Coaches And Staff

Passion, Enthusiasm, Honesty and Loyalty … Those are the words Mike Singletary chose when asked to summarize who he is and what he is all about. They are the traits the San Francisco 49ers head coach carries in his arsenal as he navigates the waters of the NFL on a journey to mold the 49ers into a championship caliber team once again.

“Every day I come to work I know that my job as the head coach of this team is to set the tone,” Singletary said. “I am honest, and that’s just who I am. I want my players to know that I don’t compromise anything when it comes to this team, and I ask the same of them. I am accountable for everything I do and say, and I want them to be the same. I want my players to take ownership of this team. When they do that, the limits are boundless.”

When Singletary took over as the 49ers interim head coach midway through the 2008 season, he attacked the challenge with the same fervor he shared with opposing ball carriers throughout his Hall of Fame playing career. It was a welcome challenge that Singletary conquered as the 49ers went on to record five victories in the final seven games of the 2008 season, showing improvements in all three phases of the game.

“It’s a matter of stepping in and being able to bring it together,” Singletary said. “That’s something I’ve done all of my life: bring things together. Before I got back into football, I was a motivational speaker, I was a trainer, I was a teacher, I was a lot of things. I think all of that has prepared me. I just know this: I just know what is in my heart. I know that there is a fire that burns in my heart for this team to be successful. And that fire is unconquerable, and it will not die until it comes to pass.”

The passion and desire that served Singletary so well during his 12-year NFL career with the Chicago Bears were in the minds of Team President Jed York and General Manager Scot McCloughan as they were faced with the daunting question - who would lead the franchise back to prominence. They wasted no time and named Singletary the franchise’s 16th head coach on December 28, 2008.

“We need to reestablish our championship culture, and we need a coach that has the intensity to match that championship-caliber culture that we’re looking for,” said York. “That’s what we need, and that’s what Mike Singletary’s going to bring. That’s what he brings to the organization.”

 Singletary is looking to the future for the 49ers and has begun a quest to once again make the 49er Faithful the proudest fans in the league.

 “There’s a lot of pride, and you have ownership who wants to win,” Singletary said of being hired as head coach. “And I find myself in the middle of something, feeling very, very fortunate to be surrounded by all of the good people around me. Now it’s just a matter of continuing to hype it up, continuing to move forward and keep our eyes on the vision that we have set going forward. I am very excited, very thankful, very humbled to be the head coach of the 49ers - very thankful for that.”

 “The identity of the 49ers is first of all, a team that plays with heart,” Singletary said. “A team that will not quit, a team that will hit you in the mouth every opportunity they get, a team that will not create mistakes in critical times in the game, a team that will not beat themselves but we will be a team that plays winning football, smash-mouth football, physical football that plays with heart.”

WHAT MAKES A MAN

While Singletary was known as a very resilient, tough football player, the early years of his life foreshadowed none of that. Early in his childhood, Singletary was bedridden with bronchitis and pneumonia, and was allowed to go outdoors sparingly. He was the youngest of 10 children and his father, a Pentecostal minister, left the family when Singletary was just enrolling in junior high. The family was obviously devastated, but Singletary’s older brother, Grady, honorably stepped in and became the surrogate father. Tragically, he was killed by a drunk driver six months later.

At that point, 12-year-old Mike was at a crossroads in his life. His mother, Udell, knew her baby boy needed direction and an outlet to deal with the lack of a father figure in his life and the death of his brother. The family’s religion frowned upon participation in sports, but Udell saw football as an opportunity for her son to deal with his emotions. At that same time, Mike was already realizing he needed to have goals in life. The youngster defined what he now calls his “vision statement,” and it read as such: play football, graduate from high school, earn a football scholarship to college, become an All-American, graduate from college, get drafted into the NFL, become an All-Pro, go to a Super Bowl and own a business. Pretty lofty goals for a 12-year-old - but goals that Singletary has already seen come to fruition.

“I think when you go through things like that, certainly it makes you understand this is a game, even though I’m very passionate about it,” Singletary says of football. “I’m very excited about the game of football, and it really has served as sort of a getaway from all the other things in life, and I have come to enjoy it for what it is.”

SAMURAI MIKE

Long before Mike Singletary was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998, he starred at Evan E. Worthing High School in Houston, Texas. Singletary later enjoyed an outstanding career at Baylor University where he earned All-America honors in both his junior and senior years.

Known as a quiet and mild-mannered person off the field, he became one of the most ferocious players in all of college football, exemplified by the fact that he cracked 16 helmets during his stint in Waco. A two-time recipient of the Davey O’Brien Award, given to the most outstanding player in the Southwest Conference, Singletary averaged 15 tackles per game during his college career and established a team record with 232 tackles in 1978. He would later be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1995.

After dominating the NCAA ranks, Singletary was selected by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 1981 NFL Draft with the 38th overall pick. In the seventh game of his rookie season, he earned a starting role and found his niche as the cornerstone of the Bears “46” defense. Chicago’s then-defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan’s trust in Singletary on the field was unwavering, but that was a trust that took time to develop.

“I was very vocal,” said Singletary. “Sometimes that was good, sometimes it was bad. Buddy Ryan didn’t like vocal guys in their first year. He wanted you to be quiet and learn, and I couldn’t help myself most of the time. He really helped me get out of my own way because I needed to earn a little more respect before I was as vocal as I was. I remember he sat me down for several games until I had learned some humility and earned respect before I talked. I learned the hard way.”

While Singletary may have been outspoken at first during his playing days, his ability and football IQ were noticed by his defensive coordinator.

“He was smart, a real student of the game. I was impressed with how dedicated he was to becoming a pro football player,” Ryan said.

“Samurai Mike,” as he was fondly called by his peers and fans, went on to enjoy a legendary career with the Bears, quarterbacking a defense that was feared for its tenacity. He was the leader of the renowned “Monsters of the Midway,” and was often referred to as the original “Minister of Defense” for his on-field intensity, leadership and motivational speeches.

Ryan has no doubt that Singletary’s background, dedication and ability to inspire will serve him well as a head coach.

“Mike should be a great head coach,’’ Ryan said. “When he was a player, he used to give these motivational speeches. He’d have everybody crying.”

A two-time Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year award winner (1985 & 1988), Singletary was named to the NFL Team of the ‘80s after being selected to play in a team-record 10 consecutive Pro Bowls. The former Bears defensive captain was also named first-team All-Pro eight times (1983-89; 1991), second-team All-Pro twice and All-NFC nine times.

Singletary finished each of his final 11 seasons on Chicago’s defense ranked either first or second in tackles and at the end of his career, had amassed 1,488 tackles, 885 solo tackles, 51 passes defensed, 12 fumble recoveries and seven interceptions. He also started a defensive team record 172 games for the Bears, trailing only running back Walter Payton’s 184 career starts for the all-time lead.

KNOWING WHAT’S IMPORTANT

When Singletary retired from the Chicago Bears in 1993, coaching was something that greatly interested him. But after consulting several of his former coaches, he decided that the coaching lifestyle was too consuming to allow him to spend enough time with his family.

“I was very excited about the possibility of coaching, and in my last year in the NFL, I began to ask coaches around the league that I really respected how they balance the time between coaching and family, being a father, being a husband,” Singletary said.  “And they said you have to make a decision very early. You will not see your kids. You won’t see your wife, so be prepared for that and based upon that, I knew that I would not be coaching. We have seven kids and I wanted to make sure my kids knew who their father was. I never considered winning Super Bowl trophies being more important than being a Super Bowl Dad, so it’s hard work. Being out here, this is easy. Being a parent, that’s difficult.”

Singletary took time away from the game, but his leadership and inspirational roots followed him in all of his endeavors after football. One of the biggest sources of his strength is his deeply engrained Christian faith. Unlike most coaches in professional sports, Singletary displays his devotion every time he steps onto the field.

“I simply wear the cross to remind me of who I represent,” said Singletary. “When I go out there, I can be on the verge of losing it and when I feel the cross, I just know, ‘Don’t go there. That’s not who you are. That’s not what you are about, and it brings me back.’”

In addition to his faith, Singletary is a leader in the community as well. In 2001, he won the Walter Camp “Man of the Year Award” based on his reputation for integrity and leadership within his profession and contributions benefiting his community, country and fellow man. He also co-founded Leadership Zone, a company that provides leadership training.

Singletary is also a motivational speaker and has authored three books: Singletary One on One, Calling the Shots and Daddy’s Home at Last.

A CALLING TO COACH

Prior to the 2003 NFL season, Singletary with the help of his wife, Kim, came to the realization that coaching was his calling. As a player, his teammates and coaches all knew this would eventually be his path in life.

So Singletary set out on his journey into NFL coaching. One of the most important things he did along that path was develop a relationship with Hall of Famer and former 49ers head coach Bill Walsh. Singletary would do whatever he could to pick Walsh’s brain, meeting him at Stanford, in hotels or even at airports. He became a sponge, soaking in everything Walsh was willing to share.

“I really, really liked and respected Bill Walsh,” said Singletary. “Didn’t like him when I had to play against him! But the thing he had, to me, he had the poise and he had the vision, not just to win a championship, but to win several. And he had the people around him to get it done, that he could trust. So Bill was always a step ahead of most everybody else. And it wasn’t all him. As I learned more about him, he had key, strategically-planned people in place that really helped him. And he knew what his liabilities were and he had strengths around him everywhere.”

Singletary’s first opportunity came with the Baltimore Ravens as the team’s inside linebackers coach in 2003. In two seasons with Baltimore, Singletary led a prolific group of linebackers to even higher heights. In fact, All-Pro Ray Lewis earned NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2003. During his tenure, Baltimore’s defense ranked third in the NFL in 2003 and sixth overall the following year.

When Mike Nolan accepted the 49ers head coaching position in 2005, Singletary was his first hire as assistant head coach and linebackers coach. A year later he would be elevated to assistant head coach/defense. Under Singletary’s guidance, 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis was named Associated Press Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2007 and set an unofficial NFL single-season record for tackles with 226. He became the first 49ers rookie defender to earn Pro Bowl honors since Ronnie Lott in 1981. In 2008, Willis enjoyed another Pro-Bowl selection and finished second in the NFL in tackles.

Heading into his first full season as head coach, Singletary has set no boundaries on the potential of his team, and asks the same of his players.

“That’s my approach about everything I do in life,” said Singletary. “I don’t ever look at things in a finite matter. Everything I do, I do it until someone says ‘that’s enough’ or until my body or my mind, or until my wife says ‘that’s enough’. That’s my mentality, always has been, and that’s just the way that I’m wired up.”

The same characteristics that Buddy Ryan saw during Singletary’s playing days are already being admired by his current players, including 49ers QB Shaun Hill.

“Coach Singletary’s been around, and he’s given speeches to the team over the three years that I’ve been here,” Hill said. “So we know what kind of guy he is. He’s been vocal to the team and everybody appreciates it and responds to it – just his honesty and the way he tells it like it is. He’s not going to sugarcoat it for you, and I think everybody really respects that and responds to it.”

INTENSE EYES FOCUSED ON THE FUTURE

“I just think the most important thing for me is to know who I am and what it is I want out of life and where I’m going,” said Singletary. “I want to go to the Super Bowl. I want to win many Super Bowls. I want to win championships.”

That vision as well as the confidence and direction that he shares with his team on a daily basis, has been welcomed by his players, coaches and the 49ers organization as a whole.

“This man is just something amazing,’’ 49ers kicker Joe Nedney said of Singletary. “You want to play hard for him because you know that if you don’t, he’s going to give you that stare and burn a hole right through you.”

His attitude as a player is already serving as a model for his coaching philosophy as he strives to bring a tough, hard-nosed, blue collar mentality to his team. Singletary is searching for the very same mental toughness that he witnessed in his own Bears teams of the ‘80s.

“We had a bunch of blue collar guys that were not afraid to work,” said Singletary. “We were so hungry for a win and a championship that it didn’t matter how much we worked. As a matter of fact, it became a challenge. ‘Go ahead coach. I’m not tired. Is that the best you got?’ We didn’t say that too often. It’s just one of those things where our guys have to get to that – keep talking about that second wind.”

Singletary sees the potential in his 49ers squad, and is working to help them realize it as well.

“I’m really, really fortunate to have these guys,” said Singletary. “We have some great guys. But it’s really, as I said before, it’s more so the mindset. What we had in Chicago, it was coming. It was a process. A lot of those same guys were there when I got there, but they didn’t have the mindset. They didn’t have the vision. But through hard work, through focus, it forged something very special and that was a winning attitude. And that can only be developed one way and that’s through bringing guys together, working hard, making sure that everybody’s on the same page cooking, and they begin to see, ‘Hey, we’ve got something. We really have something.’ But we’ve got to earn it.”

Singletary and his wife, Kim, have seven children and live in Saratoga, CA. He was born on October 9, 1958 in Houston, Texas.