Few will forget the job Mike Singletary did in San Francisco as head coach of the 49ers from 2008-2010.
That isn’t necessarily a good thing.
Singletary and his 18-22 record out west are undoubtedly more remembered for him pulling down his pants in the locker room, sending his best offensive player to the locker room mid-game, and rants like this than anything he accomplished on the field.
For the record, playing with 10 men is not a penalty.
Singletary, who has served as the linebackers coach the past three seasons for Minnesota and also holds the title of assistant head coach, was fired one game prior to the conclusion of the 2010 season by San Francisco, and now he tells the Pioneer Press that he wants another shot.
A Pro Football Hall of Famer and known as one of the greatest linebackers in the history of football, Singletary tells the east of the river paper that essentially, he wasn’t ready for the 49er job, having been an assistant just five years before getting the head position.
He thinks this time around, he’ll perform better, saying of being a head coach “I believe that’s what I am.”
With the Vikings 1-6 and coordinators Bill Musgrave and Alan Williams running two subpar-at-best units, if the Vikings do make a move at head coach and dismiss Leslie Frazier, would Singletary, the only Viking assistant coach with head man experience, be the replacement?
Neither Frazier nor Singletary has addressed that question for obvious reasons.
But for the sake of argument, consider when Denny Green was fired by Minnesota in 2001, and the man that took over, Mike Tice.
Tice didn’t even have coordinator experience when he was named interim head coach late in the year. When he was promoted, he, like Singletary, was a position coach and also held the title of assistant head coach, but lacked any of the other qualifications Singletary brings to Minnesota today.
There is new ownership, it’s 12 years later, and essentially nothing with the organization is the same, but these two situations parallel each other all too closely.
When considering the state of the Vikings 2013 season and the other coaches on the staff, it seems that the “who will replace Leslie if they let him go” argument holds less weight with Singletary ready and willing.
