49ers fire head coach Mike Singletary

[Spark]

Mike Singletary and Troy Smith don't look happy with each otherBy MJD

Troy got the nod over Alex in this week's Smith vs. Smith 49ers quarterback drama. That doesn't mean he's Mike Singletary's favorite person, though.

Check out this fiery encounter between the two from Sunday's loss to the Rams.




http://nfl.cpa.delvenetworks.com/del...9fc6ac60a8659e


Whether or not the above exchange was positive or negative for the 49ers, it's not good for Singletary. When you get in shouting matches with a player and then they perform, you're a stern, commanding general. When you're in a shouting match and a player doesn't perform, you're losing control of your team. That's the perception, and for a coach's employment status, that's everything.

Here's how Singletary addressed the exchange after the game:

"I put it like this. Troy's a passionate guy. The way he responded is fine. He's frustrated, I'm frustrated. We're both trying to get something to happen on the field."

"I don't really know about coaching etiquette. I'm sure there's a right way and there's a wrong way, and in today's life there are many different rules for being politically correct. All I know is, I was trying to win a football game."

For the record, I don't think anything that happened there was bad for the 49ers (aside from the interception, of course). It's an emotional game, and emotional things happen. I don't think any relationships were fractured there.

By the way, what exactly is Ted Ginn trying to accomplish? I'm pretty sure the words "Walk by and repeatedly shove a towel in an angry man's face" don't appear in any respected manuals on conflict resolution.

[Spark]

49ers fire head coach Mike SingletaryBy Doug Farrar


In a move that could not have come as a surprise to anyone, the San Francisco 49ers have informed head coach Mike Singletary that he is fired, according to multiple Bay Area sources. Both Adam Schefter of ESPN and Jason La Canfora of the NFL Network confirmed Sunday with team owner Jed York that the team would be hiring a new general manager after the end of the season, and that the new GM was likely going to be in charge of hiring a new head coach. However, it was expected by most that Singletary would finish out the season.

After the 49ers' 25-17 loss to the St. Louis Rams -- a loss that featured Singletary going at it in a prolonged verbal altercation with quarterback Troy Smith(notes) on the sidelines -- Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area reported that York, his father John, and other team executives met to decide whether Singletary should be fired immediately, or after the season. Later Sunday evening, Maiocco reported via Twitter that a decision had been made.

Singletary released this statement following his termination:

"One of the greatest experiences of my life was having the opportunity to coach the San Francisco 49ers. What made it so special were the players. They were some of the most outstanding men I have ever been around in my life. The coaches were truly professionals. I wish the 49ers nothing but the best. I am thankful to the York family for having given me the opportunity to be a head coach in the NFL. I am indebted to them for that. I am also thankful for the faithful fans, I am just sorry I couldn't give them more."

Singletary's legacy as a head coach is a complicated one. Hired as an interim replacement to Mike Nolan halfway through the 2008 season, he helped the team finish 5-4, and was hired as the full-time head coach in December of that year. He was given a four-year, $10 million contract. The 49ers went 8-8 in 2009, and many experts expected more from the team in 2010.

But Singletary, always an impulsive and explosive decision-maker, seemed to lose his grip through his third season, and the 49ers stand at 5-10. He feuded needlessly with the press, made several questionable in-game coaching decisions, and jerked quarterbacks Troy and Alex Smith around to the point where nobody was really sure who was leading the team. More and more, it seemed to be more about Singletary exerting his authority than about the team's improvement, and the back-and-forth with Smith was just the most recent and obvious example.

A dynamic motivator under the right circumstances, Singletary is also a Hall of Fame linebacker and a long-time assistant coach. He will be replaced for the 49ers' season finale against the Arizona Cardinals by defensive line coach Jim Tomsula. Singletary is the fourth head coach to be fired during the 2010 season, joining Dallas' Wade Phillips, Minnesota's Brad Childress and Denver's Josh McDaniels.

[wayne1218]

So did they fire him? The headline saysyes but the story doesn't?

[wayne1218]

ok, now i see it in post 2

[Spark]

ok, now i see it in post 2

yeah I goofed that one up ...