The inevitable finally came to fruition late this evening, as San Francisco reportedly decided to terminate the contract of head coach Mike Singletary, just a few short hours removed from his team’s disappointing loss in St. Louis, which officially ended their minute chances of reaching the post-season.

Singletary was just 18-22 during his tenure with the 49ers, spanning a little over two and a half seasons. He took over halfway through the 2008 campaign, guiding San Francisco to a 5-4 record to finish that season before being given the reins to the club.

After a strong finish left them 8-8 at the end of last season, expectations were sky high heading into this year, but the 49ers got off to an atrocious start, losing their first five games before finally getting into the win column with a hard fought victory over their Bay Area rivals from Oakland.

Team owner Jed York has indicated that he would prefer to hire a general manager to oversee the day to day operations of the football side of the business, and it’s likely that whoever he selects to fill that role will have a strong say in who the 49ers next head coach will be.

Given the uncertainty surrounding the future of the league with the current stalemate between the players association and the owners expected to result in a work stoppage, San Francisco could very well end up waiting to hire a new head coach for the time being, biding their time until they find the best possible tandem to lead the team going forward.

Several of the more intriguing options that the 49ers will have to choose from in their coaching search include ESPN analyst Jon Gruden, who rose to prominence as the head coach for the Raiders before leaving for Tampa Bay. Whether he would choose to leave the broadcast booth for a spot on the sideline is up in the air, but a chance to return to the Bay Area would likely be interesting enough to get Gruden to listen at the very least.

Other candidates likely to earn an interview include Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis, Panthers head coach John Fox, and former Falcons and Seahawks head coach Jim Mora Jr. Hiring a coach with no experience at the top position isn’t something the 49ers seem interested in doing, but it’s still a possibility, leaving the door open for the possible addition of Stanford’s Jim Harbaugh.

Other posts you may enjoy:

1. 49ers to hire Baalke to handle GM duties
2. Opportunity at the U piquing Gruden’s interest?
3. Shanahan on hot seat in Washington?
4. Broncos mercifully end McDaniels era in Denver