[Bette]

Can Mike Martz fix the 49ers? What does his hiring mean for running back Frank Gore? For quarterback Alex Smith?
And what's the deal with that Mad Mike ego?
In search of answers, we called two people who ought to know. Say hello to Marshall Faulk and Kurt Warner.
Each agreed to give the Mercury News a scouting report on the offensive coordinator hired by the 49ers this week. The consensus? The big winner with Martz's arrival is Gore - although not for the reasons you might think.
Faulk, for example, said Gore would flourish not by doing more but by doing less. He said Martz's knack for relying on other playmakers means defenses will stop loading up on the 49ers' lone threat.
"Mike will move him around," Warner said from his home in Arizona, where he serves as quarterback for the Cardinals. "Mike will get the most out of Frank, because Gore is a tremendous player, and he finds creative ways to use his playmakers."
Martz had terrific receivers to work with in St. Louis, namely Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce.
The 49ers have - well, no one like that. Their top wide receiver, Arnaz Battle, ranked 62nd in the NFL for receptions.
But Warner and Faulk insisted that Martz could find untapped potential in some players.

"I think what I liked most was his ability to instill confidence in the players," Warner said.

Confidence, incidentally, is not something Martz lacks in himself. His famously brash personality already has raised questions about whether he can coexist with Nolan, who isn't exactly the poster boy for humility.
Martz's ego is no myth. Warner and Faulk both stressed that the coach wants things done precisely his way, right down to the small stuff.
For all Martz's bluster, though, Faulk said the coach won over the locker room by never criticizing a player in the media. Instead, Martz freely shouldered the blame for his own mistakes.



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