The San Francisco 49ers are looking for Mike Singletary to bring the same intensity to his new head coaching post that made him one of the most feared linebackers in National Football League history.
Singletary, a Hall-of-Fame player with the Chicago Bears, was promoted from assistant head coach yesterday when Mike Nolan was fired after the 49ers' 2-5 start.
``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,'' 49ers owner Jed York said today at a news conference in San Francisco.
While the 49ers won five Super Bowl titles from 1981-94, they've had only two winning seasons and one playoff victory since York's father, John York, took control of the team from brother-in-law Eddie DeBartolo in 1999.
San Francisco has had five straight losing seasons and was 18-37 in three-plus years under Nolan. The 49ers' defense, Nolan's specialty, allowed a league-high 196 points this season.
``We have talent. We've got Pro Bowlers on both sides of the ball,'' York said. ``We're not getting outplayed. We are getting `out-intensified.' I don't think that's a word, but I'm going to use it anyway. That's what we need, and that's what Mike Singletary's going to bring.''
York and General Manager Scot McCloughan decided to make a coaching change -- the third in the NFL this season -- following last week's 29-17 road loss to the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants.
Presence
``Coach Singletary, he steps into a room, you see people sit up, you see people take notice,'' McCloughan said. ``With players nowadays and with certain personalities I think that's important. I want them to feel that when he comes in that there's a comfort level but also that there's an expectation level, meaning that we have to go out there and produce.''
After an 11-year playing career during which he won a Super Bowl title with the Bears, Singletary worked as a motivational speaker before returning to the NFL as a coach. He spent the past four seasons in San Francisco as a top assistant to Nolan after two years as linebackers coach in Baltimore.
Singletary said he talked yesterday with Nolan before agreeing to accept the promotion.
``Before I could say a word, he said, `I want you to take this job. I don't even want you to blink,''' Singletary said.
The 49ers this week host the 1-5 Seattle Seahawks and are off the following week. Singletary said he's looking forward to the challenge of turning the franchise around.
``The guys understand and they realize that we do have something,'' Singletary said. ``To what degree, I don't know, but we do have something special here. It's a matter of stepping in and being able to bring it together. That's something I've done all of my life, bringing things together.''
