Many people had the 49ers as their sleeper team this year.
I saw predictions as high as 12-4 from the various talking heads, but while I thought they would win the NFL West, I never thought they had the makings of a great team. You have to wonder if they can even be a good team.
Mike Singletary is doing what every head coach does when his feet get a little to close to the fire, he fires a coordinator. In this case that coordinator is Jimmy Raye. Reports have surfaced that Singletary has a problem with the direction of the offense.
Singletary had that same issue when Mike Martz was the coordinator.
Without question Mike Singletary was a great player and he is an outstanding speaker, but I question his abilities as a head coach.
The Head Coach makes the decisions not just for defense, but for the entire team. If Mike Singletary wants to run the ball 100 times a game he should be the one making that decision, but he doesn’t even know the plays the offense is running.
You don’t have to be a brillant Xs and Os guys to be a good head coach, but you have to be in charge and you have to know the plays being called.
A lot of people believe that speaking loudly and bodly means you are in charge when it fact it doesn’t. Singletary has never seem to have full control of his team.
The worst thing that ever happened to Singletary was the media patting him on the back for how he publicly embarrassed Vernon Davis, yes Davis probably derserved it, but trust me when I tell you the majority of players I have spoke to in the league did not like it at all.
It is 2010 players right or wrong perceived themselves as superstars and do not like to be upstage or embarrassed especially by their coaches.
49ers players do not like the way Singletary consistently throws them under the bus in the media, to the point that Patrick Willis the most respected player on the 49ers had to tell Singletary not to pass off blame to Alex Smith until at least they watched filmed.
The same Alex Smith that Singletary chose to be his Quarterback when they had an opportunity to upgrade the position.
Maybe this coordinator move will spark the 49ers, but I have my doubts because great press conferences don’t translates into wins ask Herman Edwards.