Lots of talk about Mike Singletary's reluctance to give Shaun Hill a full-throated endorsement for next season. Hill, after all, has a robust 95.5 passer rating since taking over in Week 8, and he is 3-2 as the team's starter. Today, he was nominated as a potential FedEx Air Player of the Week (to vote, go to NFL.com), and he is the first 49er nominated for the honor this season.
So why won't Singletary say he thinks Hill should be the team's quarterback of the future? It's the same reason the 49ers won't go ahead and declare Singletary the head coach for 2009 - why disrupt what seems to be a pretty good little end-of-season run? The boxing trainer Teddy Atlas has a quote that Eric Mangini used last week: "Success," he says, "is like a martini - both make you relax." Both Singletary and Hill are thriving under pressure. Reward them now and that pressure eases despite the fact that there are still three games to play.
The truth is that both situations are fast becoming no brainers. Win a couple more games and the 49ers have no choice but to make Singletary their head coach next season. Win a couple more games and Hill is the obvious starter heading into next season. Singletary essentially is doing what he set out to do when he got the interim job, which is make this an easy decision, one that's based on his win-loss record.
The Singletary camp already is posturing - getting the word out that Singletary would be a hot commodity on the open market if the 49ers don't strike quickly and give him a long-term deal. Asked about his contract yesterday, Singletary said it expires at the end of the season. After that, he said, he's a "free agent," which in this league is code for "I can find big bucks elsewhere." The 49ers' brain trust, meanwhile, has gone into bunker mode. They insist they're thinking only about the Dolphins game and they are cautious in praising Singletary.
The bottom line is that both sides need each other. Singletary needs the 49ers because he's comfortable here and he has a staff in place. Go somewhere else and it exposes one of his weaknesses - what kind of staff can a guy who's been coaching for only 5 ½ seasons assemble, and how quickly? The 49ers, meanwhile, need Singletary because he not only has energized the players, he's energized the fan base, which at midseason was in full revolt (and revulsion). Singletary's honesty and frankness have struck a chord with fans, and it's getting to the point where there would be a backlash if the 49ers didn't hire him for next season.
-- Matt Barrows
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