IRVING, Texas - Mike Singletary has been the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers for almost a month.
In that short period of time, he has, in order, chastised his young tight end on the sideline, sending him to the showers and then dogging him out during his postgame press conference; pulled his pants down during a locker room tirade to make his point; and won one of three games in which he's been in charge, coming within a yard of winning another.
So it's just the Cowboys' luck the San Francisco 49ers, while coming to Texas Stadium on Sunday with just a 3-7 record, arrive with some momentum built over the past two games, losing by only five points at Arizona and beating the St. Louis Rams, 35-16. Singletary, who took over for the fired Mike Nolan, is being credited with this resurgence of sorts.
"He was happy," 49ers running back Frank Gore said of Singletary's feelings after beating St. Louis, "But he told us we still got to get better."
Singletary knows he still has many hurdles to face, and the next will be noon (CST) Sunday when his 49ers run head on into the 6-4 Cowboys coming off a huge victory at Washington this past Sunday and knowing they need to start dropping wins in the victory column if they are to meet their preseason goal of returning to the playoffs for a third consecutive year.
But the drastic change Singletary has made in the 49ers evidently shows, if not in their 1-2 record since he's arrived then in the club's attitude.
"He has these guys playing really hard," Cowboys defensive end Chris Canty said. "We're going to have to prepare. It's going to be a dogfight."
Before arriving in San Francisco as the assistant head coach on Jan. 21, 2005, Singletary had been the linebackers coach for the Baltimore Ravens. He was hired by Nolan in 2004, then the Ravens defensive coordinator, and left a season later with Nolan to become the assistant coach and linebackers coach at San Francisco.
Little did Nolan know that Singletary would replace him before his fourth season was completed.
But this head coaching appointment did not just come out of the blue. Singletary began getting looks for an NFL coaching position in 2007. He interviewed with not only the San Diego Chargers, but with the Dallas Cowboys as well. San Diego ended up hiring Norv Turner, a finalist for the Cowboys vacant head coaching job that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones ended up filling with former San Diego defensive coordinator Wade Phillips.
"There is something you take away from each and every interview," said Singletary. "You always think, 'Well, I'm ready.' And then they ask you a question, and you kind of have that blank look on your face and you think, 'Well, I guess I'm not.'"
Singletary says every interview has prepared him for his current position. Throughout the years as a player and a coach, he claims to have asked countless questions of the people around him in an attempt to learn everything there is to know about football.
But it seems Singletary received most of his guidance and preparation in life while playing at Baylor University under longtime head coach Grant Teaff. There, Singletary earned All-America honors his junior and senior years. In 1970, he was also the only junior to be selected to the All-Southwest Conference Team.
In fact, Singletary's name came up prominently last November when Baylor was searching for a new head coach, but instead of hiring one of their own, the school in Waco, Texas, decided to choose University of Houston head coach Art Briles, obviously more versed in college recruiting, especially in the state of Texas.
"There's a lot of Coach Teaff in me," Singletary said of the retired head coach. "Coach Teaff taught me how to be a man, taught me how to be a father, taught me how to set goals, taught me how to be myself, but at the same time, taught me a lot about leadership."
Singletary then went on to a Pro Football Hall of Fame career with the Chicago Bears, starting in 1981. It was there former Cowboys tight end and assistant coach Mike Ditka made a similar impression on the young Singletary as the Bears head coach. His talent was quickly apparent, and in only his seventh game of his rookie year, Singletary became the Bears starting middle linebacker. During his 12-year NFL career with the Bears, Singletary had 1,488 tackles (855 solo), 19 sacks, 12 fumble recoveries, seven interceptions and was a part of the Chicago Super Bowl XX championship team before getting selected to join the Pro Football Hall of Fame 1998.
Cowboys defensive tackle Tank Johnson knows a little something about Singletary, first coming into contact with the former All-Pro linebacker during his 2004 NFL Draft process. At that time, Singletary was still the linebackers coach with the Ravens.
"I let him know that he was one of my favorite players of all time," said Johnson. "And now he's one hell of a coach."
And if nothing else, causing a stir in San Francisco.
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