(By Joe Kukura)

Leadership voids -- who's gonna fill 'em? Leadership voids are the only thing these 49ers know for sure they have. Sure, Patrick Willis has a fucking "S" on his chest. Nate Clements and Allen Rossum can ruin quarterbacks' lives while making it look fun and easy. Manny Lawson and Kentwan Balmer just have too cool of names to fail. But as they gild their 2008 manifestation in Santa Clara, these Niners have deeper, more fundamental issues to sort through. To wit:

-Who Owns This Team? Immediately post-Eddie, his supposedly-smarter sister Denise DeBartolo York took ownership. Her straight-out-of-Dunder-Mifflinhusband John York has (astonishingly mis-) handled these duties the last few years. This year, nepotistically-appointed Jed York has played owner in John's frequent absence. Has any of these people ever given off the slightest impression that they enjoy owning an NFL team?

-Who's Coaching This Team? Mike Nolan seems kinds Ed Jew circa September 2007. They allowed him to rotate extensively in the wind after last season, but unenthusiastically kept him on. Mike Martz came on as offensive coordinator, perhaps with some notion that the top job might become vacant mid-season. To what degree is Martz scheming to head coach this team? That's like asking, To what degree are narcotics present in the Tenderloin?