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Mike Singletary Is Going To Be A Godsend For The Media In The Future
San Francisco 49ers head coach Mike Singletary should be interesting to keep an eye and ear on this coming year and in years to come. There was of course the incident with TE Vernon Davis not two weeks into his interim tenure as head coach last year. Then there’s him having to figure out a complicated QB situation, working in a new offensive coordinator, and of course his fiery personality that’s bound to produce a few gems or two from his free-flowing mouth. Singletary joined KNBR on Friday to talk about a number of subjects ranging from Kurt Warner almost ending up in San Francisco, the start of mini-camps, and what he expects to accomplish this coming year.
When asked a third question about the negotiations to potentially bring Warner to San Francisco in the last couple of weeks, Singletary interrupted saying:
“You know what. Hold on, hold on. Let me say this – I want to go in another direction. I mean I’ve been with our guys right here, I’ve got these guys signed, they’re ready to go, they’ve been working their tails off today. I want to talk about them. I don’t want to talk anymore about Kurt Warner. As far as I’m concerned, he’s with the Arizona Cardinals. And two times next year we’ll see him, maybe a third depending on how things work out. But as far as Kurt Warner, Arizona, anybody else out there, it does not matter. I want to talk about the people that are here and that I’m coaching right now.”
On how he would respond to those who are skeptical of the organization’s decision making in recent years:
“I can’t worry about that. I’m not skeptical, I don’t think our players are going to be skeptical; I don’t think the organization is going to be skeptical. We’re going to go full-speed ahead and we’re coming. As far as all the other things, you know the what-ifs, what-might, I can’t deal with that. I have to deal with reality. That’s my job – dealing in reality.”
Continuing on about his message to the fans:
“I want to speak to the fans, I want to say: Get excited about what we’re doing today. Get excited about where we’re going now. I am the head coach this year. I am the head coach this year. I don’t want to talk about all the other stuff, you know what about this…I want to talk about now. If we can talk about now, if we can talk about those players that are here, and there is no philosophical difference, there is no what-if, they’re here and they’re willing to work. And I got coaches here and they’re willing to work. Sometimes when you think about fans, when you think about other things, sometimes what happens is people lose the will to believe again.”
Continuing on about the same subject:
“That’s why there’s a new year. That’s why there’s a new year. And that’s why they have to believe. If our fans are really, really second guessing or whatever, tell them to come to a practice. Tell them to come to a practice, and I guarantee you when they leave, all their questions will be answered.”
If the team was interested in Warner, were/are they interested in Jay Cutler? Matt Cassell?
“Cutler’s under contract. Can’t talk it. Cassell – I mean we never got there. And you know what, let me say this – you may think why is he acting this way. You know what? I was anticipating you asking me about the guys we have here today. I was anticipating..this is the beginning of a new era. This is beginning of a new 49ers organization. I was anticipating we were going to be talking about that. I’m all jacked up about that and you ask me about Kurt Warner. And not once, not twice, but three times. Why are we talking about that?!?”
And FINALLY, after all that back-and-forth, Coach Singletary did in fact start talking about what may have happened in the brief meeting between the organization and Warner that led the veteran QB to decide to stay with Arizona:
“Let me ask you this – I don’t think Kurt Warner was ever turned off. I don’t think he ever said he was turned off. I think Kurt Warner said he knew after 30 or 45 minutes that he entered this room that he knew he was supposed to be in Arizona. What if some of the things we talked about were some dreams I had about the 49ers that may have been a bit too big? Maybe there were some things that I was talking about with Kurt Warner, that maybe he didn’t want to see it that way. It doesn’t necessarily have to go to a place where Kurt Warner got turned off. I don’t think so. Why does it have to go there?”
Is Shaun Hill the starting QB right now and will he be in the future:
“Yes. And I would envision at some point in time we make a decision on whether it’s Shaun Hill who’s going to be the starting QB or whether it’s going to be Alex Smith. But I can tell you right now, today, based on what he did last year, he is the starting QB. He and Alex Smith will compete and the best one who wins will be starting, #1 QB.”
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