SAN FRANCISCO - Mike Singletary was so angry, he simply couldn't contain himself. Eyes bugging out the way they did when the Hall of Fame middle linebacker prepared to knock heads back in the day, Singletary began the first postgame speech of his head coaching career before all of his players had reached the locker room.
Some members of the San Francisco 49ers were still trudging down the tunnel underneath the Candlestick Park stands, processing a 34-13 humiliation at the hands of the hapless Seattle Seahawks, when they heard Singletary's loud and charged address to the team emanating from the locker room walls.
Once they entered, the latecomers froze and tried to blend into the background.
"There are some people in this room that don't need to be here,” Singletary said pointedly. "We've got guys in here that are cancers. The thing about cancer cells is, they multiply. We've got to cut them out.”
Gulp.
If there was any doubt as to whether Singletary's style would differ sharply from that of his mentor, friend and predecessor, Mike Nolan, it was dispelled on an emotional afternoon in which the Niners dressed in their resplendent throwback uniforms and were dressed down by their irate interim coach.
Most of San Francisco's players had long ago tuned out Nolan, one of the reasons the fourth-year coach was dumped last Monday. Singletary didn't give them an option.
"It was pretty heated in here,” one veteran said. "What he said was true, and it wasn't subtle. He was very clear: We'll do it his way, or else.”
- Starburst42 2008-10-27 21:50:41 (115 views)