Just saw that the Niners fired Mike Singletary.
Here was an example of a man clearly not ready to be a head coach in the NFL, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that Singletary is a genuinely decent human being. Going way back to his playing days, first at Baylor and then with the Chicago Bears, Singletary was a leader—not just of the defense, but the team. Undersized and average in most physical readings, Singletary became a Hall of Famer by busting his ass on every play and never taking a play off.
Unfortunately, players like Singletary rarely succeed as head coaches—sport be damned. When you’re Iron Mike, or the Splendid Splinter, or the Great One, you’re doomed by your own greatness. Just like Phoenix’s centers couldn’t match Wayne Gretzky’s play, San Francisco’s players were never going to be as fiery or committed as their coach. In other words, what made him elite as a player made him flawed as a coach.
I wish the man luck. Hopefully he’ll catch on as a defensive coordinator somewhere and, maybe, get another shot one day.
