Jimmy Raye fired as San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator
Jimmy Raye has officially been fired by the San Francisco 49ers as their offensive coordinator. The team made the announcement one day after their 31-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Quarterbacks coach Mike Johnson will take over the role of offensive coordinator while the 49ers offensive assistant, Jason Michael, will get a promotion and step into Johnson's old role.
Head coach Mike Singletary took responsibility for making the decision.
"One thing I want you to understand is if I make a decision, it's my decision. The thing that I have control over is the 53-man staff, the 53-man roster and the staff, who is on my coaching staff. That
is my decision," he said.
The 49ers have struggled to start the season, losing their first three games. Going into this season many believed that the 49ers would challenge for top spot in the NFC West and make the playoffs. Their
current record will make it difficult to get back in the playoff picture, and the 49ers will be hoping that the move to fire Raye will give them the edge to turn things around.
It is clear that the offence had been struggling with quarterback Alex Smith throwing inconsistently, and running back Frank Gore not getting the number of touches out of the backfield that the 49ers would
have liked. San Fran also sits in the bottom half of the pack in most offensive categories including yards per game and yards per play, and only the Carolina Panthers have scored fewer points so far this season.
Singletary was quick to laud praise on Raye's replacement, Mike Johnson, and he believes his team can move forward and that the staff change will eventually prove to be a positive one. Singletary noted:
"I just felt that for the overall scheme of things, where we are, I just felt that right now that Mike Johnson would do a good job," Singletary said. "I think Mike will do a good job of bringing the staff
together. I think Mike is a great communicator. I think Mike is a great teacher. I think he's a visionary. I think he understands what we're trying to accomplish and I think the players will embrace him."
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