Ultimate Standings 2009: No. 87
San Francisco 49ers
Last Year's Rank: 102
Title Track: 38
Ownership: 97
Coaching: 17
Players: 74
Fan Relations: 83
Affordability: 84
Stadium Experience: 115
Bang for the Buck: 96
Since 2004, San Francisco has chewed up five offensive coordinators (with fresh meat -- new OC Jimmy Raye -- on the way for '09), started nine QBs (with a tenth this year certainly possible) and failed to finish higher than 22nd in the NFL in points scored. Off the field, with the economy tanking and public funds scarce, the endless quest to replace nearly-50-year-old Candlestick Park (ranked the NFL's second-worst outdoor venue) seems another half-century away. A once-model franchise now seems as unstable as the San Andreas fault. "We understand that rebuilding takes a little time," writes jtoj at Niners Nation, "but it seems like sometimes random and intelligent fans have better plans than the 49ers brass does." York's first big move: hiring the hard-nosed Mike Singletary as head coach. A 5–4 finish to the 2008 season and Singletary's now infamous locker room pants drop indicate Iron Mike is desperate to make it work. After six straight losing seasons (and a nearly 10-percent jump in game costs from 2007 to '08) fans know how he feels.
