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.

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.

NFL Injury Report: 49ers-Cardinals (Friday) - The More Westbrook Promises Continue

Since the 49ers and Cardinals play on Monday, this will not be their last injury report for the week.  We should expect to have one out tomorrow which will last the status of the players for Monday's game.  The one concern when I look at the 49ers injuries is safety Dashon Goldson.  It is not good for the 49ers that one of their best defensive backs could not play against one of the best wide receiver corps in the league.  The 49ers cannot afford to put both Reggie Smith and Taylor Mays against the likes of Larry Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston.

Offensive Coordinator Mike Johnson met with the media for his bi-weekly discussion (transcript after the jump).  The topic was again brought up about the lack of playing time for Brian Westbrook and it was the same song as before (below is the specific discussion).  It's all how Frank Gore is such a great player that the 49ers cannot afford for him not to be in every play and about how he is so good at pass protection. Let me really translate this for you.  The only reason Westbrook doesn't play is that he is not a "smashmouth" guy and Singletary doesn't want any part of a guy who is not smashmouth. 

If I am Westbrook, I've got to be pissed.  They act like he is some sort of rookie who cannot pass protect and therefore is a liabiliy or someone who doesn't understand the offense.  What's to understand?  You run up the middle towards the defenders and then get tackled.  Simple enough, right?

What happened to balance, Singletary?  If Singletary had half a clue on how to be a head coach he would be splitting these guys 50/50.  That kind of adjustment would be worht at least another win.  Westbrook is more versatile than Gore in the fact that he can doing different things.  He is a better pass catcher, better outside runner, and if needs to he can run up the gut.  Those things make a defense think when Westbrook comes in the game.  Now Gore is great, and one of the best running backs to ever play for the 49ers but he basically runs powers and dives and that's about it.  He can catch out of the backfield but is not as elusive as Westbrook.  Having both of them is a great asset as you have two premier running backs and a 50/50 ball carry split is what the 49ers need to do.  

On why RB Brian Westbrook hasn’t seen much of the playing field this year:
“Because when you put Brian Westbrook in the game you have to take Delanie Walker out of the game, or you have to take [RB] Frank Gore out of the game. Now you’re doing something on first and second down where you are taking two of our best players and sitting one of those guys down. We just talked about Delanie Walker being a matchup problem. Well when you put Brian Westbrook in the game, it’s a different matchup problem. Now you have to add a whole new part of an offense that we haven’t had a training camp to install. So you see him doing certain things in small pieces, but to utilize both Frank Gore and Brian Westbrook, those things have to be taught and they have to be detailed in a longer period of time. When you do that, it takes one of those guys off the field and I’m just trying not to take Frank Gore off the field unless he is tired. We need Frank Gore to be who he is. You look at him, he is a good running back, he is a good pass receiving back out of the backfield, probably one of the best. He is the one guy out of our entire offensive group that is probably the soundest on our protection schemes. So he is a very valuable part of our offense, and you are trying to put Brian Westbrook into the game in certain areas to utilize his skills and he played a little bit more last week. Had we done a better job on first down he would have played more, but then we had to get away from that part of it, so it’s one of those deals where you are trying o utilize his talents and not take Frank Gore off the field for 15 plays a game and that is the process. It is something that can be done, but it is something that will have to be developed over time. It’s something that you really need to do in training camp so you can get all the small details taught and have all the compliments so that you can’t just say, ‘Brian Westbrook is going into the game and he’s running a screen.’ Or every time he comes into the game, ‘he is a wide receiver running a flat’, so you try to do things to diversify his package and not be predictable with him, and it just takes time and it’s something that needs to be taught through a longer period of time like training camp.”

On how much Gore helps set pass protection:
“He does. He’s the guy that’s trying to do his job in the pass protection scheme, but he does a very good job at doing his job. And we need everybody on our offense to play better in certain areas, but he’s a guy that understands the protection schemes, he understands defenses, he understands what they are trying to do on third down nickel packages, and he’s valuable to us in that role. But he’s not doing more than what he should do, he is just a guy that’s back there doing his job and he does it well.”

On why RB Brian Westbrook doesn’t know every facet of the playbook:
“He does. He’s at that point now. He’s at that point where he is now understanding everything that he has to do. There was a plan last week to use him in the run game. The first time we gave him the ball on the run game we get a holding penalty. So now we’re 2nd and 17, so therefore, that was a series that he was going to go in the game and he was going to run. But certain things happen in the game that you have to change and you do certain things and you get away from that. But he’s at the point now where he’s comfortable. So, he’s understanding everything we’re trying to do and he’s ready.”

San Francisco

Out: T Joe Staley (fibula)
Did Not Participate: S Dashon Goldson (ankle), K Joe Nedney (knee),
Limited Participation: WR Josh Morgan (shoulder)
Full Participation: CB Nate Clements (ankle), TE Vernon Davis (ankle), T Anthony Davis (ankle), RB Frank Gore (ankle)

Arizona

Did Not Participate: DE Calais Campbell (ankle)
Limited Participation: WR Steve Breaston (knee), DT Darnell Dockett (shoulder), WR Early Doucet (head), LB Clark Haggans (groin), RB LaRod Stephens-Howling (hamstring), CB Gregory Toler (foot), DT Dan Williams (toe)
Full Participation: CB Michael Adams (ribs), S Kerry Rhodes (hand), LB Reggie Walker (hamstring)

NFL Injury Report: Buccaneers-49ers (Thursday)

The practice reports for both the San Francisco 49ers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are out.  There are no big surprises on either report.  We reported on Tuesday that both Joe Staley and Joe Nedney would be out, actually it's interesting that Nedney is not listed as out but I am sure he will make it there by the end of the week.  The 49ers signed Shane Andrus to fill in for Nedney this week.  Andrus, was with the 49ers at the end of last year and all the way through the preseason before being cut.

The transcripts for both Mike Johnson and Greg Manusky are after the jump.  Johnson talked today about how the offensive game plan is designed and who is involved.  It appears that all of the offensive assistants have a different role and are an intrical part of the plan.  One name that was not mentioned was head coach Mike Singletary and that is certainly good to hear that he is not involved in the game plan on the offensive side of the ball.  Let's just hope that what Johnson said was true.

On how much he leans on the offensive position coaches to formulate his game plan:

“We all work together, and yes, I do lean on those guys a lot. We have different areas that we have strengths in and I utilize those guys in the areas where they’re strong and allow them to bring things to the table that help our offense. You look at [offensive line coach] Mike Solari, he’s great with run game protections. You ask [running backs coach] Tom Rathman, Tom Rathman is a blitz guru. He’s a guy that is going to know every blitz that the opposing team is going to do that week. And you have [tight ends coach] Pete Hoener, whose a short-yardage goal line guru. So then you use [wide receivers/special assistant coach] Jerry Sullivan in coverages and different things in the secondary, and then we use [quarterbacks coach] Jason Michael in the red zone. So we have all areas that we work in individually and then when we come together on those certain days, we put the entire thing together and then I make the final decision as to how we want to implement it.”

On whether having multiple inputs is why the game plan looks more diverse than before:

“I don’t know that, but I know how I want to do it, and I’m not going to sit here and say how we did it before or say that was wrong. But I always knew if I ever became a coordinator that I wanted to have input from everybody because a lot of times when you do it that way you get some things that you haven’t thought about. And you don’t always have to agree with everything that is brought up, but you definitely want to encourage the staff to bring those things to the table because every week there’s four or five things that the other coaches bring that we add to the game plan that makes a lot of sense.”

Tampa Bay

Did Not Participate: LB Quincy Black (ankle), DE Kyle Moore (shoulder)
Limited Participation: DT Ryan Sims (knee)
Full Participation: TE Kellen Winslow (knee), WR Sammie Stroughter (foot), RB Earnest Graham (hamstring), T Jeremy Trueblood (knee)

San Francisco

Out: T Joe Staley (fibula)
Did Not Participate: K Joe Nedney (knee)
Limited Participation: CB William James (concussion)
Full Participation: CB Nate Clements (quad), RB Frank Gore (foot), G Adam Snyder (shoulder)

Coordinator's Corner: San Francisco 49ers' OC Mike Johnson on Frank Gore

Fans have been clamoring to get Mike Johnson to use running back Brian Westbrook in the offense more and spell Frank Gore.  Some believe that Gore needs a break to be more effective and others question whether the offense would do better with more of a two back system like the rest of the NFL uses.  Mike Johnson talked today why they use Gore so much and keyed in on Gore being so great at blitz pickups and that is somewhere that Westbrook may not be as good.

On the importance of blitz pickup and whether that is because teams are blitzing more up the middle these days and whether that is the running backs job to step up and take care of that:
Not necessarily, you have base blitzes where they are bringing certain things, and then you have nickel blitzes on third down where they are playing odd-fronts. Where they are playing three down linemen schemes with a lot of walk around backers and safeties coming from different edges and you have to make sure that you’re sound in those areas. In the way we design our blitz pickup and blitz protection schemes, the back is a very important part of that, and [RB] Frank Gore is as solid of a back as I have ever been around in handling all of the necessary adjustments. He is a guy that can cover up a lot of other deficiencies that we may have because of his football intellect and how smart he is as a football player in those different areas. So, it’s a comfort zone for us coaches as well, but we do have to find ways to make sure that we get him some rest.”

On how long it takes to learn the 49ers blitz pickup package specifically since RB Brian Westbrook is such an accomplished player:
“Well, we do more from that than most, and our quarterback redirects protections. We do more at the line of scrimmage with our quarterback in redirecting protections and making calls than any other team that I have been around. So I think he’s getting close, I think he’s starting to get comfortable now, and as the season goes on I think you’ll see him more in those areas.”

Mike Johnson did talk about giving Frank Gore a breather which would likely allow either Brian Westbrook or Anthony Dixon to get more involved in the offense.

On whether you need to look at taking some of the load off of RB Frank Gore so that he is just as strong at the end of the season as he is now:
“Yeah, I mean you do need to take some of that wear and tear off of him, but you know Frank Gore. Frank Gore doesn’t like to come out of the game, he’s a warrior, he likes to go, and we have to make sure that as a staff we are giving that load to other people in making sure that we try to keep him fresh, but the one thing about Frank Gore, when he’s touching the ball I think we’re winning, or we are going to win. I think he’s a guy that can do a lot of different things. He’s good in the running game, he’s good in the pass game, and he’s good on third down. He’s good in the screen game, I mean he’s good in all of those areas and we’d like to give him touches, but we have to use our other backs though and take some of that load off of him because he is in great shape, but as the course of the season goes on, it may wear him down, so we are very mindful of that and there will be a plan going forward that we make sure we use other people to make sure that he’s not taking as many of those snaps.”

The entire Mike Johnson transcript is after the jump.

Offensive Coordinator Mike Johnson

Press Conference – October 21, 2010

San Francisco 49ers

49ers Offense: Mike Singletary the Reason for the Offensive Failure

Offensive coordinator Mike Johnson met with the media yesterday and after reviewing the transcript and writing that last blogpost I decided to spend some time watching these 49ers highlights, or low-lights, from the Sunday night game against the Eagles.  After watching a couple videos I came across the video of the first TD after Mike Singletary rips Alex Smith.  You know, the one where all of a sudden he became a different quarterback.

Funny thing is that Alex Smith and Singletary are saying that it was because Alex let it fly after that.  Well, that's not exactly it.  After Singletary ripped Smith on the sideline, 13 out of 15 plays were run out of the shotgun.  You know, the formation that everybody in the world knows that Smith is successful in except Mike Singletary and the offensive coaches.  In those 13 plays, Smith was 11 for 12 in completions and threw two touchdowns (videos of both drives are below) and in the first drive of the game where they marched down and scored a touchdown Smith was 5 for 5 that drive with the touchdown throw coming out of the shotgun.

The reason that the 49ers offense hasn't change since the firing of Jimmy Raye is not that Mike Johnson lacks creativity, it's the fact that Mike Singletary won't get out of the way.  Whether Johnson wants to fully admit it or not, he is doing exactly what Singletary wants and that is to have Frank Gore on the field all the time and run the ball as much as possible.  It is only when the 49ers are down that they let Alex Smith pass the ball.

Singletary even admits that he still has control over the offense in his press conference on Monday:

On Offensive Coordinator Mike Johnson’s scheme:

“I think [offensive coordinator] Mike [Johnson] was trying to follow through with what we had talked about during the week. This is not a game that we wanted to go in and just throw the ball all over the place. We wanted to try and formulate a balance, and as the game got going, you know, there were a couple of things that were there, as we thought they would be, but for one reason or another it did not happen. But I think as we go forward, Mike is still getting situated and still getting his feet underneath him as well. So I’m sure that he’s learning too. So hopefully going forward there will be a better mix.”

Mike Johnson isn't as willing to say the same thing but he admits that Singletary is involved:

On how much control he has over the game-plan and whether there is truth to the perception that he is being held back by what Singletary wants: 

“It’s all perception. It’s all perception. And I think, like I said, going forward you will see a different style, slightly. But we have a core philosophy that we believe in, that coach Singletary believes in. But I think you will see a better balance of all the things I’ve said earlier. And I think going forward you’ll see that.”

Mike Johnson is right, it is all perception.  But remember, "perception is reality" and the reality is the 49ers offense is not creative, and is very predictable.  All the teams know that they are going to run the ball up the middle for the first play of the game if not the first drive.  I guarantee you that the Oakland Raiders will put eight men in the box against the 49ers in the first play.  

I would like to see the 49ers come out in shotgun formation, and throw the ball to start the game, not just run the ball up the middle like they do 66% of the time they run the ball.

If the 49ers want to win a game this season, Mike Singletary is going to have to be kicked out of offensive coaches meeting.  His 1985 vision of how to win football games is archaic.  In 2010 teams pass the ball to setup the run, not run the ball to setup the pass.

The first TD drive after the Smith/Singletary blowup:

The 2nd TD drive:



Mike Johnson's entire press conference transcript is after the jump.

New 49ers Offensive Coordinator Mike Johnson - Press Conference

The new offensive coordinator Mike Johnson had his first press conference today and had a lot to say.  The entire press conference transcript has been posted after the jump.

It is obvious from the discussion with the media that he plans on getting more players involved and I would not be surprised to see more Brian Westbrook, especially in the spread formations and less of Frank Gore.  

I think it's pretty clear that Mike Johnson has been given the chance to run the offense the way he wants.  I also believe that the promotion of Johnson was not all Singeltary's decision.  There are too many things going on here to suggest that it wasn't.  

That's a different blog post though.

Mike Singletary pulls an Andy Reid and fires Jimmy Raye

In a move that is similar to Andy Reid's "Kevin Kolb is our starting quarterback", Mike Singletary fired offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye a day after telling the media that Raye would be his coordinator for the rest of the season.

Mike Singletary said that he had no plans in changing the coordinator until late Sunday night when he reviewed some game tape and decided to make the change.

"Well after I got back here I went home, and I said you know what, I'm just going to go back and look at the film.  So, I came back here and basically spent the night here looking at film.  And just kind of looked at the overall view of where we are, and looking at where we need to go, and felt that I needed to make the change.  And so that's really all it was."

Quarterbacks coach, Mike Johnson, will take over as the new offensive coordinator and offensive assistant, Jason Michael, will take over as the quarterbacks coach.

Johnson has never been an offensive coordinator in the past but prior to his time with the 49ers he has been in the NFL for five years.  He was a quaterbacks coach for both the Atlanta Falcons, working with Michael Vick, and with the San Diego Chargers working with Drew Brees, Doug Flutie, Jim Harbaugh, and Ryan Leaf.

In 2008, Johnson was unemployed and spent time traveling around to different college programs studying the spread offense.  He spent time with Ohio State coach Jim Tressel and Ron Zook and his staff at Illinois.

Has Mike Singletary lost control?

A buddy of mine called me today to give me his "conspiracy theory" that the players of the San Francisco 49ers threw Sunday's game against the Seattle Seahawks to show Mike Singletary that they are tired of being average and want a change.  This request for a change started supposedly around last years Green Bay where they wanted to run the spread offense.


According to the Yahoo Sports article, players again approached coach "Singletary in the offseason to complain about Jimmy Raye and the overall situation."  Changes were made to have quaterbacks coach Mike Johnson take the call from Raye, but not to the actual playcaller, which was and still is Jimmy Raye, who seems to be the problem.


It has also been suggested that many of the quarterbacks in fact like working with Johnson rather than Raye and would rather Johnson be the playcaller.  There is also a rumor out there that Johnson had been alienated from offensive coaches meetings because he was a fan of Nate Davis and Singletary and Raye did not agree with that assessment. 


Today Singletary let it be known how upset he was with the article and the unnamed sources.

"If a man has something to say, he's going to come out and find a way to tell you.  But I don't want to deal with a rat."

It is very important to Singletary to control the information that is outside of the team but even this display seems a bit strange.

He made it clear he was less than thrilled to be spending the day talking about the Yahoo article that stated Jimmy Raye has a hard time making the offensive calls and getting them in on time.


In his weekly KPIX interview with Dennis O'Donnell, the details we thank David White for, he is less than interested in continuing to talk about the article and Jimmy Raye.  In fact, he almost gets to the "I Want Winners" Singletary.

Singletary: The point I'm trying to make is I don't want to talk about the Yahoo deal. It really pisses me off now that I sit here and think about it. We just talked today and I had a press conference today. I don't want to talk about the Yahoo thing anymore. Whoever said it, I don't care who said it, it's over. I want to move forward.

O'Donnell: So there's no truth to it?

Singletary: I want to move forward.

O'Donnell: Let's talk about Alex moving forward into Monday night. In situations where maybe he's not getting a play by a certain amount of time, if he can see ...

Singletary: Alex will be fine Monday night. Watch the game and you will see that Alex will be fine. I don't want to talk about time. I don't want to talk about clock. I don't want to talk about any of that. I want to talk about New Orleans if you want to talk about that.

Then O'Donnell asked Singletary how they planned to try and stop Drew Brees and how they were going to try and move the ball on offense.  Apparently, they are not going to try, they are just going to do.

O'Donnell: OK. Let's talk about trying to stop Drew Brees. 

Singletary: We will not try to stop Drew Brees. We will stop Drew Brees. Next question. 

O'Donnell: Let's talk about trying to move the ball against the New Orleans defense ... 

Singletary: We will not try to move the ball against the New Orleans defense. We will move the ball and we will score.

You know what Singletary, "don't tell me, show me."