Singletary dropped pants at halftime to inspire 49ERS

As the defensive captain of the 1985 Chicago Bears—arguably the best defense and best team in NFL history—Mike Singletary gained a reputation for hard work, toughness, leadership and intensity.  Elected to the NFL Hall of Fame in 1998, Singletary is legitimately one of the best to ever play the game.  His brief tenure as a head coach with the hapless San Francisco 49ers hasn’t been quite so distinguished.  So far, he’s gained his greatest notoriety as a coach from a halftime performance more appropriate for a “baggy pants” comedian on an early 20th century burlesque show.

In a bit of coaching not exactly evocative of Vince Lombardi, George Halas or Tom Landry—or even Mike Dikta—Singletary dropped his pants during halftime of the Niners game against the Seahawks.  Since the team was losing 20-3 at halftime it presumably couldn’t hurt. Thankfully, Singletary *was* wearing boxer shorts when he “dropped trou”.

In all fairness to Singletary, he’s shown some impressive toughness during his first few days at the helm of the Niners.  Whether his no-nonsense, drill instructor approach to team leadership can ultimately be successful remains to be seen but at the very least he’s seeking to transform the team’s culture.  The once dominant 49ers are far removed from their Joe Montana/Steve Young/Jerry Rice excellence and have become a complacent team content with losing.  For a team in that situation, Singletary’s approach could be just the ticket—in his first game he gave the hook to starting QB J.T. O’Sullivan after committing his 11th fumble of the season and sent Vernon Davis to the locker room after the tight end got a personal foul for slapping a Seahawks player in the helmet.

Singletary let it be known that there was a “new sheriff” in town and that he’d swing like a hammer should anyone deign to cross him:

"I will not tolerate players that think it's about them when it's about the team. We cannot make decisions that cost the team, and then come off the sideline and it's nonchalant. No. ... I'd rather play with 10 people and just get penalized all the way until we have to do something else rather than play with 11 when I know that right now that person is not sold out to be a part of this team."

There’s been a minor media dust-up over Singletary’s intentional “wardrobe malfunction” but for the most part he’s thankfully unrepentant about his actions:

"I used my pants to illustrate that we were getting our tails whipped on Sunday and how humiliating that should feel for all of us. I needed to do something to dramatize my point; there were other ways I could have done it but I think this got the message across. I am excited about having the team back at practice on Monday so we can get back to work."

Singletary’s team will return to action with a game against the Rams in St. Louis following a bye week.  He’s benched former starter O’Sullivan and named backup Shaun Hill as his starter for that game.  It remains to be seen whether Singletary has anything up his sleeve—or down his pants—to top his aforementioned halftime display.  We certainly hope not for the good of the team and in the interest of general decency.