The 49ers and Raiders did not get here, hip deep into another December of daze and doldrum, by accident.

They got to this place with a series of wrong decisions at a handful of consequential forks in the road. It's not easy to be wrong every time!

The Raiders and 49ers earned their way to 5-9 (49ers) and 3-11 (Raiders) and an incredible sixth consecutive season of sub-.500 football for both teams.

So we're here. The 49ers and Raiders are playing out the string. It's the right time to play the "what if" game.

Let's just march back to the key pivot points of the past few years, and think of what could have been. . . . And remember, those who ignore the errors of the past are doomed to play meaningless December football in perpetuity.

WHAT IF . . . Lane Kiffin had been allowed to replace longtime Raiders defensive coordinator Rob Ryan with his father, Monte Kiffin, or with another Tampa Bay staffer, last January?

We know that Kiffin and Al Davis were not destined for long-lasting couplehood — too much attitude, too much paranoia.

But the real ugliness only began when Kiffin's plan to commit the Raiders' defense to a "Cover 2" scheme was violently vetoed by Davis.

That was back when Kiffin thought he had a chance with the Raiders, the same way Jon Gruden had a chance, after a while, to get a more comfortable defensive fit. Oops!

Once he was overruled, Kiffin began his agitate-Al campaign, Al began his hate-Kiffin raging, and we all saw the bountiful results.

Would Monte Kiffin or star Buccaneers assistant Raheem Morris have fixed the Raiders' defense and made this team decent again? Hard to say, and the zone style would've driven Al crazy, of course.

But after the veto and the Kiffin banishment, the Raiders are back searching for another new head coach in a tough market, probably a new defensive coordinator and another high draft pick.

And Kiffin and his father are about to start at the University of Tennessee. Gee, if things work out well, these guys might be great candidates to reshape the Raiders someday.

What if the 49ers had fired Mike Nolan last January and replaced him with Mike Singletary then, instead of 10 months later?

If Singletary was so obvious in October, why didn't Jed York know this in January, when the 2008 season was really on the line?

Under Singletary, Shaun Hill might've been the starting quarterback in Week 1, the 49ers might've beaten Arizona and they would've ditched the "hybrid" defense much more swiftly. Suddenly, the whole season would be different.

The team still wouldn't have enough playmakers, of course. And who knows if Mike Martz would've been Singletary's choice as offensive coordinator — probably not.

But it's not hard to imagine the 49ers sitting at 6-8 or 7-7 right now, with an outside shot at the division, if Singletary and Hill had been leading them for the first seven games, instead of Nolan and J.T. O'Sullivan.

What if the Raiders had taken Jay Cutler or Matt Leinart with the seventh pick in the 2006 draft, instead of Michael Huff?

Davis was fixated on Vince Young that year — once he was taken by Tennessee, Davis ditched all QB thoughts and went for Huff, a Raiders bust from Day One.

If the Raiders had taken Cutler, they'd have their strong-armed QB for the next decade. And then in 2007, presuming they would've been at the top of the draft, they never would've taken JaMarcus Russell.

You think 2007 No. 2 overall pick Calvin Johnson, who has more TD catches for Detroit this season (10) than the Raiders receiver corps combined (7), would've helped out?

What if Nolan had hired any competent offensive coordinator, and not Jim Hostler, before the 2007 season?

Norm Chow. Rick Neuheisel. Ray Sherman. Rob Chudzinski. Anybody.

Even Nolan supporters acknowledge that the Hostler hire, and the resulting decimation of Alex Smith's career, is what eventually sank Nolan. Bigger picture: If you're a defensive-minded coach, you can't be clueless about hiring an offensive coordinator.

If only Nolan had known then what everybody else knew. But he didn't. And the 49ers are still feeling the toll.