During today’s press conference introducing new/interim head coach Mike Singletary, I asked general manager Scot McCloughan a two-part question.

1. Why did the team allow Mike Nolan to hold his tense, degrading Monday news conference if the Niners knew they would fire him?

2. Did McCloughan think it was appropriate to leak news of Nolan’s firing to the media?

Here’s what McCloughan said. He told me when Nolan held his noon press conference the 49ers did not know they would fire him the same day.

As crazy as this sounds, I believe McCloughan. I believe him because 49ers management can’t plan ten minutes in advance and this screw-up is typical.

McCloughan also said no one from the 49ers leaked anything to the media. This I am suspicious of. Here’s what I think happened. After the press conference Nolan went to McCloughan and said he read the team wanted to fire him after next Sunday’s Seattle game. McCloughan said yes. Nolan, who has guts, said something like — then just fire me now.
So the Niners, who were unprepared, fired him. They were so unprepared no one from the organization made an official statement of the firing until 10:15 Monday day — even though the whole world knew the truth.

So, you bet, I think the Niners ratted out Nolan. My guess is McCloughan was the leaker. Whoever did it, did not allow Nolan the dignity of a polite exit. At the end, Nolan showed more character than the characters around him.

— Lowell