Why Singletary let Foerster leave his staff

If you’re wondering why 49ers coach Singletary allowed offensive line coach Chris Foerster to leave his staff to accept a position with Mike Shanahan’s Washington Redskins, this is how that transpired:

“First of all, I was contacted by our office here that said that Washington wanted to (interview Chris Foerster),” Singletary said. “And I said, ‘Well, at what position?’ It would be a lateral move, and I said no. That was my initial response. So I was done with it.

 

“I got a call from Chris Foerster later on that really expressed that his family is out there, out east. He loved it here, loved what we are doing, but if there was any way to be closer to his family, he’d really appreciate it if he could do the interview and go from there. I think, for me, his family is important. Family is very important. It’s something that I talk about. I could not not do that, give him the chance to be closer to his family. He’s got a kid in high school, senior last year – all that sort of thing. So, I granted it.”

 

Singletary moved quickly to hire free-agent coach Mike Solari to replace Foerster.

 

“It’s really interesting how it happened. Mike Solari is a guy who, when I was interviewing for head coaching jobs around the league, he was my No. 1 guy,” Singletary said. “The fact that I would be able to get him at this juncture and how this happened is really amazing. I think it’s a win-win situation.

 

“When I talked to Chris this morning, I just told him that I believe things work out for a reason. I told Chris this morning, best of luck to you, and I hope everything goes well. I had an interview set up with Mike Solari and my wife and I felt like that would be – everything would work itself out.”

 

Prior to joining the 49ers’ staff, Foerster spent three seasons with the Baltimore Ravens.

 

When asked if there were others on his coaching staff who have received interest from other teams, Singletary answered, “Yes, but I don’t want to get into names. Basically, I’ve declined those, just as I did Chris (initially), and we’re moving forward with what we have.”

 

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