49ers Fire Nolan as Head Coach

The San Francisco 49ers fired Mike Nolan as their coach, an NFL source said.

The 49ers have a record of 2-5 this season, Nolan's fourth with the team. Mike Singletary, the club's assistant head coach for defense, was expected to be named Nolan's successor, said the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the moves had not been announced.

Nolan confirmed his dismissal to Fox. He becomes the third NFL head coach fired this season following Scott Linehan of St. Louis and Lane Kiffin of Oakland.

The 49ers had a record of 18-37 under Nolan, a former defensive coordinator for the Washington Redskins and Baltimore Ravens. Nolan once had total control over the franchise's football operations but surrendered power as the club struggled underneath him. He chose quarterback Alex Smith as the top overall selection in the 2005 NFL draft, and Smith failed to become a franchise quarterback.

Singletary, 50, was in his sixth season as an NFL assistant coach for the Ravens and 49ers. The former Chicago Bears linebacker was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998. Singletary interviewed for NFL head coaching vacancies in Detroit in early 2006 and in Dallas, San Diego and Atlanta in early 2007 but was passed over.

· CHIEFS: Police are looking into a report of non-aggravated assault against tailback Larry Johnson, according to the Associated Press.

Johnson allegedly spit a drink into a woman's face and threatened to kill her boyfriend during an Oct. 10 incident at a nightclub, the AP reported. Johnson has not been charged with a crime. A police spokesman told the AP that the case has been assigned to a detective and will be investigated as resources allow.

Johnson already faces a December court date on a simple assault charge for a February incident in which he allegedly pushed a woman in the head with an open hand at a nightclub.

· COWBOYS: Suspended cornerback Adam Jones has entered an alcohol treatment center, according to Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. Jerry Jones said that Adam Jones checked into a facility "in another part of the country," the AP reported.

Adam Jones is serving an indefinite suspension without pay by the NFL for violating the league's personal conduct policy. The league announced last week that Adam Jones would miss at least four games. His latest suspension came after he was involved in a scuffle with one of his bodyguards in a restroom at a Dallas hotel.

· BROWNS: Coach Romeo Crennel said during a news conference that he would do some further investigating before deciding whether to discipline tight end Kellen Winslow for his postgame comments Sunday.

Winslow told the Cleveland Plain Dealer that he had been hospitalized recently because of a staph infection. Winslow said he was upset that General Manager Phil Savage hadn't contacted him during his time at the Cleveland Clinic. He also said the Browns needed to do something to prevent further staph infections being suffered by players.

· BENGALS: Linebacker Keith Rivers likely had his rookie season ended Sunday. Rivers suffered a broken jaw on a block by Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward, according to the Bengals, and is to be placed on the injured reserve list.

· PATRIOTS: New England placed tailback Laurence Maroney on the injured reserve list. Maroney had been plagued by shoulder problems all season.

The team also activated offensive lineman Stephen Neal from the physically-unable-to-perform list before last night's game against the Denver Broncos and signed cornerback Mike Richardson from the practice squad, the AP reported. To make room on the roster, the Patriots released offensive lineman Dan Connolly.

· SAINTS: Tailback Reggie Bush reportedly underwent arthroscopic knee surgery to have cartilage damage repaired.

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reported that Bush had a torn medial meniscus and the typical recovery time following such a procedure is 2-4 weeks. Bush left Sunday's loss to the Carolina Panthers after hurting his left knee on a first-half punt return.