Does Nolan need to coach? Only he can answer that

The 49ers, though, were supposed to be the next new thing, despite the fact that going from 7 wins to 10 is geometrically harder than going from 4 to 7. And instead, it looks like they are going from 7 to 4.

Thus, Monday matters to them. And Nolan's decision to go to work, one that would have been his father's decision back in the day when he coached the 49ers, will be part of the ammunition aimed at him if Seattle wins. The questions won't be about his coaching, but about his focus.

Should Mike Nolan coach tonight? Well, that's his call, and his family's call, and his owner's call. If they're fine with it (and they apparently are), then that's how it is. That's how it should be.

But it is also true, on the more mundane plane of everyday living and our entertainment jones, that he needs a win tonight more than he ever has before -- for his dad's memory, for his own peace of mind, for the sheer relief.

And in football, needs very often are met with profoundly unpleasant consequences.

Ray Ratto is a columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle.