The NFL notified 49ers coach Mike Nolan on Wednesday he will be allowed to shed the typical casual sideline coaching attire for a business suit for the team?s eight regular-season home games.
The announcement from the league came amid mounting pressure directed at Reebok, including a grassroots campaign among 49ers fans to wear suits for the team?s season-opening Monday night game Sept. 10 against the Arizona Cardinals as a sign of protest.
Nolan thanked NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Reebok, the league?s clothing supplier for coaches and players, for increasing the number of games at which he will be allowed to wear a suit. Last season, Nolan and Jacksonville coach Jack Del Rio wore suits for two games.
?As I mentioned before, I made this request out of the high amount of respect I have for the NFL, the San Francisco 49ers, my father and all of the former coaches who have worn suits,? Nolan said.
Nolan?s father, Dick, spent 11 seasons as an NFL head coach. He typically wore a jacket and tie on the sideline. Mike Nolan?s choice of clothing is a gesture that figures to be more poignant this season. His father has Alzheimer's disease and lives in an assisted-living facility in Texas for patients dealing with dementia. He also suffers from prostate cancer.
Last week, Nolan said he had been told he could wear the suit for two games this season. He blamed Reebok for the decision, calling the corporation ?ignorant? for its hard-line stance. Reebok has a $250 million contract with the league, which runs through 2012.
The NFL on Wednesday tried to deflect the criticism away from Reebok, saying the decision rested solely with league commissioner Roger Goodell.
?Commissioner Goodell took a harder look at it and he supported the issue,? said Brian McCarthy, the NFL?s director of corporate communications. ?In recognition of Nolan?s desire to salute and honor his father, we expanded (the policy) to meet his request.?
Niners spokesman Aaron Salkin said Nolan asked to wear the suit for eight games, instead of the full 16-game schedule, as a compromise. McCarthy said he anticipates the practice will be continued in future seasons.
Nolan and Del Rio are the only coaches who said they wanted to wear suits during games when the league polled each team at the NFL meeting in March, McCarthy said.
When Nolan was hired as coach of the 49ers in January 2005, he informed the league of his desire to be allowed to wear a suit on the sideline. According to McCarthy, it was ?too late in the cycle? for the league to do anything for that season.
Nolan and Del Rio worked with Reebok to design suits to be worn for two games apiece last season. When Nolan was asked about the issue last week, he said of Reebok, ?They wish it would go away, but I try to keep it alive as much as I can.?
The topic became widely discussed among 49ers followers on the Internet, including The Press Democrat?s blog, ?Instant 49ers.? A reader identifying himself as ?Ninerfan21? is believed to be the first to suggest the home fans show support for Nolan by showing up for the team?s nationally televised season opener in suits and ties.
Contact Staff Writer Matt Maiocco at 521-5492 or matt.maiocco@pressdemocrat.com
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