Is Mike Singletary more hype than substance? Since getting the head coaching job in San Francisco (and a Boost Mobile advertisement deal and becoming the spokesman for the Niners ad campaign) he is 9-9. 

A narrow win this week over his former team the Chicago Bears ended a four game losing streak after a strong start. The Niners have been a lost team since the end of the Steve Young era. Things were looking up this season as the Niners jumped to an impressive 3-1 start with a season opening win over division rival Arizona.

Losing Frank Gore for five games did not help. Since then, Alex Smith has been given the starting QB position to mixed reviews. Smith has not been overwhelmingly successful so far, although his first appearance after coming in for Shaun Hill in week 7 against the Houston Texans when he threw three touchdowns. Since then he has thrown more interceptions and now sits at 6 TDs and 6 INTs.

The defense came out looking amazing and has been mostly consistent aside from a major let down against Atlanta, losing 10-45 and another disappointing showing in week 9 against Tennessee. The impressive play of Patrick Willis is much to do with the 49ers defensive success. The man is a beast.

All in all, the Niners are better than a year ago, but not by much. We are dealing with one of the richest histories in the NFL here with this squad and being a .500 team doesn’t cut it. Is it time for Singletary to move on? Not yet, but let’s keep a critical eye on Singletary and the rest of this 49er season.