Singletary begins with plenty of motivation

<p>SANTA CLARA — Hall of Famer Mike Singletary played a great game as a Chicago Bears linebacker.</p><p>As an NFL coach — and before that as a motivational speaker — Singletary proved Wednesday he can talk the talk.</p><p>Singletary addressed his team twice on Wednesday, as the 49ers returned to work for the first time after Singletary replaced fired coach Mike Nolan. Singletary spoke to the 49ers players Tuesday — on the players’ day off — and again Wednesday morning.</p><p>In the afternoon, Singletary presided over his first practice, as the 49ers prepare to face the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday at Candlestick Park. Afterward, he kept the team on the field for an additional 10 minutes with an animated speech designed to convince the 49ers they have what it takes — but only with a lot of hard work.</p><p>“He said we had a better practice, we flew around and had fun, but as coach Singletary says, if we want to get to the dance, we got to get better,” running back Frank Gore said. “That’s the truth. We’re 2-5 now. We can’t feel down on ourselves. We have to keep working and get better.”</p><p>Singletary explained the goal is to continue playing when most of the other NFL teams are done for the season and there becomes a demand for tickets. Singletary could be heard shouting about a need for tickets from approximately 100 yards away.</p><p>“He could tell you how to tie shoes, and you’d get excited about it,” 49ers linebacker Jeff Ulbrich said of Singletary.</p><p>Said linebacker Takeo Spikes, “He’s a great speaker. If you put him in front of a guy who wouldn’t want to play football, within five minutes he’ll have a helmet and be ready to play.”</p><p>Many of the 49ers players met the Nolan-Singletary news with equal parts disappointment and excitement. Nolan still appeared to have the support of the locker room despite the team’s 18-37 record under his guidance.</p><p>There was no question Singletary was a popular selection to step in as the team’s head coach through the end of the season. After all, Singletary is one of them.</p><p>Singletary, 50, was selected to play in 10 consecutive Pro Bowls as a Bears linebacker. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998, in his first year of eligibility after a 12-year playing career.</p><p>“He’s a very inspirational guy,” Patrick Willis said. “On the field, he’s had a lot of impact and helped me, and he’s also helped me be a better person off the field.”</p><p>Singletary spent all six of his NFL seasons on the same coaching staff as Nolan. He was inside linebackers coach for the Ravens in 2003 and ’04 with Nolan as defensive coordinator. When Nolan became 49ers head coach, Singletary was his first hire.</p><p>Singletary said he made a promise to Nolan to “take the team to the next level.”</p><p>“All of the things Mike continued to address — the detail in which we need to do things — will make a tremendous difference in the game,” Singletary said. “Those are the things that I’m talking about, and I think when you see the game it will be evident.”</p><p>It is clear Singletary has the unwavering support of the locker room.</p><p>“I think coach Singletary was a great choice to come right in,” tackle Jonas Jennings said. “He kind of shadows what Mike (Nolan) was already teaching — with a double-scoop of intensity. It’ll be somewhat of the same thing we were doing, but maybe the intensity will help the ball bounce our way sometimes in those close games.”</p><p>In his role as assistant head coach, Singletary was often asked to address the entire team on Wednesdays. His talks, while inspiring, do not fall into line with the typical rah-rah rhetoric, though.</p><p>“He motivates you, yet it’s not like, ‘Win one for the Gipper,’” Ulbrich said. “He’ll say, to be successful, this is what it looks like. He gives you something to visualize, which is unique.”</p><p>And on Wednesday, it was something as simple as a pair of tickets.</p><p>For more on the 49ers, go to Instant 49ers at http://blog.pressdemocrat.com/49ers. You can reach Staff Writer Matt Maiocco at 521-5492 or matt.maiocco@press</p><p>democrat.com.</p>