Mike Singletary said today that he would not change a thing about how he handled the first week of tenure as interim head coach. He said he plans to find out who leaked the information to an
Singletary took part in his first interview since news of the incident. He spoke on the Waddle and Silvy show on ESPN Radio in
(The entire interview can be accessed by clicking here.) Here are some excerpts from the interview:
Q: It has been a bit of a crazy week. What are your thoughts of going through the past several days the way they have evolved?
Singletary: “More so than anything else, I’m just excited to get to the bye week. (We) had a great conversation with the team yesterday before everybody left to go on their bye. (We’re) ready to get back and settle down and get into the last part of the season, and get ready to do some great things.
Q: Did team respond favorably to you after what transpired over the weekend?
Singletary: “I think the team really supported me well. I think they knew the relationship Mike (Nolan) and I had, and everybody wanted to make sure that I was OK. I thought the players and the coaches really did a great job of looking out for me.”
Q: You’re constantly on TV right now. Is this not the way you wanted to get your head-coaching career off with you being the center of all the stories for the first week?
Singletary: “You’re exactly right. I think what ended up happening is you have kind of a change in culture of the team. I think just being myself this week in terms of some of the things that transpired during the game, just one of those things people were kind of thrown off by my belief about certain things and how I would conduct business going forward.”
Q: Do you regret anything you said or did? Would you do everything the same way?
Singletary: “As I look at it right now, I can’t think of anything that I would do differently. Any chance of looking at the quarterback situation, changing the quarterback, looking at the way I handled the tight end situation, I wouldn’t change that. Even the locker room at halftime, when you have so much time for halftime, I could go in and throw chairs and tear up the locker room, but I chose to do something differently to get the point across and move on. It’s unfortunate, and we will find out who’s leaking this information out of the locker room because what happens in the locker room should be sacred and stay there.”
Q: It was a shock to hear Mike Singletary pulled his pants down in the locker room. What was the point you were trying to make?
Singletary: “The only point I was trying to make is, ‘Guys, this is what is happening on the field. There are a lot of different words to express it. There are a lot of different things to try to get it across. I only have so much time. I’m just telling you this is what I see happening out there. We are getting our tails kicked and we need to find a different way and let’s go out there and get it done. And that’s it.”
Q: Do players listen these days the way they did 15-20 years ago?
Singletary: “You know what? I feel like this. Players respond to coaches who really have their best interests at heart. You can be either the greatest orator of all times, the greatest motivator of all times, but if those players know that you don’t care about them and you don’t try to understand them, then they are never going to hear what you have to say. On the flip side of that, if those players know you have their best interests at heart and it’s not about you, it’s about then, yes, they do listen.”
Q: Did you have to have a follow-up meeting with
Singletary: “I think communication is key. Communication is definitely key. After the game, the next day we just kind of sat down and just had a chance to really let him know that my expectations of him are so much bigger than the ones that maybe he has. And it’s just a matter of going forward. I want to see him step into those shoes, I want to see him step into that leadership role and I want him to help lead this team where it can go.”
Q: What will you do during the bye week or is it back to the film and back to meetings?
Singletary: “After day before yesterday, I told all the coaches and players that I wanted them out of the building. ‘Go home and enjoy your families, because when we get back we got a lot of work to do. And it’s all going downhill.”
This comes from STATS . . . “One obvious reason that J.T. O’Sullivan’s tenure as 49ers starting quarterback is over is O’Sullivan’s knack for putting the ball on the ground. O’Sullivan leads the NFL in fumbles and fumbles lost through Week 8, with 11 and six, respectively.
Offense
QB – Drew Brees, Saints
RB –
RB – Adrian Peterson, Vikings
WR – Andre Johnson, Texans
WR – Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinals
TE – Jason Witten, Cowboys
T – Michael Roos, Titans
G – Steve Hutchinson, Vikings
C – Casey Rabach, Redskins
G – Chris Snee, Giants
T – Dave Stewart, Titans
Defense
DE – John Abraham, Falcons
DT – Albert Haynesworth, Titans
DE – Justin Tuck, Giants
OLB – Joey Porter, Dolphins
OLB – DeMarcus Ware, Cowboys
ILB – Jon Beason, Panthers
ILB – Patrick Willis, 49ers
CB –
CB – Nnamdi Asomugha, Raiders
S – Ed Reed, Ravens
S – Troy Polamalu, Steelers
Special teams
Place kicker – John Kasay, Panthers
Punter – Dustin Colquitt, Chiefs
Punt returner – Reggie Bush, Saints
Kickoff returns – Darren Sproles, Chargers
Special teams – Sean Morey, Cardinals
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