O'Sullivan was the only quarterback on the roster with a prior knowledge of Martz's scheme, having played for him the previous season with the Detroit Lions.

Martz and O'Sullivan are gone, and now Smith and Hill are left to compete.

"All I do know is I'm going to get the chance to compete, and I'm excited about that," Smith said. "Shaun has played well. We're really good friends. I think he's done a great job since he stepped in. That is obvious.

"I'm glad it's against Shaun. He's a great guy. I can't think of a better guy to compete against. I'm excited about that - excited it's going to be, with me and him, it's all going to be on the table. We don't have to worry about anything behind closed doors because we are so close."

--The 49ers have not shown interest in tackle Orlando Pace or wide receiver Torry Holt, as of yet, anyway. The St. Louis Rams released both.

The 49ers are still awaiting word from receiver Isaac Bruce, who is said to be leaning toward retirement.

--Smith recently returned from his honeymoon to The Maldives, a chain of islands in the Indian Ocean. He was married to former Raiders cheerleader Elizabeth Barry on Feb. 21 in San Francisco. Hill served as one of his groomsmen.

"My life outside of football is in a much better place," Smith said. "When you first come out of college and you're a student athlete, and all of a sudden you do get some money and you're a homeowner and different things and you're in a new area, a lot of the things can be distractions and I feel like I'm in a better place in that sense to just really focus on my career and set some goals for myself and really try to achieve them."

QUOTE TO NOTE: "The coaching change happened, so luckily I didn't have to go down that road. Right now, with Coach (Mike) Singletary here, the decision was easy. I wanted to stay and I wanted to be a part of this, and luckily they wanted me back" -- 49ers quarterback Alex Smith on whether he would have returned to the 49ers to play for Mike Nolan, with whom he publicly feuded.