SANTA CLARA, Calif. The San Francisco 49ers fired coach Mike Nolan on Monday, seven games into his fourth consecutive dismal season with the club, according to FOXsports.com.

Assistant head coach Mike Singletary is expected to take over the 49ers, who are 2-5 after starting 2-1.

Instead of delaying the decision until after Sunday's home game against Seattle, owner John York apparently didn't wait to get rid of his choice to revive the five-time Super Bowl champs, who've missed the playoffs since 2002.

Nolan is 18-37 in 31/2 seasons with the 49ers, who hired the veteran defensive coordinator to run every aspect of the club in January 2005.

Elsewhere

ARIZONA: Receiver Anquan Boldin returned to practice, just over three weeks after he was injured on a vicious hit by the Jets' Eric Smith. Boldin is to see the doctor today and hopes to gain medical clearance to play Sunday at Carolina.

BUFFALO: Reserve linebacker John DiGiorgio will have more tests on his right knee injury but could miss the rest of the season.

CHICAGO: Starting cornerback Nathan Vasher spent Saturday night in a hospital being treated for a swollen right hand near the area where he had wrist surgery, sources told the Chicago Tribune.

CINCINNATI: Rookie linebacker Keith Rivers was scheduled for surgery Monday to set his broken jaw, ending his season. Rivers was hurt when receiver Hines Ward leveled him with a straight-up block during Pittsburgh's 38-10 victory Sunday. … Coach Marvin Lewis ruled out quarterback Carson Palmer for the game Sunday in Houston to rest his sore passing elbow. … Rookie receiver Andre Caldwell suffered a stress fracture in his left foot Sunday and is expected to be out at least two games.

CLEVELAND: Coach Romeo Crennel confirmed tight end Kellen Winslow spent three days at the Cleveland Clinic with a staph infection.

DALLAS: Suspended cornerback Adam “ Pacman” Jones has checked into an alcohol treatment center “in another part of the country,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said.

The league suspended Adam Jones for at least four games last Tuesday for violating its personal conduct policy. Six weeks after being reinstated from a 17-month suspension for repeated legal problems, he was involved in an alcohol-related scuffle Oct.7 with one of his bodyguards at a party in Dallas.

HOUSTON: Andre' Davis was scheduled to have surgery on his left ring finger, but coach Gary Kubiak said he could still play this weekend.

KANSAS CITY: Running back Larry Johnson is being investigated for spitting a drink in a woman's face Oct.10 at a nightclub. It's the fourth time in five years he's been accused of assaulting a woman.

The Chiefs talked with three-time Pro Bowl quarterback Daunte Culpepper a day after Brodie Croyle tore knee ligaments.

NEW ENGLAND: Running back Laurence Maroney will miss the rest of the season with a shoulder injury.

NEW ORLEANS: Running back Reggie Bush had surgery to repair a torn medial meniscus in his left knee and might miss two-to-four weeks.

Punter Ben Graham joined the team after being signed to replace Steve Weatherford, who was waived after Sunday's loss at Carolina.

NEW YORK JETS: Online bidding went as high as $65,100 per seat through two days of the team's auction of 2,000 personal seat licenses. The PSLs are near the 50-yard line and behind the Jets' bench.

ST. LOUIS: Running back Steven Jackson is expected to play Sunday at New England despite a slightly strained quadriceps.

WASHINGTON: Cornerback Shawn Springs appears likely to miss at least one more game with a calf injury.

OBIT: Gene Hickerson, the Browns' Hall of Fame right guard whose blocking helped Jim Brown, Leroy Kelly and Bobby Mitchell make the shrine, died in Olmsted Falls, Ohio, after a long illness. He was 73. OBSERVER NEWS SERVICES