Permanent job now Singletary's to lose

SANTA CLARA ? Mike Singletary has done enough to turn his 49ers interim head-coaching job into something more permanent.

Singletary put the 49ers? decision-makers in a position where it is going to be nearly impossible for them not to hire him as the head coach without considerable backlash from fans, media ? and, most important, the locker room.

The 49ers conclude the season on Sunday at Candlestick Park against the Washington Redskins. Under NFL rules, the 49ers would be allowed to hire Singletary as the permanent head coach at any time, beginning after Sunday?s game.

Throughout the organization there are ?positive feelings? about Singletary, one team official said Wednesday. Singletary acknowledged having a meeting earlier this week with club officials to discuss his future.

The finale will provide the fans one final opportunity to have their voices heard before executive Jed York and general manager Scot McCloughan hammer out the organization?s plan for next season ? and beyond.

?I think the most important thing that has transpired right now is that we?re just working hard, just trying to get things where they need to be,? Singletary said Wednesday. ?After this game, we just have to figure out what the direction is, and we?ll go from there.?

The 49ers have a 4-4 record under Singletary. But it is less about wins and losses than about the aura surrounding the organization.

Although the 49ers were eliminated from playoff contention on Dec.7, they continue to look like a team playing for something.

?That?s a motivated team, and they?re having fun playing,? Washington coach Jim Zorn said. ?You can see that it means something to them. That?s a tremendous voice for the organization to have those players playing so hard. There are a lot of reasons to play hard, but the best reason is because they want to play hard.?

Singletary said his objective was to do what he?s ?supposed to do? and the rest will take care of itself. When asked if he has accomplished that, Singletary answered, ?(I?m) getting better at it.?

Singletary was considered a long shot to win the permanent job when he took over for fired Mike Nolan on Oct.20. The 49ers were intent on hiring a head coach with an offensive background, club sources said.

Mike Martz this season became the 49ers? sixth offensive coordinator in six years. Moreover, there was very little carryover in offensive systems from one coordinator to the next.

The one way to establish continuity on offense is to hire an offensive-minded head coach who will dictate that the same system is used from year-to-year. With Singletary as head coach, there are legitimate questions about how he plans to handle the offense.

Martz has generally accomplished what Nolan hired him to do this season. The 49ers have seen their scoring increase more than a touchdown per game. The club averaged 13.7 points last season. The 49ers are up to 20.8 points a game this season.

?(Martz) and Norv (Turner) are both good offensive coordinators,? 49ers running back Frank Gore said. ?We did put up a lot of points this year. The only thing that hurt us is turnovers.?

The 49ers? 34 turnovers rank worst in the league. But the turnovers are down since Singletary took over and replaced quarterback J.T. O?Sullivan with Shaun Hill.

Martz interviewed for the San Diego State head-coaching position several weeks ago. He was not hired, but that does not mean he will be retained in his current position with the 49ers. Singletary made no commitment Wednesday when asked if he wants Martz back next season.

?I think Mike Martz has been great this season,? Singletary said. ?I think with everything that I ask him to do, he made every attempt, I think, to do the things that he needed to do.

?Going forward, I just feel after the season we have to sit down ... and look at what gives us the best opportunity to win going forward.?

For more on the 49ers, go to Instant 49ers at http://blog.pressdemocrat.com/49ers. You can reach Staff Writer Matt Maiocco at 521-5492 or matt.maiocco@pressdemocrat.com.