With Singletary's emergence as the latest Head Coach, coupled with the latest Offensive Coordinator change, put an interesting twist to the 49er philosophy. Over the years, Offensive Coordinators postured, miked, yelled x and o's into oblivion, and grimaced over their offensive troubles to no effect.

Then Sing, the new Head Coach immediately in charge, set some new standards, one of which is the most important- FINISH GAMES. It doesn't mean finish your gatorade and giddyap back to the field, pulling up your socks. It means maintain the same or more intensity throughout the game til the final ticking seconds. Hold up in the trenches the whole battle. Being that NFL football is such a violently collision sport, we need an "Army general" to come in and bark the orders, set every man in his right place, and teach his players to be able to finish the games on a strong note.

But this article is about why we chose Raye and how the newest offensive coordinator fits the bill. The most pressing issue was finding an offensive coordinator that would line up with Sing's offensive philosophies which stress a pounding running game that is relentless and which is an extra incentive to pull all the strings, opening up the pass game in all its' precise dissection of perplexed defenses scrambling to contain both the running and passing games. Bringing Raye in enables the offensive side of the ball to be run with great experience, unleashing the great players we have on roster to freaky proportions, utilizing the running game at will against opposing defenses who will bite and succumb to the passing game at times, because Gore will run with a full green light and at will, which forces defenses to decide how to approach it as the game is played.

Why was Raye relatively unknown considering the fact he has 12 years of experience as Offensive Coordinator (OC)?

First off, he served as OC or a coach for many teams, not just one team over the past decade. When coaches work for so many teams, sometimes they get lost in the shuffle. Obviously when a NFL team has continued success in the playoffs, these same coaches will be in the limelight always and toasted for their success. Raye's offensive teams have been average at best, he is not glamorous as an OC. Raye will not coach a quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards in one season, that is for sure, because the running game will be pounding the trenches, at least with the 49ers. Also, his offenses have not always been top-ranked or the greatest show on earth, not much ado but Raye has the heart of a lion, something that Sing was looking for.

Look for a McMahon type of quarterback in the fold, he was a strong and tough resilent player who had success both with his quarterbacking and being such a good leader that everyone played well around him. McMahon embodied what the team was about, what Singletary was about, and now with Raye becoming OC, Singletary will be embodied with like-minded staffers all ready to implement the game plan that fully compliments Sing's coaching style, everyone are not only on the same page, but in the same philosophy trait.

The previous candidates interviewed before Raye was hired dropped out because Sing's philosophy was too old-school for them. My opinion is that, returning back to smash-mouth football with old school coaching might be the push to having better than a .500 season and possibly into the playoffs, with the players and personnel the 49ers have. They also dropped out because they did not want to wait while the parade of potential candidates postured for the job.

What I am saying here, Sing's creation of smash-mouth football might work with Raye in the fold, because of his experience as OC and his philosophy, although his past offenses was not run-centered statistically, his philosophy will enable Sing to carry out his vision for the Niners, because he did run the ball, and understood the effectiveness of forcing defenses to play both the run and the pass.

Raye as an extremely experienced OC will not misuse personnel but play to their strengths which is exactly why Sing acted in declaration of having a run-oriented offense by hiring Raye. The previous candidates realized during their interviews that Sing was completely set with his criteria for this offense, and that they probably would not stay for the length of time necessary to see the offense through. One year is not ideal for any offensive scheme with the revolving door of offensive coordinators coming in and out, which is why Raye's record and willingness to honor the full contract stood out compared to all the previous OCs in post-Mooch era, enticing Sing to go with Raye.

Is it an act of desperation, white flag waving to the enemy? NO and NO. That is not Sing.

Sing is pulling a Patton.