Forget about Tuesday. There were no surprises, nothing much to see.

Tuesday at 49ers headquarters, we had the usual Kabuki theater that occurs when a new NFL coach replaces a fired one. Mike Singletary, the new guy, said he will do his best to win more football games than the fired guy, Mike Nolan. Anyone shocked by that? I didn't think so.

So don't obsess about Tuesday. Or even next Sunday. The next really big day is Monday, Dec. 29.

That is the day after the NFL season ends. And that is when the 49ers must make the next key decision about not just who will be coach for the 2009 season, but also how the team will structure things as it moves forward — and who will be making the decisions about that structure.

Singletary has goodwill on his side. He is a classy guy, a football nerd whose reputation as a great player adds power to his words. But if the history of NFL interim coaches is any indication, Singletary will not win enough games to make the playoffs or finish above .500.

Then what? Odds are, another new coach will be selected. General Manager Scot McCloughan, who evidently started up the machinery to dismiss Nolan, probably will be involved in that choice. That is, if the 49ers' ownership doesn't replace McCloughan as well.

In that regard, Tuesday did bring us one very interesting development. The person speaking for the 49ers' ownership was Jed York, the son of principal proprietors John York and Denise DeBartolo York. At previous new-coach extravaganzas, John York has been at the podium.

We learned that when Nolan was given the bad news Monday, the two other people in the room were McCloughan and Jed York. That's also significant. In the past, John York has done the face-to-face firing. And he was definitely on the premises Monday. A television reporter saw John York leaving the facility with Jed York shortly after toward sundown.

It begs the question: Has Jed York officially become the York That Matters Most? Is he now the York making the decisions and speaking for the team?

"I'll continue to be a face of the ownership group," he said while taking a few questions after Singletary's media session. "But that doesn't mean that my mother and father are not a part of this."

If you wade through that double-negative declaration, Jed basically was saying that John and Denise still are involved in 49ers decisions — but are not necessarily the final deciders. Frankly, this can only be considered a positive development.

To longtime 49ers watchers, it has been apparent that Jed York is the family member who cares the most fervently about the team — and by extension, cares the most fervently about winning.

John and Denise York are not against winning. But they still live in Ohio. When the 49ers lose, few in their neighborhood care. John and Denise can go about their business without constantly being reminded how bad their team is. Jed can't. He lives in the Bay Area. He knows how much the fans care. He has loved the 49ers since he attended his first home game at age 3 in 1984.

Fans who keep screaming for the Yorks to sell the franchise simply do not understand how much energy they are wasting with those screams. The Yorks are not going to sell the team. Got it? Jed and his siblings want to run the franchise. If you want the 49ers to pull out of their rut, they are your sole option. And some observers are eager to see it happen.

"Jed is their only hope," said one person who has frequent business dealings with many NFL owners. "He has the potential."

I thought about that assessment Tuesday when I asked Jed a simple question: What is wrong with his team? He did not try to double-talk or issue a plea for patience.

"Passion and intensity," Jed answered. "We have talent; there's no doubt that we have talent. We've got Pro Bowlers on both sides of the ball, actually all three phases of the ball. What we're lacking right now is that killer instinct, that finishing ability "& We're not getting outplayed. I think we are getting out-intensitied. I don't think that's a word. But I'm going to use it anyway."

Does that quote remind you of anyone? Especially the "killer instinct" and "intensity" portions? Eddie DeBartolo Jr. was the last member of the 49er "ownership group" to speak that way. And I am hardly the first person to note that Jed York has a little bit of his uncle's blood-oath victory fixation.

We will see where that takes the franchise, starting Dec. 29. But there was one other phrase Jed York uttered that might have slipped past some folks.

"I promise that I won't rest until we re-establish a championship culture," he said.

Did you notice? He said "I." He did not say "we." So at least one member of the York family is taking the 49ers' miserable situation personally. It's about time.