Singletary on Rules & Little Things

USA Today article on 49ers coach Mike Singletary and his thoughts on having rules:

"I'm not a big rules guy," he said, "but I believe in rules."

"It depends on what sector you're talking about," he replied. "If you're talking about our identity, there are five things that should describe a 49er: He's physical and tough. Disciplined. Relentless. Smart.

"The other thing involves character and behavior. Do we treat each other with respect? That's my No. 1 word. Don't do anything that you don't want anybody to do to you. That's why I don't believe in in-fighting, calling names and all that other stuff. If you've got an issue with a guy, go to him and say, 'We need to work this out.' "

The small things. Singletary loves harping on those.

"Our first goal is to execute perfectly," he says. "Every other goal comes after that."

Said quarterback Alex Smith, "I think coach Singletary has done a really good job of keeping us short-sighted. We've got to earn everything, prove ourselves even more. He's pushing us to do that."

And pulling, prodding, counseling, too.

"We've got to get everything out of this team," said Singletary. "That's what I stress to our coaches. I need everybody, every day, every play, to be on point."

Singletary just might have saved Vernon Davis.

Saw an article from Peter King of Sports Illustrated talking about the transformation of 49ers TE Vernon Davis from a selfish me-first player to a team captain. Two years ago head coach Mike Singletary kicked Davis out of a game after receiving several penalties in what Singletary saw as selfish acts.

Here is a good video of the incident and the transformation that has taken place from nfl.com

Here is the article from King:

Always wanted to ask one of the best young tight ends in the game how he felt about being shown up/embarrassed/clapped in the face by his new coach, Mike Singletary, a couple of years ago.

You remember Singletary banishing Vernon Davis from the sidelines during a game after a thoughtless Davis penalty, ordering him to the locker room and not to return.

"Best thing that ever happened to me in my life,'' Davis told me. "Woke me up. I was all about Vernon, not about the team.''

Davis also revealed Singletary told him if he wanted to fight, that was fine with him. They'd fight. "He pushed me to the edge,'' said Davis. "I needed that. When you're a first-round pick, and everyone's telling you how great you are, sometimes you need a guy to tell you that football's a team game. Here he is, one of the greatest players ever. So I had to change. Now, I'm all in.''

Davis caught 103 balls in his first three seasons, including that troubled third year, with nine touchdowns. Last year, he caught 78 passes with 13 touchdowns, most in the league for a tight end. When I asked Singletary about Davis, he smiled. "One of the most misconstrued guys in the league,'' Singletary said. "He raises the level in practice every day. He raises the work ethic. He's done everything I've asked.

Paying the Price

Pictured above is a hill that 49ers head coach Mike Singletary had installed this summer at their training facility. What had been a gentle slope is now padded with 2,500 tons of dirt. It takes a run of about 45 feet to get to the top.

Coach Singletary calls his creation, "Pain"

Singletary said that athletes who trained that way “were a cut above some of the other competition around the league and had a long playing career.”

“It’s something you can’t get in the weight room. Something you can’t really get on the track,’’ he said. “It builds something that’s kind of a mystery.”

"We set the bar high, and these guys worked their tails off,” Singletary said. “You do that, and something develops inside a team. You can’t buy it. You can’t talk through it. You have to do it. We paid the price.”

Greatness

"Greatness is not about someone who has the ability to be great. "Greatness shows up when someone might not have that ability but finds a way to succeed. They outwork their opponents, they outhit their opponents, they outfight their opponents. They want it more. Don't give me the guy who's supposed to be all-world and you've got to try to talk him into something. Give me the guy who has maybe just enough talent to be on the field but thinks he's great, and who's willing to do whatever he can do to contribute, to make his team better. That's what I want. Now trust me, I want some talent too. But give me the right type of talent."

-Mike Singletary

Being Honest

Excerpt from an espn.com article on new 49ers head coach Mike Singletary:

"One of the things that I really appreciate about Singletary and something that makes me really buy into what he is doing is, not only does he bring that competitive nature and that enthusiastic nature, he is also a very honest coach," left tackle Joe Staley said.

Singletary patrolled the field prior to the first camp practice, screaming and criticizing players, challenging them to do better. By Monday, when the team met expectations in the morning practice, Singletary was far less demonstrative, letting players know they'd done a good job.

"He will give you honest criticism and honest encouragement," Staley said. "I respect that as a player just knowing that I don't have a coach that is going to be blowing smoke up my butt, telling me something that I want to hear or criticizing me just to hear his own voice.

"He'll tell you exactly what he is thinking about you and I think everyone really responds to that. There is substance behind it. You can see a real passion for what he does. It gets everybody really excited and they want to play that much harder for him."

Taking Pride in your Work Ethic

Thanks to Coach Musselman for emailing me this yesterday:

SANTA CLARA – Around 49ers headquarters, Mike Singletary is known as "coach." But perhaps "sergeant" is a more appropriate title this offseason.

Players received a quick introduction to what life would be like under the Singletary regime when they stepped outside on the first day of minicamp and were put through a circuit of drills that rivaled a Parris Island, S.C., boot camp.

At one point Saturday, a group was shuffling over bags and between cones while assistant coaches barked at the players to run faster. At the sound of a whistle, the same group moved to another drill that had the players lifting heavy bags in a grueling relay race.

"I didn't know how heavy that bag was going to be," linebacker Patrick Willis said. "I almost fell over."

And though that was tough, perhaps the worst is yet to come. Looming on the north side of the practice field is a grass hill that was augmented with 2,500 tons of dirt. The result is a 15-foot-high climb with inclines of 30 degrees on one side and 40 degrees on the other.

Singletary's name for the new edifice: Pain.

"There's something about the hill," Singletary said, noting Jerry Rice and other great NFL players have trained on hills. "It's beautiful to look at but what it's going to do for our guys is it's going to bring about something that you can't really get in the weight room. Something that you really can't get on the track. It builds something that's kind of a mystery."

Everything that Singletary has implemented this offseason screams the same message: No one will work harder than the 49ers in 2009.

"We're one of two teams in the league, I think, that are having a minicamp in March," said linebacker Takeo Spikes. "And I guarantee you … they're not doing what we're doing out here. People can say it's malicious. People can say it's the 'Junction Boys.' But at the end of the day, it's all about mind-set."

Spikes said the routine reminded him of what life was like when he played at Auburn: Up every day at 4:30 a.m. to run football drills and then off to classes.

"If you didn't see a guy, you knew he caught a Greyhound bus home early that morning," Spikes said. "That's how hard it was."

So far, none of the 49ers is hopping on a bus.

In fact, Singletary said he was impressed how the players reacted when the circuit drills were sprung on them Friday afternoon. At one point, Singletary said he was prepared to end the session early.

"I think Vernon (Davis) was the first one that said, 'No, we are going to finish this.' And everyone else chimed in," Singletary said. "I think it says a lot about our team and it says a lot about our guys. I'm just really excited about it."