Dick Nolan, who coached the 49ers to their first NFL playoff games and whose son Mike now coaches the team, died Sunday at the age of 75.

Nolan had been under care for Alzheimer's disease and prostate cancer, spending the past few months in an assisted-care facility in the Dallas area near where he and his wife, Ann, had lived in the longtime family home.

"The San Francisco 49ers organization is mourning the loss of one of our legends with the passing of Dick Nolan," said 49ers owners Denise and John York in a statement released by the team Sunday night. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the Nolan family and all those that loved and supported him.

"Dick's love of football came second only to family, and those values persevere as his son Mike continues to carry on the legacy of his father both on the field and off the field. The greatest honor we can give Dick is to have Mike carry on the same tradition that his father established during his tenure with the 49ers."

Mike Nolan will be on the sidelines coaching the 49ers tonight when they take on theSeahawks in Seattle, the team announced Sunday night.

The 49ers had little postseason history when Dick Nolan took over as head coach on Jan. 19, 1968 - exactly 37 years to the day before Mike Nolan would be named to the position. San Francisco won one playoff game in the old All-America Football Conference, in 1949, and lost a conference "tiebreaker" game against Detroit in 1957.

"The chemistry began to change when Dick Nolan showed up," former 49ers quarterbackJohn Brodie said in a statement released by the team. "He was as tough as any man I've ever known when it comes to effort expended. If you could measure success by time invested in getting a job done, Dick would be at the top of the list. He drove himself relentlessly."

After two uninspiring seasons, Nolan charted a fresh history in 1970. The 49ers went 10-3-1 to win the first of their three consecutive NFC West titles, clinching the division with an emphatic 38-7 victory over the Raiders in Oakland in the final game of the regular season.

Nolan had shaped a strong defense featuring future Hall of Famer Dave Wilcox and two players, linebacker Skip Vanderbundt and defensive end Cedrick Hardman, drafted on Nolan's watch. Plus, the offensive line superbly protected Brodie in '70 - he was sacked only eight times and often connected with swift second-year wide receiver Gene Washington, who averaged 20.8 yards on 53 catches.

"Dick was a defensive strategist," said Wilcox in a statement released by the 49ers. "He changed the attitude of the 49ers from what had been going on there for a while. It was a lot more detailed than what we had done prior to him coming to the team."

The 49ers traveled to frigid Minnesota and snagged the franchise's first NFL playoff victory. Then, in an NFC Championship Game that would become the start of a frustrating trend, the 49ers fell 17-10 to the Dallas Cowboys.

That was the final game at old Kezar Stadium, but the 49ers found a similar roadblock when they moved to Candlestick Park in '71. Brodie had a more erratic season, with 24 interceptions, but Nolan guided the 49ers to a 9-5 record and another division title.

The 49ers beat Washington in the first round of the playoffs, then met Dallas again in the NFC title game. This time, playing on the road in Irving, Tex., they generated little offense and lost 14-3, again falling just short of the Super Bowl.

Nolan's 1972 team slipped into the playoffs at 8-5-1 and faced the all-too-familiar Cowboys in a first-round playoff game at Candlestick. San Francisco led 28-13 early in the fourth quarter, but Dallas quarterback Roger Staubach came off the bench and sparked a spirited comeback.

Staubach threw one touchdown pass with 1:30 left to pull the Cowboys within 28-23. Then, after Preston Riley infamously fumbled away the onside kick, the Cowboys recovered the ball and Staubach threw another touchdown pass to give Dallas a 30-28 win.

It was a painful way for Nolan to lose, especially going against his longtime friend and mentor, Cowboys coach Tom Landry.

"Dick Nolan against Tom Landry was like Tom Landry against Vince Lombardi," Nolan said for a story published in The Chronicle in January 2001, on the 30th anniversary of the last game at Kezar. "Landry couldn't get past Lombardi, and I didn't get past Landry.

"But I'm still proud of what we did. At the end of that game in 1971, I told the team we'd be back again, and we were. We really worked well as a group. But we just didn't have enough experience to get over the hill."

Nolan and the 49ers soon slipped from contention. His teams posted 5-9, 6-8 and 5-9 records in his next three seasons, prompting his firing after the 1975 season. Nolan was 56-56-5, including the playoffs, as San Francisco's head coach.

Near the end of his tenure with the 49ers, fans who had once cheered him as their savior instead cheered for his departure.

"That was the toughest time, but that's the life of a coach," Mike Nolan said. "My dad never took it personally, and he didn't take it personally when it happened again in New Orleans."

Dick Nolan was born in Pittsburgh on March 26, 1932 and moved to White Plains, N.Y., when he was 10. Nolan played quarterback at White Plains High and later starred at theUniversity of Maryland. The New York Giants selected him in the fourth round of the 1954 draft.

Nolan spent nine seasons as an NFL defensive back, seven with the Giants and one each with the Chicago Cardinals and Dallas Cowboys. Among his teammates in New York was Hall of Famer Frank Gifford, who marveled at Nolan's work ethic and passion for the game.

"He made himself into not just a good player, he was an extraordinary player," Gifford told the New York Daily News earlier this year. "He didn't have the physical talent to do it all, he just willed himself. He was smart and he was tough - as good as there comes in that respect."

In a recent interview with the Orlando Sentinel, former Giants linebacker Sam Huff told of a play in which Nolan tackled the legendary Jim Brown.

"I thought Jim Brown killed him," Huff said. "I picked up Dick Nolan, and his eyes were rolled back in his head. I said, 'Dick you got him. Great tackle!' He looked at me and said, 'Great tackle? Sam, I couldn't get out of his way.' "

It was on those Giants teams of the '50s that Nolan and Landry, a defensive back, became good friends - Nolan once said he thought of Landry as an older brother - and their friendship helped launch Nolan's coaching career.

Landry had become the first head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in 1960, and he hired Nolan as a defensive assistant when Nolan retired as a player in 1962. Nolan stayed on Landry's staff until the 49ers lured him away to take over as their head coach.

Nolan wore a suit and tie on the sideline as head coach, as Landry did. A generation later, Mike Nolan occasionally has donned similar attire to honor his father.

Dick and Mike Nolan were just the fifth father and son to become NFL head coaches, and the first to coach the same team since Bum and Wade Phillips both coached the Saints.

Dick Nolan had one other stint as a head coach, with the New Orleans Saints (1978-80). The Saints posted respectable 7-9 and 8-8 records in Nolan's first two years at the helm, but they started the season 0-12 in 1980, prompting the team to fire Nolan.

Even then, New Orleans general manager Steve Rosenbloom said upon announcing the dismissal, "Dick Nolan is a man of character, class and dignity."

"Other than my father," said Jim Kovach, who played linebacker for Nolan with the 49ers and Saints. "Coach Nolan influenced my life more than anyone else."

Nolan returned to Dallas in 1982, working as an assistant coach with the Cowboys through 1990.

Nolan scouted and enjoyed retirement before his health worsened. In his final months, he was visited by many of his former players. In September, 49ers Hall of Famers Wilcox and Jimmy Johnson joined Len Rohde and Ed Beard for an afternoon of reminiscing - and Nolan recognized them.

"My father kind of lit up when he saw them, and he doesn't do that very often," Mike Nolan said.

Nolan is survived by his wife and six children - Richard, Nancy, Mike, Kelly, Lisa and Jimmy. Funeral arrangements are pending.

In lieu of flowers, the Nolan family has asked that donations be made to the National Alzheimer's Association.

Ray Ratto: Nolan knew how to build around his talent.

Son to coach: Mike Nolan will coach tonight's game in Seattle. D13

Dick Nolan's record

Dick Nolan coached 11 seasons as a head coach with the 49ers and Saints.

Year Team Season Playoffs 1968 49ers 7-6-1 1969 49ers 4-8-2 1970 49ers 10-3-1 1-1 1971 49ers 9-5 1-1 1972 49ers 8-5-1 0-1 1973 49ers 5-9 1974 49ers 6-8 1975 49ers 5-9 1978 Saints 7-9 1979 Saints 8-8 1980 Saints 0-12 Totals 11 years 69-82-5 2-3

Richard Charles Nolan