Singletary keeps San Francisco in the news despite bye week

By Jeff Dickinson  |   Tuesday, November 04, 2008  |  Comments( 2 )

San Francisco 49ers
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By now, everyone knows about the waves that interim coach Mike Singletary made in his first game leading the San Francisco 49ers. Singletary benched feel-good-story quarterback J.T. O’Sullivan and sent big-name tight end Vernon Davis to the locker room because of his bad attitude.

The thing that has garnered the most attention, however, is what Singletary did behind closed doors at halftime of San Francisco’s 34-13 loss to the Seahawks. Singletary was trying to make a point to his players about their embarrassing play. Thus, he pulled his pants down and revealed his underwear to illustrate how his team was getting its backside kicked.

Despite not playing this past Sunday and having a week to try and get out of the funk of a five-game losing streak, the 49ers were still the talk of the NFL last week. The main reason that the team has been making the rounds of sports talk shows is because of Singletary’s halftime antics.

Former coaches and analysts from the Bay Area to Baltimore have been discussing Singletary and his first-week behavior. A lack of passion has never been a problem for Singletary. He was one of the most passionate players to suit up in the NFL when he played middle linebacker for the Chicago Bears. Some experts, however, wonder if Singletary should have kept his passion bridled a little more during the Seattle game.

One man who knows Singletary better than most is former Bears coach Mike Ditka, who saw Singletary’s passion on a daily basis in Chicago. Ditka was also a player and coach who sometimes let his emotions get the better of him.

So, what does one passionate former player and coach think of Singletary’s actions with the 49ers? Ditka appeared Monday on ESPN’s “Mike & Mike in the Morning." When asked about Singletary and his antics, Ditka said, "I might not agree with his actions in pulling down his pants. I know that I wouldn’t have had a problem with it as a player. The players knew he was trying to show them that they were not displaying the kind of effort he knew they could. There’s no way that what he did had any negative impact on the players.”

What remains to be seen is whether Singletary can teach his players quickly enough to salvage a lost season. At 2-6, the 49ers are in a three-way tie for second (or last, whichever way you look at it) place in the NFC West. There probably isn’t much hope of catching first-place Arizona, which is 5-3, but Singletary can still try to help the 49ers finish strong and build some momentum for next season.

A record of 8-8 isn’t too much to shoot for in San Francisco. While that wouldn’t be enough to make the playoffs, it would go a long way in restoring some pride to the 49ers and giving fans a reason to hope that 2009 will be different.
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About Jeff Dickinson

I have been writing and editing professionally for 18 years. I spent the first three years of my career as a sportswriter for a daily newspaper in Alabama and got to cover sports and get paid for it! It was great until I got married and then it wasn't too much fun being away from my wife every...
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