Niners fire offensive coordinator Mike Martz

Dec 30, 2008 - 10:02 PM SANTA CLARA, California (Ticker) -- Mike Singletary wasted little time in changing his coaching staff.

The San Francisco 49ers fired offensive coordinator Mike Martz on Tuesday, two days after Singletary received the head coaching job on a full-time basis.

"After an evaluation period I felt it was best to go in a different direction," Singletary said. "This was not an easy decision because I appreciate Mike Martz, and I enjoyed working with him."

The highly regarded Martz oversaw a Niners offense that ranked 23rd in the NFL in total yardage (311.1 ypg) and 22nd in scoring (21.2 ppg).

Martz, who received overwhelming praise for his work earlier this decade with Kurt Warner and the St. Louis Rams, failed to transfer that success to the Niners. However, his style does not coincide with Singletary's conservative philosophy.

"(Martz) is a true professional, and I wish him the best in the future," Singletary said. "I do recognize the need for a long-term solution on the offensive side of the ball."

Martz served as St. Louis' offensive coordinator in 1999, when the Rams rode Warner and their "Greatest Show on Turf" offense to a Super Bowl championship. He was promoted to head coach the following year and remained in the role until he was fired in January 2006.

After spending the last two seasons as the offensive coordinator in Detroit, Martz took the same job with the 49ers, who signed him to a two-year deal this past January 8.

But despite helping the Niners improve from last to 23rd in total offense, Martz failed to energize the career of quarterback Alex Smith, the No. 1 overall draft selection in 2005 who has been plagued by injuries throughout his career.