Feckless Niners could unleash backlash with Vick talk

Forget a public relations director. The San Francisco 49ers need the next Red Adair.

In case you missed it, coach Mike Singletary told reporters Monday that San Francisco hasn't ruled out the possibility of acquiring Michael Vick as its next quarterback, a move that -- if made -- would generate the interest that has been missing from the 49ers the last six years.

And that's where the fire brigade comes in.

Vick figures to remain a magnet for animal-rights protestors. (US Presswire)

If they acquire Vick, the 49ers won't gain attention as much as they will a tsunami of outrage that will make the response to their 1993 trade of Joe Montana seem trivial by comparison. A conga line of protesters will stake out the team's headquarters and oppose its overtures for a new stadium. Picketers will show up at every game at home and on the road.

The Arizona Cardinals won't be the enemy; PETA, the Humane Society and the SPCA will, and for a very good reason.

Michael Vick is a public relations nightmare.

Of course, if the 49ers had a PR director he might have stepped forward and told Singletary that this isn't exactly the sort of thing that ordinary people want to hear; that he might have an easier time selling Barry Bonds to run a "Just Say No" campaign than selling Vick as the 49ers' future quarterback.

But there is no public relations director at the 49ers. There is no assistant, either. Both left last month after one was fired and another quit. So there's an opening that is supposed to be filled by the end of the month. Only the end of the month can't wait. This is an emergency. This is, well, Bad Newz.

Forget for a moment that Michael Vick hasn't taken a snap since 2006. Forget also that he probably won't be cleared to take another until the 2010 season. Forget even that he makes a better running back than he does a quarterback.

Michael Vick is a crook, and he's behind bars because he ran a dogfighting operation. Allegations included Vick's direct involvement in dogfighting, gambling and the execution of dogs, with Vick agreeing to a plea bargain to avoid the possibility of more serious charges.

It's one thing to think you can sell Michael Vick The Quarterback to your fans. It's another to assume they'll go along with a miscreant who thought it was A-OK to engage in canine genocide ... then lied about it, provoking a sterner sentence from the presiding judge.

Singletary didn't say the 49ers would acquire Vick. But he didn't rule out the possibility, telling reporters it was something he and general manager Scot McCloughan would talk about. I'm sorry, but you gotta be smarter than that, Mike.

The 49ers are trying to sell themselves to the public, and I'm not talking about season tickets. I'm talking about a new stadium, which is why they held a "state of the franchise" public meeting in San Mateo on Monday. The team has been after a new home for more than a decade, with its sights now set on Santa Clara, and I want to know how the mention of Michael Vick helps to persuade taxpayers. It doesn't, of course, and somebody should have told Singletary.

Michael Vick will not cure the San Francisco 49ers. He won't cure anybody. Yeah, he's fun to watch run around, but that was 2½ years ago. I don't know what he has done in prison to stay in shape, and I don't care. The 49ers shouldn't, either.

What they're considering would galvanize the Bay Area in a way that Singletary either can't envision or doesn't anticipate. I don't care how many Michael Vick fans there are out there; what I can guarantee is that there are a zillion more people who love dogs, and they're about to get mad as hell if the 49ers carry through on this ... threat.

I understand the 49ers wanting to matter again. They haven't had a winning season since 2002 when they topped the NFC West, then fired their head coach. But this is not how you do it. Michael Vick provokes a visceral response, and the 49ers have enough trouble solving opponents without having to deal with the moral outrage of pet lovers everywhere and the media coverage that will accompany it.

From purely a football perspective, Vick is a risk. From an overall perspective, he's a disaster.

Yeah, I believe in giving people second chances, only you better understand your audience. And the Bay Area is not ready for Michael Vick. Not here. Not now. Not ever.

Anyone in public relations would have told the San Francisco 49ers. Too bad they couldn't.