So after all that, the Niners hired Mike Martz as offensive coordinator anyways. After just one interview and after not really talking to anybody else.

The hiring has raised all sorts of questions about what is going on in Ninerland as it was first said they wouldn’t be interested and then they were. So who made the call? Who went against the call and who overruled whom? Trying to figure out what the heck happened has Ninerologists in a froth.

As we said earlier, the move smacks of desperation, which might actually be a good move as nothing smacks of desperation like the 49ers. So why not go for broke? And to be fair, Martz does come with some serious credentials, most noticeably a Superbowl ring. He also made QB studs out of a former grocery store stocker, somehow made John Kitna good, and looks like Mrs. Doubtfire. He also turned Marshall Faulk into a Fantasy Football God, which would bode well for Frank Gore except for the fact Martz was supposedly fired from the Lions for refusing to run the ball.

Whatever you think of the move, it instantly makes the Niners that much more interesting. After all, Martz isn't called Mad Mike Martz for nothing. Picking out Martz's craziest coaching moves is a pretty fun game, actually. Our favorite was during that Superbowl against the Pats when he refused to do what was obvious to everyone watching the game, those who weren't watching the game, and those who had never watched a football game in their life and refused to handoff to Marshall Faulk despite having the lead and despite the Pats dropping seven guys deep to stop the pass. Supposedly, the Pats knew that it didn’t matter if they gave up on the run because they knew Martz was too stubborn to stop passing. He even once tried to call in plays from his sickbed but had his call blocked by the Rams GM. So look for the occasional flurry of offense, the occasional head scratching play call, and the occasional mystifying game plan.

Image from FireMartz.com