Raye Fired As 49ers Offensive Coordinator

By Justin Worsley

Before the season started, many NFL experts had predicted that the San Francisco 49ers would easily win the NFC West division this season.

Now that the season has started, experts are trying to figure out when the team will get their first win.

After scoring only 38 points in the first three games of the season, the 49ers have decided to go in a different direction on offense, firing coordinator Jimmy Raye and promoting quaterbacks coach Mike Johnson.

The move comes just a day after the 49ers lost to the surprisingly undefeated Kansas City Chiefs 31-10.

Only the Carolina Panthers have scored less points than San Francisco so far this season. Six teams have already scored 38 points in just one game this season.

Raye, 64, was entering his second season as the 49ers coordinator. He has also been an offensive coordinator for the Oakland Raiders, the Washington Redskins, Kansas City, the New England Patriots, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Rams when they were in Los Angeles.

The firing will mark the eighth consecutive season that San Francisco has gone with a different offensive coordinator than the year before. San Francisco has not made the playoffs since 2002.

Many of the teams woes this season are due to the lack of a running game as well as inconsistency by quarterback Alex Smith. The offense ranks 20th in the league in total yards.