The 2010 season started with the 49ers heavy favorites to win the NFC West after Cardinals QB Kurt Warner retired early in the offseason, but the season was a disaster. They started 0–5, their worst start since the dark days of 1979. In week 3, the 49ers fired offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye, who had been hand-picked by Singletary in the 2009 offseason. Starting safety Michael Lewis demanded to be released after he was demoted in favor of rookie safety Taylor Mays. By mid-season, Singletary was switching QBs between Alex Smith and Troy Smith, who had been picked up in free agency after the preseason, but with little effect. On December 27, 2010, the 49ers fired Mike Singletary as head coach, naming defensive line coach Jim Tomsula as interim head coach for the last game of the season, where despite crushing the Cardinals 38–7, they finished a sad and disappointing 6–10 and missed the playoffs yet again.