SAN FRANCISCO – He didn't humiliate his quarterback by pulling him with 30 seconds to play until halftime.
No need, not with Shaun Hill playing a perfect first half.
He didn't banish his mercurial tight end to the locker room with more than 10 minutes remaining in the game.
Besides, Vernon Davis was on his best behavior (for him) and even caught a touchdown pass. And he didn't drop his pants in the locker room at halftime to better illustrate his, um, point.
Rather, Mike Singletary and the 49ers pulled down the St. Louis Rams' trousers Sunday and gave them a Candlestick Park-size wedgie, embarrassing them in running out to a 32-point first-half lead en route to the 35-16 victory.
The win, Singletary's first as a head coach, was so one-sided it just about erased the sideline and locker room hijinks in his debut three weeks earlier and cemented his status as the heart and soul of the 49ers.
Wait, the artist formerly known as Samurai Mike, a certified Monster of the Midway with the Chicago Bears who was given the keys to this franchise less than a month ago, has already imparted his will and identity on San Francisco? Believe it. And make no mistake about it – Singletary is San Francisco's interim coach in title only. The 49ers have bought into the Hall of Fame linebacker's old-school line of thinking, even if it is only for six more games and the front office then goes in another direction.
Need proof? Check in with the aforementioned Davis, who just might hold a grudge after being run by Samurai Mike in that seminal Seattle game on Oct. 26.
"I like Singletary; I want coach Singletary around … as long as he wants to be around," Davis said. "I think he's a great coach.
"I'm proud of him."
This was not the 49ers mining fool's gold, even if they were playing the pitiful Rams.
Because for the first half, at least, the 49ers played Samurai Mike-style smashmouth football.
And yet, Singletary, who had the assembled media swooning with his fire-and-brimstone speech after his debut, deflected any singular praise. This time, he came to the podium with the mellow mien of a librarian and teared up when admitting he thought of his late parents, both of whom passed away in the past four years, when reflecting upon his first coaching win.
"The thing that I talked about a lot this week was, let's not be Mike Singletary's team," he said. "This is our team and if we don't understand that, then Mike Singletary is going to come up really short."
Too late, coach. Guys already have your back, and the trickle-down effect was on full display against the Rams.
"Coach Singletary, you can't do nothing but like him," said running back Frank Gore. "He's going to be straight up with you, and (from) a coach, that's what you want. With a coach being straight up, that's the best way to get better as a team."
The 49ers must be the best interim-coached 3-7 team in the history of the NFL and Singletary is the second coming of Bill Walsh, judging by his rock-star greeting and the fan holding the homemade sign reading, "Singletary + Contract = 49er domination."
Simmer down, 49er Faithful, and heed the words of linebacker Patrick Willis.
"We know where his heart is," Willis said. "We believe in him."
For now, that's more than enough.
Call The Bee's Paul Gutierrez, (916) 326-5556.
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