49ers Are Getting Prepared for an Exciting Postseason

A review of Week 11 in the NFL shows the San Francisco 49ers heading for another explosive postseason.

But this one won’t occur in front of their adoring fans. This one will be far from the madding crowd in the privacy of the front office, where the team’s Big Three may well be reduced by one.

Or more.

At the very least, some links figure to be moved around in the chain of command.

“It’s just not working the way it is now,” said one source close to the team.

No kidding. Sunday’s loss to the St. Louis Rams dropped the 49ers to 3-7.

At the top of the power structure is John York. Although he has no football background, York has a pretty good in with the owner. He’s married to her.

Denise DeBartolo York took over the 49ers when her brother, Eddie, got into legal problems in Louisiana.

Below John York is General Manager Bill Walsh, who doesn’t like to answer to anybody when it comes to football, least of all a guy such as York, whose specialty is business management.

And then there is Coach Steve Mariucci, who has a good relationship with York and would like to have as much input as possible into who the 49ers put on the field, since he’s the one who has to coach them.

The wild card in all this is former UCLA coach Terry Donahue, who works in the front office under Walsh.

And hanging over the entire organization is the question of how long the DeBartolo family will even keep the team with the proposed stadium project in financial limbo.

This postseason game of office politics will begin just as soon as everybody chooses sides.

YOUNG FOREVER?

Hold off on those predictions that San Francisco quarterback Steve Young, sidelined while he recovers from yet another concussion, will hang up his helmet at season’s end.

Young, 38, is running the stairs at 3Com Park to keep in shape and working the sideline during games.

Hardly the behavior of a man ready to walk away.

TO ALL YOU DOUBTERS

The jury may be out on how good a coach Phil Jackson is without Michael Jordan, but does anybody still question how good a coach Mike Holmgren, leader of the 8-2 Seattle Seahawks, is without Brett Favre?

TO ALL YOU OTHER DOUBTERS

Any question about the Indianapolis Colts’ decision to take quarterback Peyton Manning over Ryan Leaf in the 1998 draft was soon answered by Leaf himself, but a few eyebrows were again raised when the Colts selected Edgerrin James over Ricky Williams in 1999.

The doubters never learn.

James went over the 1,000-yard mark in rushing Sunday and now has 1,006, along with eight touchdowns on the ground. Williams has 816 yards, and Sunday’s touchdown run against the Jacksonville Jaguars was his first of the season.

SALIVA TEST

The Dawg days are back, and Carolina Panther linebacker Kevin Greene couldn’t be happier. The return of football to Cleveland has renewed a source of inspiration for Greene.

When Greene’s Panthers came into the Browns’ new stadium Sunday, the Dawg Pound was barking and Greene was smiling.

“You’re a sissy, Greene,” yelled out one fan.

“Shut up,” Greene yelled back.

“I missed coming in here,” Greene said, “because the fans can get you fired up. Ain’t nothing like getting spit on.”

TUNA TEST

Bill Parcells, coach of the New England Patriots in 1993, took one look at raw rookie quarterback Drew Bledsoe and rubbed his hands in anticipation. Parcells relishes the idea of molding talent, even if it requires a harsh, demanding approach.

And a whip.

Bledsoe took one look at Parcells and shook his head in dread. A trip to the field to face opposing linemen, foam on their lips and mayhem in their eyes, isn’t as intimidating as a trip back to the sideline to face Parcells after messing up.

But coach and quarterback learned to coexist. It was tough on Bledsoe.

Midway through Bledsoe’s second season, Parcells was asked how far his quarterback had come.

“How far is he from where he should be?” Parcells said. “Well, he’s in Rhode Island and he should be in Chicago.”

Bledsoe bit his lip and kept his mouth shut until the coach, lovingly referred to by many as Tuna, left for the New York Jets after taking the Patriots to the Super Bowl three seasons ago.

Bledsoe made it obvious that he was eager to see how he would do on his own.

Not as well as he thought. The Patriots have gotten worse each year since Parcells left.

Sunday, Bledsoe had five passes intercepted in a showdown game against the Miami Dolphins, New England losing, 27-17, to drop to 6-4.

Parcells has his own problems with the Jets, having lost starting quarterback Vinny Testaverde on opening day. But Parcells nudged another solid performance Sunday out of his latest young quarterback project, Ray Lucas.

As for Bledsoe, he may be out of Rhode Island, but Chicago is still nowhere in sight.

TALK ABOUT PRESSURE

St. Louis Ram Coach Dick Vermeil grew up in Northern California, attending Calistoga High, Napa Junior College and San Jose State.

After his team beat the 49ers, 23-7, Sunday at 3Com Park, Vermeil said he felt particularly good about coming home to win in the area where his great-grandparents, grandparents and parents are all buried.

Vermeil himself was almost buried by critics before he even got started when the Rams brought him back to football in 1997 at the age of 60 after an absence from coaching of 15 years.

Instead he has overseen the resurrection of the Rams.

OTHER NOTES OF NOTE

Whatever happened to Tampa Bay Buccaneer receiver Reidel Anthony? That’s what the Buccaneers want to know. They declared him inactive for Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons after Anthony showed up late for a team meeting Saturday. . . . Sunday’s games were all played outdoors. Once upon a time, that wouldn’t have even been worth a note. But in the era of domes, it’s an oddity. As a matter of fact, it’s the first time this decade that all the domes were dark in the same week. . . . Buffalo Bill defensive lineman Bruce Smith said it: Facing the Miami Dolphins without quarterback Dan Marino “is like facing Batman without Robin.”