Singletary wants 49ers to be a family

Singletary wants 49ers to be a family
Nancy Gay

Saturday, February 21, 2009

(02-21) 04:00 PST Indianapolis --

Many assumed that Mike Singletary's vision for the reborn 49ers would be that of a 53-man collective facsimile of himself on the field, a fire-breathing, snarling, attacking force.

That may end up happening on game days. But Singletary will not spend his first offseason as a head coach crafting Patrick Willis, Vernon Davis or Shaun Hill in his ferocious Hall of Fame image.

Singletary, who had a 5-4 record as an interim coach last season, insists he will not coach by intimidation. He will not lead his players with an iron hand.

He is now their father figure. The players will be his flock.

Singletary and his coaching staff - who have a reputation as teaching, caring individuals - aim to turn the 2009 roster into a bonded family unit.

"We want to really get to the root of the matter, and that is to make sure we're making investments into the lives of those young men, so that when they leave that team, they can say, 'Wow - I didn't know I was just learning how to be a better football player; I was also learning how to be a better man,' " Singletary said Friday before returning to his interviews with rookies at the NFL scouting combine.

Singletary recalled a condescending professor at Baylor University saying to him, "You have a black dialect."

Not knowing if it was offensive, or motivational, Singletary responded, "Really? Well, that's why you're my teacher. I'm really excited that you're my teacher because you're going to help me have the right dialect."

Singletary, on the other hand, doesn't want to hear what his players can't do. He wants to know what they can do.

Minutes earlier, Singletary had conducted an interview that left a group of national NFL media convinced that his fiery pants-dropping halftime oration his first week on the job last season was an urban myth.

Singletary delivered his now-familiar brand of straight talk. He was asked whether the rookie of today understands what it takes to be successful in the NFL.

"Fortunately, I spend a lot of time with kids. I have seven kids myself. So, no, I don't think they have any clue," Singletary said. "I think they'll sit there and tell you, 'Yes, I know what I want to do and I know what I want to be.' But once you turn the fire on and it starts getting hot, it's 'Well, wait, I'm not sure I really want to do it that way or that much.' "

So Singletary will spend the next few days determining which rookies are sincere, in character and talent, and which ones are scripted and manufactured.

"I want my players to go away and be successful in business; they can be successful fathers. I always say that when I study great coaches, whether it be Tom Landry or Vince Lombardi, George Halas, Bill Walsh - they are the coaches who looked at their players five or 10 years later and wondered: What are they doing now?

"If the bulk of those players are successful, then they are great coaches."

All of this explains why Singletary - after interviewing eight candidates for offensive coordinator and being turned down by a few - ultimately hired Jimmy Raye, 62, to be the 49ers' seventh offensive coordinator in seven seasons.

Raye subscribes to the concept that Singletary and general manager Scot McCloughan have a 49ers offense that will have a sustained, powerful rushing attack.

This is Raye's brand of offense. But what attracted Singletary more was Raye's "good cop, bad cop" manner of dealing with NFL athletes. Over the years, Raye has been as tough as he has been nurturing.

Singletary and Raye hope to delve so deeply into their players' psyches that they'll know how a rough family background affects a mind-set. Then they'll work to turn that into something positive.

This is Singletary's concept of a successful NFL football family. It is so powerful he expects the 49ers under contract, the free agents who may sign in the coming weeks and the rookies who will be drafted in April will all buy into it. And believe.

And be transformed.

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