San Francisco ? A few days ago, coach Dennis Erickson honestly didn’t know whether he would be on the San Francisco 49ers’ sideline this weekend.

It’s hard to say how Erickson’s flirtation with Mississippi affected the 49ers in their preparations for today’s game against the Washington Redskins, but Erickson must have figured it couldn’t make their 2-11 season much worse.

San Francisco’s undermanned roster has been beset by injuries and infighting, and Erickson’s interview with Ole Miss on Tuesday night was just the latest distraction.

The 49ers need at least one victory in their final three games to avoid matching the worst record in franchise history. That might be difficult to get, even against the low-scoring Redskins (4-9), whose season has been nearly as disappointing.

There are plenty of similarities in the clubs’ struggles this season: bad offenses, poor discipline, key injuries and rosters somewhat ill-fitted to the coaching staffs’ desires.

There’s also one big difference: With Dan Snyder and Joe Gibbs in charge in Washington, at least the Redskins have the deep pockets and savvy on-field leadership to give their fans hope — unless you believe Gibbs’ own assessment of his first year back in charge.

“I have no clue. I don’t have an idea,” Gibbs said when asked if he could restore the Redskins’ glory days. “I’d like to do something good for the franchise and help the franchise get back to winning football games, but there are no givens in this sport. I might go through a lot of lumps and a lot of adversity.”

Washington’s fans have more confidence in their leadership team than the West Coast faithful watching the Niners’ steady decline under the stewardship of owner John York, who now seems to be searching for a cost-effective way to make Erickson into the fall guy for his underachieving team.

Ken Dorsey, the 49ers’ backup quarterback, will get his fifth NFL start in place of injured Tim Rattay. After struggling in his previous appearances this season, Dorsey got his first victory last week against Arizona.

Running back Maurice Hicks, who had 139 yards in his first NFL start last week, also will start in front of $20 million disappointment Kevan Barlow.

Erickson is impressed by each part of Washington’s defense, even citing safety Sean Taylor as one of the most impressive rookies he has ever seen.

But if the 49ers’ struggling offense can’t maintain last week’s improvements, the Redskins might not even need to score more than 17 points — something they haven’t been able to do on the road this season.