What about Bob?

So, what's so unique about a team with the 10th overall pick hosting a blue chip quarterback a couple weeks before the draft? Nothing, at least on the surface.

But remember that 49ers coach Mike Singletary publicly questioned whether Stafford's parents' divorce was still causing some issues for the Georgia quarterback.

Singletary fueled the controversy last month after comments with Ralph Barbieri on KNBR, a local radio station.

“If you’re going to look at drafting a guy in the first round,” Singletary said in the interview, “and you’re going to pay him millions of dollars, and asking him about a divorce about his parents, if that’s going to be an issue, then you know what, maybe he doesn’t belong here.”

(He's not high on hallucinogenics either.)

Bob Mantz takes Mike Singletary to task for taking quarterback Matthew Stafford to task for being uncomfortable with questions about Staffords' parents' divorce. Among other things, Mantz suggests it's inappropriate for a football coach to delve into such matters.

I dunno. If you're gonna fork over millions in salary and signing bonus for a quarterback, I don't think it's completely out of line to ask a guy about how he handled a traumatic experience in his life. Then again, I don't know if Stafford's personal feelings about his parents' divorce would come into play as he's driving a team for the winning touchdown in the Super Bowl.

Whatever.

Maybe.

GM Scott McLoughan said during a radio interview yesterday that he wouldn't completely discount a return by T.O. to the 49ers, his first team in the NFL.

Hmmm.

Would love to see what might happen if T.O. got into hot water with the 49ers' head coach. My money's on Mike Singletary in that one.

The 49ers made some news last week by seeming to at least leave the door open to the possibility of Michael Vick playing for the team this season.

Not!

The 49ers are now saying that there is no such interest.

It's going to be a tough sell for any team to talk about dealing for Vick, who is on the trading block but is not expected to draw any serious consideration as far as a deal with the Falcons, who still hold his rights.

The more likely scenario is that the Falcons will eventually release the quarterback, who is still serving time in the slammer for pleading guilty to charges stemming from an illegal dog-fighting operation. But even then, it's difficult to see Vick hooking up right away. He's due to be released from prison in late July, which is when NFL teams head to training camp.

There's no way he'll be in football shape when he gets out of jail, so it's tough to teams willing to take a chance on him in the immediate term. The more likely scenario is that he'll attempt to get some workouts for teams who might have a need at quarterback - or possibly receiver, since there's a chance he'll switch positions.

And even then, who knows whether a team is willing to put up with the protests from animal rights advocates for a player who likely would serve a backup role. And that's assuming he'll even be allowed back in the league; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell hasn't decided whether to continue his indefinite suspension of Vick, although we're hearing that Goodell would lean toward reinstating Vick if there are no further problems associated with his situation.

... but since he didn't even get an interview during the nearly completed hiring cycle, he'll settle on becoming an offensive coordinator.

The 49ers are considering the former Broncos, Giants and Falcons head coach.

It would be an interesting hire, to say the least. But it's not beyond the realm of possibility that head coach Mike Singletary, who is not afraid to take risks (see: dropping trow in front of his players at halftime of his first game as head coach), would take a shot.

As the final seconds were ticking down last night and the 49ers had a chance to score the game-winning touchdown against the Cardinals in what turned out to be a better-than-expected Monday night matchup, the Niners made a curious decision on the game's final play.

On third-and-goal from the 2 with time running out, the 49ers didn't give the ball to their best offensive player, Frank Gore. They gave it to their fullback, Michael Robinson, who was stopped at the 1 as time expired.

Oy.

This happened to the Jets several years ago, but the I can't quite remember who the tailback and fullback in question were. In a crucial situation, the Jets gave the ball to the fullback, and he was stopped cold in a huge spot. Please help if you know. A gold star for you.

In the meantime, here's the play-calling sequence by 49ers offensive coordinator Mike Martz in the final seconds:

First-and-10 from the 42: Shaun Hill to Jason Hill for 13 yards

First-and-10 from the 29: Hill to Hill for 14 yards

First-and-10 from the 15: Hill to Hill for 14 yards

First-and-goal from the 1: Hill spike to stop the clock

Second-and-goal from the 1: Frank Gore stumbles for a 1-yard loss

Third-and-goal from the 2: Michael Robinson stuffed for a 1-yard gain as time expires

Ok, this Mike Singletary stuff is officially weird.

The 49ers' coach made news on Sunday by telling tight end Vernon Davis to hit the showers before the team's loss to the Seahawks on Sunday in San Francisco. But there is more to the story. A lot more.

Singletary was so disgusted by his team's play at halftime, that he actually dropped his pants to demonstrate how badly they were getting their arses kicked. (Hey, blog police, can I use that word?)

Singletary, appointed on an interim basis after Mike Nolan was fired, isn't available to the media until Monday, but he issued a statement released by the team:

"I used my pants to illustrate that we were getting our tails whipped on Sunday and how humiliating that should feel for all of us. I needed to do something to dramatize my point; there were other ways I could have done it but I think this got the message across. I am excited about having the team back at practice on Monday so we can get back to work."

The 49ers are on a bye week.

Ok, where do we begin?

For starters, as I'm sure you know by now, I disagreed with Singletary's handling of Davis, who was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct, even though all he did was tap the helmet of an opponent after a play. Granted, Davis has been an underachiever, but I thought Singletary completely overreacted and ran the risk of losing the locker room psychollogically.

I'm sure fans loved the fact that Singletary screamed at Davis and kicked him out of the game. But realistically, that's simply not the best way to handle the situation.

Now, as far as Singletary's move to drop trow at halftime, all I can say is: Really? Really?!?!?!

This is not high school. In fact, had a high school coach done something like that, he might have been suspended for lewd behavior. There are far better ways to indicate your displeasure to your team than by creating a scene like that. How about standing up there and simply telling them they're getting their arses handed to them and to get out there and play harder?

After all, if he's got to drop his pants to illustrate the point just 30 minutes into his tenure as a head coach, what does he do for an encore?

Wait. Don't answer that.

I realize a lot of fans feel good watching Mike Singletary call out tight end Vernon Davis and send him to the showers before the game is over.

And it's somewhat refreshing to see a coach not sugarcoat his anger about what ails his team, especially in this day and age of me-first athletes.

But I will say right here, right now that Singletary's over-the-top debut as the 49ers' head coach will not result in any measurable improvement in his team. Nor will it do much to make the 49ers a winning organization, something they haven't been able to accomplish since the days of Joe Montana, Steve Young and Jerry Rice.

While it is all well and good for a new coach to try and clean the slate with a tongue-lashing of his petulant tight end and a benching of his struggling quarterback, the key issue in all this comes down to one thing: What's next?

Singletary can rant and rave all he wants - much like Mike Ditka did when he won the Super Bowl with Ditka as his middle linebacker in Chicago.

But screaming at your players and demanding accountability might play well to the fans in Section 332, but it doesn't automatically translate into winning football games.

The only thing that helps there is getting the right players to carry out the plan. And right now, the 49ers don't have those players.

So for all the feel-good stories that Singletary offered to the average Joe who screams the same things at his television on Sunday afternoons, it doesn't mean the 49ers are any better off than they were after Mike Nolan got the gate.

I realize that's not a very popular opinion right now, but I'll be patient with this one. In the long run, Singletary needs to learn how to appeal to the modern-day athlete with a more subtle and sophisticated approach, not the take-no-prisoners mentality that no longer works.

When the 49ers approached Mike Singletary about becoming Mike Nolan's replacement as the 49ers' head coach, Singletary had major reservations. It wasn't until the two spoke in Nolan's office shortly after the dismissal that Singletary decided to take the job.

Here's how Nolan explained it in an interview with former Redskins running back John Riggins on SIRIUS Radio:

"He came down after [49ers management] spoke with him and he came to me and we sat down and I said, ‘Well, what’s up?’ And he told me what they all said, and he said, ‘I can’t do it.’ He says, ‘You’re my friend and I can’t do that.’ And I said, ‘Well Mike,’ I said, by choice I chose a table other than my desk to sit down with Mike in my office, and I pointed to the desk and I said ‘Mike, I just want to tell you something,’ I said, ‘You see that desk, there’s no one sitting in it.’ I said, ‘I’m not the coach of the San Francisco 49ers. Right now they don’t have a coach.’ I said, ‘So for you to say you can’t do it because you’re going to take my job, you’re not taking my job.’ I said, ‘That job’s already been vacated.’

"I said, ‘Mike, you need to take that job.’ I said, ‘We came in here together. You know how important these players are to us and I think you’d do a hell of a job of keeping them together because right now that’s the most important thing, is just keeping them together.’ It’s not X’s and O’s, it’s not new ideas, everything’s kind of on autopilot as far as the schedule goes. I said, ‘They need somebody to lead them.’ "

With Mike Singletary now in place as the 49ers' head coach and no assurances that he'll remain the boss after the season, you can rest assured that the Pete Carroll-to-the-49ers speculation will ramp up in the coming weeks.

Carroll was all set to take the 49ers' job several years ago, but couldn't agree on a contract that would give him complete authority of all football operations. The Niners now have a general manager in place, so any decision to bring in Carroll would mean the end of Dave McCloughan's tenure.

And, of course, there is the Holmgren situation as well.

Not sure on this one. My initial sense is that Carroll will be open to joining the team but would ultimately stay at USC. Then again, he has deep roots in the Bay Area, he once was a 49ers' assistant, and ... let's just throw in the "you never know" factor for good measure.

Now it's Mike Nolan getting the gate in San Francisco.

Mike Singletary is expected to be the replacement, although contract talks are ongoing.

The team has also been high on defensive coordinator Greg Manusky, but Singletary has long had aspirations to become an NFL head coach. The former Bears star linebacker is a defensive assistant with the Niners.

You know by now he lost his job to journeyman J.T. O'Sullivan.

Now it's his shoulder acting up. The one he had surgically repaired last season. He injured it in practice this week and is having it re-evaluated.

News of this broke about 30 seconds after I filed my Sunday notes column that said Smith would almost certainly not be with the team next year. I was not trying to put the whammy on him.

Chicago Norm, please amend the note.

... and now there's no guarantee he will beat out undrafted free agent Shaun Hill for the 49ers' starting job this season.

Unbelievable.

Smith did a huge favor for me in 2005. I had him going to the 49ers in my mock draft, and actually left Cal quarterback Aaron Rodgers out of the round. I knew it was a huge risk keeping Rodgers out of the round, but I also knew that if the 49ers didn't pick him, he'd fall a long way. If not out of the first round, then at least pretty far down.

There was some debate on whether the 49ers would take Smith or Rodgers, so needless to say it was a massive relief when they took Smith. And Rodgers did fall. In fact, had the Packers not taken him at 25th overall, I think he would have dropped completely out of the round.

My, how things have changed. Smith might lose his job to a no-name, and Rodgers now takes over for Brett Favre.

The 49ers' newly signed receiver has decided not to wear No. 80 out of respect to Niners legend Jerry Rice. Bruce had worn the same number during his long and productive career with the Rams.

Good call, Isaac.

Now it's your turn, 49ers. It's time to retire the number permanently.

Isaac Bruce hasn't said whether he'd like to continue wearing No. 80 now that he's with the 49ers.

Of course, No. 80 was worn by none other than future Hall of Fame receiver Jerry Rice, who has no objections to Bruce wearing his old number.

"I have always respected Isaac Bruce," Rice said on his show "Late Hits," according to a transcript provided by Sirius Satellite Radio. "I don't know what is going to happen in that scenario, but if it was left up to me, I would say, 'Yeah.' For Steve Largent to do what he did for me, he showed me a side of him where I just feel like I have to do the same thing. He set the standard."

Largent wore No. 80 with the Seahawks, but gave Rice his blessing to wear the number when Rice played for the Seahawks in 2004. Rice took some heat from Seahawks fans for wearing Largent's old number, and Bruce would surely invite criticism if he wears No. 80 in San Francisco.

Our advice to Bruce, venerable receiver who wore No. 80 for 14 mostly brilliant seasons with the Rams: Take a different number.

Within minutes of the free agency signing period, the 49ers lost guard Justin Smiley to the Dolphins.

But they have just signed another Justin, one who figures to help their team a lot more than a guard. It's Bengals free agent defensive end Justin Smith.