49ers coach Mike Singletary interviews Mac Duff for special teams co-ordinator

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - San Francisco 49ers coach Mike Singletary interviewed veteran coach Larry Mac Duff for the team's vacant special teams co-ordinator position.

Earlier this week, San Francisco declined to renew the contract of Al Everest, who took over the job from Mac Duff in 2007. Upgrading the Niners' return game is among Singletary's off-season priorities after the team struggled in that area all season. The unit was last in the NFL in average punt return yardage.

Mac Duff, 61, spent four seasons as San Francisco's special teams co-ordinator from 2003-06 and then went from the 49ers to co-defensive co-ordinator at Texas for one season in 2007. He most recently was defensive co-ordinator and special teams coach for the Las Vegas Locomotives of the United Football League.

The team didn't say Friday when Mac Duff had met with Singletary. Mac Duff has more than 35 years experience coaching football. While at Arizona in the 1990s, Mac Duff became known for the Wildcats' successful "Desert Swarm" defence.

San Francisco finished Singletary's first full season as coach at 8-8, ending a franchise-worst stretch of six straight losing seasons but missing the playoffs for the seventh straight year.

The 49ers began 3-1 and were talking playoffs, but then lost four straight and five of six to greatly diminish their chances. They also dropped six straight road games, five in a row by a combined 19 points, before winning their season finale at St. Louis 28-6 last Sunday.