49ers Name Mike Singletary as Interim Head Coach

The San Francisco 49ers fired head coach Mike Nolan on Tuesday and named former Chicago Bears linebacker and assistant head coach, Mike Singletary, as the interim head coach. It is a dream job for Singletary who had previously interviewed for four NFL head coaching positions; although he probably would have preferred that it not come at the expense of his friend and mentor, Mike Nolan.

Bears fans remember Singletary for the intensity and leadership he brought to their team both on and off the field. The 49ers organization is hoping that he can bring those same qualities to a team that hasn't had more than seven wins in a season since 2002. At the press conference to introduce Singletary as the new coach, owner John York's said Jed said, "We're not getting outplayed, I think we are getting out-intensitied. I don't think that's a word, but I'm going to use it anyway. That's what we need, and that's what Mike Singletary is going to bring. I think you feel it, I assume you feel it. You feel his presence when he's up here speaking. That's what he brings to the organization. That's what he's going to bring out of the players."

Singletary is, by all accounts, one of the nicest and most upstanding players in modern NFL history. Before he accepted the job he apparently spoke to Nolan who encouraged his former assistant to take the position.

''[I] looked at [Nolan] and he looked at me, and before I said a word, he said, 'I want you to take this job,''' Singletary said on Tuesday. '' 'I know that you have the heart of the players at hand, and I know they're important to you. ... If you do not take the job, I will be very disappointed in you as my friend.'''

Singletary had been Nolan's assistant since 2005 and becomes one of seven black head coaches in the NFL. There's no guarantee that his tenure as coach will last beyond this season but Singletary is focused on the task at hand saying, "You will see, it's just right. The amount of time is enough. I just hate the circumstance and the situation because I came here with Mike Nolan to help him succeed. But I've told myself that, 'You have enough time to do what you need to do.' "

Speaking from a fan's perspective, I'm very happy to see Mike Singletary finally reach his goal. As a Bears fan, I always felt bad that Jerry Angelo didn't hire Singletary for the linebacker coaching position when it was open and Singletary expressed interest in the job. It didn't seem right not to give him that chance given what he's done for the organization. But, all is well that ends well and what Singletary really wanted was to be a head coach; now he has that chance. It's been sad to watch the 49ers, a former dynasty, turn into one of the worst teams in the NFL the last 5 seasons. There hasn't been good football in the bay area for a long time and it's definitely time for a change. Hopefully, for the 49ers, Mike Singletary is the right person to bring that change.