Mike Singletary - X's and O's

On December 30th, Matthew Barrows posted an article entitled:  49ers analysis: Late-season success brings hope.

http://www.sacbee.com/100/story/1505322.html 

In that post he had this sentence:

“Singletary has never been a defensive coordinator, and indeed his lack of an X's and O's background created the perception that his success was built entirely on emotion. “

I objected then to that directly to Barrows and this comment recently made it’s way onto Niner Nation yesterday (whereby I objected to it again).  Here is a somewhat long and rambling response to that comment.

First, one thing:  The phrase “his lack of X’s and O’s background” is somewhat vague.  It’s not black and white.  One person might define background one way, another, another way.  Therefore when some of you “nit pick’ this to death, please understand that that really doesn’t bother me.  Really.  

This is a two-part comment:

Part 1:  Recently, around Black Monday, Skip Bayless on ESPN said something that I have long maintained:  “Just because a guy is a hot coordinator, it doesn’t mean that he’ll be a great HC.”  I’d been saying that for years.  Bayless is the first person I heard say it on air.   As he stated, the skill set is different.  Just because a guy can design a game plan and coach his own unit, it doesn’t necessarily mean that he can lead an entire team (players and coaches) into battle.  To do that successfully takes leadership of the highest order.

Norv Turner & Wade Phillips are the best examples of coordinators not really qualified to be anything more than average as HC‘s.  As your own Jerry Rice is on record as saying, in reference to his brief time under Turner in Oakland “He could not motivate his players.  He had no control.”  Not exactly a ringing endorsement there.  Look at recent excellent OC’s like Scott Linehan and Cam Cameron.  Crappy HC’s.  A great former player and a GREAT DC like Dick LeBeau. Crappy HC.  It’s nothing personal.  Some men are cut out to lead as HC, most aren’t.  I think owners and GMs are finally starting to realize that the number one criteria for being a great HC is Leadership and Motivational Skills.  Not necessarily X’s and O’s.  Essentially, the X’s and O’s come from the coordinators who are working under the HC’s stated philosophy.  

That is perhaps why last year saw four such HC’s who had no experience as an OC or DC at the NFL level (Harbaugh, Sparano, Cable and Singletary).  Virtually no one, at this time, will deny that MS is an above average coach when it comes to leadership and motivation.  And not every HC has that skill set to the degree that MS has it.  Actually few do.

Part 2:  This again is the quote from Barrows:  “Singletary has never been a defensive coordinator, and indeed his lack of an X's and O's background created the perception that his success was built entirely on emotion.” 

The comment that “Singletary has never been a DC” has given rise to this perception regarding his lack of X’s and O’s background. Sfgfan (or someone else) yesterday  admitted as much.  The “assumption” was that since MS was never a DC, he must be lacking in X and O knowledge.  I think the general consensus goes something like this “We agree that MS is a leader and a motivator but because he was never a DC, he must be lacking in the area of X‘s and O‘s”  I think that’s ridiculous.  Andy Reid was never an OC before becoming HC of the Eagles.  I’ve never heard anybody question his X and O knowledge.  He runs his offense and while I don’t necessarily agree with his offensive philosophy (too much passing) I’m pretty sure he knows his X’s and O’s.

Mike Ditka was never an OC in the NFL.  He was a TE and Special Teams coach (not coordinator) in Dallas before becoming HC in Chicago. He ran the offense of the Bears along with Ed Hughes.  Jim McMahon fought with Ditka all the time and often ignored the play sent in by Ditka in favor of his own.  When asked, however, McMahon’s on record as saying that Ditka “knew his X’s and O’s.”

Personally, I really don’t see this as Rocket Science.  Longtime NFL players (like Ditka and MS) who then serve as assistant coaches for a number of years SHOULD know their X’s and O’s by that point.  Really. It’s football, not brain surgery.  X’s and O’s are the language of the game. 

Regarding MS and X’s and O’s I would basically say this.  The two towering geniuses in the NFL in the past quarter century were Bill Walsh on offense and Buddy Ryan on defense. Ryan’s defense was the most complex defense ever seen in the NFL.  Buddy had some 13 Fronts and 28 Coverages.  Mike Singletary, after his first few years under Buddy, started watching almost as much film as the coaches did. NO PLAYER watched more film than MS during that time.  He was essentially an extension of Buddy on the field.   Buddy would signal in the AFC’s (Automatic Fronts and Coverages).  Mike would then counter with audibles as necessary.  He knew his defense and the other teams offense (from an X & O standpoint) like he knew his own name and number. 

He was so astute that he often called out the offensive plays BEFORE the ball was snapped.  I have Steve DeBerg on DVD talking about how MS was a player coach in that defense.  I have Darrin Nelson of the Vikings talking about how discouraging it was to hear MS call out the offensive plays BEFORE the ball was snapped.  A player doesn’t have that type of command and ability without a complete and thorough knowledge of X’s and O’s.

One of Singletary’s greatest hits happened in the 85 NFC Championship game against the Rams.  MS stood up and stopped Eric Dickerson for no gain on  (I believe) a third and one.  Singletary later described the hit as “orgasmic.”  He also said that he “KNEW” the gap that Dickerson would be running through.  He knew!  And this is a guy with a lack of X and O knowledge?  Honestly, that’s laughable.  He didn’t say that he thought he’d run through there.  Or that he hoped he’d run through there.  No, he knew.

MS went up against the real WCO, and guys like Walsh and Montana and Rice, not the watered down version we see today.  Now, football, like everything, evolves over time, but it hasn’t changed that much since the mid 80’s.  It’s not like MS played in the era of leather helmets.  The field is still 53 1/3 X 120.  There are still 11 men per side.  Mike Singletary played at a time when the most complex defense went up against the most complex offense.  I think MS knows his X’s and O’s. Really.  I’m pretty sure that he has a sufficient background in X’s and O’s, despite never being a coordinator.  Just like Andy Reid.  Just like Mike Ditka.  Just like Tony Sparano.

I have used this comparison before.  Imagine if Joe Montana followed a course like MS.  After retirement, Montana takes some time off to be with his family and then  becomes an offensive assistant for 5 years and then becomes HC.  I would never say that Montana lacked an X and O background.  That’s absurd.  His “background” was his years playing QB at the highest possible level.  We’re not talking a guard or a RB here.  The QB has to know where everyone (both on his offense and the opponents defense) is.  Just like MS did as the QB of his defense with the Bears.  Does that mean that Montana would have been a successful OC if he ever had that job?  No.  Not necessarily.  But to question his X an O background because he went from player to assistant coach to HC is a little ignorant to me, whomever makes that claim.

Mike Nolan was and is a DC.  Greg Manusky is a DC.  Nobody is ever going to convince me that those guys know more regarding X’s and O’s than MS.  NOBODY.  Unless MS himself make that proclamation, I’m not buying it.  Or unless a guy like Barrows or anybody else can say “I’m not at liberty to name the player/coach, but this person said to my face (off the record) that MS was weak when it comes to X’s and O’s.”  

As to why MS was never a DC, I have no knowledge there.  If  Matt Barrows or anyone else does I’d be happy to hear it.  Personally it never really bothered me as I always figured Mike as HC material and him bypassing the usual coordinator route doesn’t surprise me.  I hardly think it’s that he’s not intelligent enough to design and coach a defense.  I could be wrong here, but I really doubt it.

In closing I know the usual reply.  MS being a player/coach isn’t the same as being a DC.  I agree.  The fact is, he was hired as a HC, not as a DC.  Beyond that, I have to figure that with Singletary’s NFL experience (both as a player and as an assistant coach), his intelligence and his passion for the game, I’m pretty sure that if he was handed the job as DC somewhere, he could do at least as well as guys like Nolan and Manusky.  We’ll probably never know, but that’s just an educated guess on my part.  I could be wrong, but I really believe he could fill those shoes.

Saying that MS lacks an X and O background cause I guess he wasn’t ever a DC, without someone understanding just how involved in the X’s and O’s he was with the Bears is more than a little shortsighted to me.  And, without any “facts” to support that position it’s a little reckless IMO.

Those of you who feel that Singletary’s  lack of job experience as a DC constitutes a “lack of X’s and O’s background” are MORE than entitled to your opinion.  Also, those that feel his “experience” in basically running Buddy Ryan’s complex scheme as a player in no way gives him the X & O background necessary to be a DC or HC are again MORE than entitled to your opinion.

Personally, and I mean this in the nicest way possible (really, I’m not being sarcastic) . . . I don’t care.  Just as most of you don’t care what my opinion is.  As long as that’s understood here.