A couple days ago we had a discussion about Greg Manusky, based on his ranking among defensive coordinators, as done by The Sporting News. The day after TSN had their DC rankings, they ranked all 32 head coaches.
14. Mike Singletary, 49ers. He is a hard-nosed, tough-minded, old-school guy who eventually will build this team in his image.
Given his lack of head coaching experience, I can't really argue against this ranking. There is a mix of new and old below him so one could certainly try and argue against the ranking. It'll be interesting to see where he ranks a year from now.
However, it was the "hard-nosed, tough-minded, old school guy" approach that I wanted to look into a little further. The big thing I've heard about the OTAs and minicamps is how everybody is fired up. The players are pumped up and Coach Singletary has expressed displeasure when things are not looking sharp and on the ball. Certainly something one would consider a positive trait in a coach.
What has me wondering (not quite at "concern") is something Tim Kawakami wrote after sitting down with Singletary:
He's pushing players, pushing his coaches, pushing the franchise, pushing himself, racing time to get the 49ers back into title contention ASAP.
It's easy to look at this as me expressing concern about something that is the answer to what was concerning at times under Nolan. I do like the idea of Mike Singletary dragging this franchise kicking and screaming back into contention. The question I have is whether this level of frenetic activity could lead to burn out? Could it burn out the players? Could it burn out the coaches? Could it burn out Singletary?
I think the answer to that last question is a resounding no. Mike Singletary is doing things his way and the way he's always lived his life. Of course, that doesn't mean the same thing holds true for the coaches or the players. Given the passion involved I'm not expecting burn out. However, it is definitely something to consider given how far away we still are from the season. Am I overly concerned about this?