advantage for teams like the 49ers is they will be able to trade their draft picks for upcoming years without a team trying to capture this year’s draft pick. Say for example, the 49ers trade their first-rounder next year for a quarterback like Kevin Kolb. It is likely that Kolb will lead them to a better season than they had this year and therefore the Eagles would get a pick that was not as good as this year.

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49ers’ tight end Vernon Davis will be on the T.Ocho Show tonight on Versus. The show is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. (PST) and Davis will discuss the quarterback situation with former-49er Terrell Owens.

Congratulations Auburn Tigers; NFL Teams Should Say No Thanks To Cam Newton

Congratulations to the Auburn Tigers who just beat the Oregon Ducks in the BCS National Championship Game. It was quite a game and was very exciting to the last few seconds.

I would expect Cam Newton to come out with his announcement in the next few days that he will be entering the 2011 NFL draft. I say, no rush Cam.

It is clear to me that Newton is not much different than Tim Tebow. The offense that they run at Auburn is strictly out of the spread and Newton’s success as a quarterback this year was largely based on his ability to run. Auburn has very few weapons on offense and had to rely strictly on Cam Newton. Newton is terribly inaccurate and is not much of a drop back quarterback. Whichever team ends up drafting him will be very sorry as he reminds me of a former SEC quarterback who had one successful year, like Newton, but played at LSU.

That’s right, Jamarcus Russell.

NFL teams, I would run and hide from Cam Newton….

With that said, here is the NFL draft order put together by Mac’s Football Blog.

1. Carolina Panthers (2-14)
2. Denver Broncos (4-12)
3. Buffalo Bills (4-12)
4. Cincinnati Bengals (4-12)
5. Arizona Cardinals (5-11)
6. Cleveland Browns (5-11)
7. San Francisco 49ers (6-10)
8. Tennessee Titans (6-10)
9. Dallas Cowboys (6-10)
10. Washington Redskins (6-10)
11. Houston Texans (6-10)
12. Minnesota Vikings (6-10)
13. Detroit Lions (6-10)
14. St. Louis Rams (7-9)
15. Miami Dolphins (7-9)
16. Jacksonville Jaguars (8-8)
17. Oakland Raiders (8-8)
18. San Diego Chargers (9-7)
19. New York Giants (10-6)
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-6)
21. Kansas City Chiefs (10-6)
22. Indianapolis Colts (10-6)
23. Philadelphia Eagles (10-6)
24. New Orleans Saints (11-5)