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What Should 49er Fans Expect From Coach Singletary in 2009?

Published: May 30, 2009

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Mike Singletary mania is sweeping across the Bay Area.

This guy’s got a higher public approval rating than Santa Claus, and everybody loves a fat guy in a red suit.

So, is Coach Singletary for real? Or is he another false prophet, stirring the hopes and dreams of 49er fans who fantasize about a return to glory?

I admit, I’ve been impressed by Singletary’s performance so far. He took a team that was underachieving and unmotivated under Coach Nolan, and guided them to a winning record for the second half of last season. He seems to connect with his players. They appear to be inspired by his fire-and-brimstone approach.

But before I buy my ticket to board the Coach Singletary bandwagon, I need a little perspective. Sure, all the news coming out of the 49er camp is positive. Everybody loves Coach Sing. But didn’t everybody love Coach Nolan? Didn’t they love Coach Erickson too?

To believe or not to believe; that is the question.

To help me on this pilgrimage, I decided to seek the wisdom of those who’ve witnessed it all. The ones who saw the glory years. The people who witnessed the slow decline. Those who saw each new coach parade into town with all the hope in the world, and then limp away as failures.

The people close enough to see the truth, yet far enough away to tell it.

I decided to ask the writers who cover the 49ers.

I interviewed three prominent sports writers who cover the 49ers at the local level; Ray Ratto of the San Francisco Chronicle, Matt Maiocco of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, and Dan Brown of the San Jose Mercury News.

I was curious to see what their impressions of the new coach were.

All three writers cautioned against making premature judgments about Singletary’s coaching ability.

Dan Brown offered the most positive assessment, crediting Singletary for his ability to reach his players: “Singletary certainly has some building blocks for being a terrific head coach; he’s charismatic, he’s respected, and he’s diligent. Players would run through a wall for him.”

When asked about Singletary’s choices for assistant coaches, the response was less than enthusiastic. Ray Ratto called them “uninspiring.” Dan Brown’s criticism was more direct: “I think the Jimmy Raye hire was a stretch and it could undermine Singletary’s entire season.”

I asked if Coach Singletary struck them as someone who could lead the 49ers to the prominence they enjoyed under Bill Walsh. Could Coach Sing restore the dynasty the 49ers enjoyed during the 80s and 90s?

The answer was unanimous; No.

Ray Ratto summed it up best: ”The 80s and 90s 49ers operated with a salary cap, and with Bill Walsh running the football operations; Singletary is not Bill Walsh.”

Finally, I asked about the aura surrounding Coach Singletary. I wanted to know how the current atmosphere at 49ers headquarters compares to previous years, under previous coaches. I asked if Coach Singletary will retain his players’ respect long enough to turn this franchise around.

All three agreed that winning has the greatest influence on any coach’s aura. Ratto said the aura around the team has been poor for several years, as they’ve struggled to win games.

Maiocco said that the aura has been good for every new coach who’s taken the reins in San Francisco.

Dan Brown said he “bought in” to the excitement surrounding Erickson and Nolan, only to be disappointed.

The most interesting responses addressed Coach Singletary’s prospects for retaining his team’s attention as time goes on. Matt Maiocco thinks Singletary shows a lot of promise, but expressed his concern about whether the team will eventually tune-out from their passionate head coach.

“I wonder about Singletary’s affinity for giving long talks after practice and games and whether he needs to be more judicious about picking his spots through the course of the season.”

Dan Brown had similar concerns: “The thing I wonder about with Singletary is whether his fire-and-brimstone approach might get old over a 16 game season.”

After consulting with these insightful scribes, the truth about Singletary remains unknown. In the NFL, a cozy feeling around the locker room doesn’t mean much if the team’s not winning. Popular coaches don’t keep their jobs; winning coaches do.

Overall, it seems that Singletary’s direct and sincere nature has got him off to a good start in San Francisco. His back-to-basics approach seems popular with players, while his unrehearsed demeanor is pleasantly refreshing to all.

But, as his honeymoon phase with the team draws to an end, will Coach Sing’s charms wear off? Will his passionate pleas to the team begin to fall upon deaf ears?

The answer to these questions will depend on how the 49ers fare in the win-loss column. If the team is winning games, players will continue to listen, and Singletary’s sermons will inspire his trusting congregation.

However, if San Francisco sputters, coach Singletary’s disciples will stray, and he will take his place in the growing line of former head coaches who left their hearts in San Francisco.

Martz vs Raye: How will the 49er Offense Change in 2009?

Published: May 29, 2009

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Mike Martz’s and Jimmy Raye’s approach to the offensive coordinator job couldn’t be more different.

Martz is a system guy. He brings his philosophy to whatever team employs him, and tries to fit his players into the scheme. If those guys don’t fit, he’ll find other guys that do. Just ask J.T. O’Sullivan.

Jimmy Raye builds his offensive approach around his roster. His track record as an offensive coordinator is long; he’s run different systems in different cities, depending on his talent.

In Los Angeles he had Eric Dickerson, and not much talent at receiver. So he ran the ball 537 times, and Dickerson set the single season record for rushing yards. Gotta play the hand you’re dealt, right?

In Oakland, Raye had zero talent at running back, but he did have Kerry Collins, Randy Moss and Jerry Porter. So, in 2005 his team threw 591 passes, and ran just 367 times. Those numbers would make Warren Moon proud.

One thing Jimmy Raye does do consistently is use his tight ends. When Coach Raye’s calling the plays, his tight ends have ranked third or higher in pass receptions on 8 of the 14 offenses he’s led.

Three times his tight end was his leading receiver, and Tony Gonzalez put up career numbers under Coach Raye. In 2000, Gonzo led the Chiefs with 93 receptions for a ridiculous 1,203 yards and 9 touchdowns.

That’s pretty good.

San Francisco has a tight end too. He’s supposed to be pretty good. However Mr. Davis isn’t celebrated like Gonzo is. In fact, his critics say he’s nothing but a workout warrior; some even call him a bust. He’s been in the league for three seasons, and he hasn’t even sniffed the Tony Gonzalez standard.

So what’s the problem with Vernon Davis?

Well, last year his problem (at least part of it) was his offensive coordinator. Known for his disdain of the “undersized lineman”, Mike Martz never throws to his tight ends. Never.

In 2008, the 49ers’ tight ends combined for a measly 41 receptions. Their “star” tight end Vernon had only 31 catches for 358 yards. Not gonna live up to the Tony Gonzalez comparisons with those kind of numbers.

In Detroit, Martz was even worse. In 2007, his second year in “The D”, Martz’s tight ends combined to catch 28 passes. The Lions threw 587 times that year. His tight ends caught 13% of the team’s receptions. Simply stunning.

With Jimmy Raye in the booth this season, things are looking up for Vernon Davis. In a recent interview with Matt Maiocco of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, Raye compared Davis to… you guessed it… Tony Gonzalez, and talked about Vernon’s potential role in this year’s offense.

“Just like Tony (Gonzalez) at Kansas City, he is a threat at that (tight end) position – a nightmare for some teams. I would expect he will be a major part of what we do..”

“He looks like he has the ingredients to be a focal point in what we do.”

“Yeah, yeah..” you say, “we heard that from Mike Martz last year. He said he would build the offense around Frank Gore. He said he would highlight Vernon Davis, too.”

True, Martz promised us Vernon Davis and Frank Gore, but he gave us J.T. O’Sullivan instead. The truth is, Martz’s system has little use for Davis, who although freakishly athletic for a tight end, does not create the mismatch in a Martz offense that he would in say, a Jimmy Raye offense.

Martz creates mismatches by running four or even five receiver sets. This forces the defense to take talented linebackers off the field, and replace them with second and third-string defensive backs.

If teams try to blitz Mad Mike, he teaches his quarterback to find the receiver left open by the blitzing defender. Makes sense, right?

It does if your quarterback is good enough to find the open man. It does if your receivers are good enough to get open in three to five seconds. It doesn’t if you were coaching the 2008 49ers.

Last year, the 49ers started their third-string quarterback on opening day because the first and second-string guys couldn’t grasp the offense. I’m pretty sure the team’s number one receiver was collecting social security.

Mike Martz didn’t have the talent at quarterback or wide receiver to succeed with his system. His two best players were de-emphasized by his scheme. He should have recognized that. He didn’t. Or he wouldn’t.

Mike Martz is an offensive genius, a guru. Jimmy Raye is an offensive facilitator. However, Raye will succeed where Martz failed, because he will build an offense around the 49ers’ strengths. He’ll compensate for their weaknesses.

He’ll take pressure off the quarterback position, an area of weakness, by emphasizing the run game, an area of strength. He’ll throw to his tight end, who’s almost always stronger and faster than the man trying to cover him.

Jimmy will custom tailor a system for this team. Mike tried to custom tailor the team to his system.

Advantage: Jimmy Raye.

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What Should 49er Fans Expect From Coach Singletary in 2009?

Martz vs Raye: How will the 49er Offense Change in 2009?

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