Читать книгу The 50 Greatest Players in Chicago Bears History - Robert W. Cohen - Страница 30

The centerpiece and unquestioned leader of the Bears’ defense for more than a decade, Mike Singletary spent 12 seasons in Chicago starring at middle linebacker, serving as team captain for squads that won six division titles, one NFC championship, and one Super Bowl. The second-leading tackler in franchise history, Singletary recorded more than 100 tackles 10 times, earning in the process 10 consecutive trips to the Pro Bowl, eight All-Pro nominations, and two NFL Defensive Player of the Year trophies. A member of the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team, Singletary also landed spots on the Sporting News and NFL Network’s respective lists of the 100 Greatest Players in NFL History and a place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Born in Houston, Texas, on October 9, 1958, Michael Singletary experienced considerable adversity during his formative years. The youngest of 10 children, Mike lost two of his brothers by the time he turned 12 years of age, with one dying of smoke inhalation and the other in an automobile accident. Further burdened by the divorce of his parents, Singletary recalled, “My mom needed me to be the man of the house. She said life is hard but it’s what you make it. It’s all about those who get off the ground and continue to do right and pray and keep God with you.”

Developing a love for football at an early age, Singletary grew up rooting for the Dallas Cowboys, while honing his own skills as a middle line-backer and offensive guard in junior high school. Enjoying his play along the offensive line, Singletary recollected, “I really loved the trap play and getting the linebacker who had no clue where I was coming from. I liked using a low center of gravity at guard, and I carried that over to the way I played middle linebacker.”

Continuing to develop his football skills at Houston’s Evan E. Worthing High School, Singletary starred at middle linebacker for three seasons, expressing the satisfaction he derived from manning that post by saying, “It was the freedom to be able to make a big play anywhere at any time, as long as I was willing to hustle to get there. Being in the middle, I was able to see the ball and work on my vision and technique and mechanics. I was in a position where I could dictate where the defense was moving. I was going to put the defense in the best position.”

Mike Singletary anchored the Bears’ defense from his middle linebacker position for 12 seasons.

Courtesy of George A. Kitrinos

After studying film of Singletary in action, Baylor University assistant coach Grant Teaff offered him an athletic scholarship, recalling, “I looked at it for exactly four minutes, shut off the projector, and said ‘I’ll take him.’ On the first play, he smashed a runner up the middle. On the second play, he ranged to the sideline and knocked a guy out of bounds. On the third play, he got an interception.”

A four-year letterman at Baylor, Singletary recorded a school-record 662 tackles, with his exceptional play earning him All–Southwest Conference honors three times and All-America recognition in both his junior (1979) and senior (1980) years.

Selected by the Bears in the second round of the 1981 NFL Draft, with the 38th overall pick, Singletary arrived at his first pro training camp with defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan expecting great things from him. However, like any other rookie, Singletary found himself being treated harshly by Ryan, who referred to him only as “Number 50” during the early stages of his career. After slowly earning Ryan’s trust, Singletary broke into the starting lineup by midseason, after which he went on to start all but two of the team’s next 174 non-strike games.

Although the Bears compiled a losing record in each of his first two seasons, Singletary gradually emerged as a team leader during that time, calling all the signals on the defensive side of the ball, while influencing his teammates with the incredible focus and extraordinary level of intensity he displayed on the playing field. Nicknamed “Samurai Mike” for his aggressive style of play and passion for the game, the 6-foot, 230-pound Singletary discussed the approach he took to his craft, saying, “Hitting people has always been my style . . . I’m not tall, but sometimes small things are the most dangerous. It’s like a snake when it’s coiled. You don’t know when it’ll strike, and whoosh, it’s got you.”

Making an extremely strong impression on Washington Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann, Singletary drew praise from his frequent foe, who said, “People say the eyes are the windows to the soul. Well, if you played opposite Mike Singletary, you saw everything that was going on in his soul because those eyes were just lit up—they never blinked.”

Theismann continued, “Nobody was more prepared than Mike Single-tary. I think two things make Mike Singletary unique—his intelligence and his passion for the game. Nobody played it with more passion than Mike Singletary . . . I can close my eyes today. I can see Richard Dent. I can see Mike Singletary. I can see Wilber Marshall. It was like chaos. Mike was the centerpiece of it all. Mike held it together.”

Theismann then went on to call Singletary “an extremely bright guy,” saying, “He had to be to play that kind of defense. God gives us athletic ability. What you do between your ears is what makes you a great player. That’s the area where Mike really excelled. Being able to get people lined up, knowing how to flow, how to run under blocks if you need to, how to take on a big 300-pound guard, shed him, and go make a play. And the intuitive nature of reading plays.”

After being named team captain in 1983, Singletary began a string of 10 straight seasons in which he recorded more than 100 tackles, leading the Bears in that category on eight separate occasions. In addition to gaining Pro Bowl recognition in each of those campaigns, Singletary earned All-Pro honors eight times, being named to the First Team seven times and the Second Team once. And, with the Bears fielding one of the league’s top-ranked defenses throughout most of that period, Singletary received much of the credit, being accorded NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors in both 1985 and 1988.

As Singletary established himself as the focal point of the Bears’ defense, he developed a symbiotic relationship with Buddy Ryan, with teammate Otis Wilson stating, “He knew exactly what was going on. That was Buddy’s guy. He was really a coach on the field . . . Mike was a student of the game. He studied six, seven, eight hours of film.”

Noting that Singletary’s hard work paid off, Bears safety Gary Fencik claimed that the middle linebacker typically knew every play the opposing team intended to run, saying, “Singletary’s calling out plays, and it’s the actual play that they’re going to run.”

Fencik added, “The confidence that Buddy had that you had a middle linebacker who was completely prepared, who’d do anything that he wanted to do, was just tremendous trust. . . . He was always looking for ways to improve himself. He was very serious in that way.”

Looking back on his unique relationship with Ryan, Singletary said, “I really didn’t like Buddy for a long time. But he taught me about myself, made me reach for things I thought I never had. I never would have achieved what I have without Buddy.”

Even though Singletary continued to excel at middle linebacker after Ryan left Chicago at the end of 1985 to become head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, reserve defensive lineman Tyrone Keys maintained that his teammate never again shared the same level of trust with any of his other coaches, stating, “The number one thing was Singletary was able to make adjustments on the field when he was there with Buddy Ryan. After Buddy left, they had to stay in that same defense, and he wasn’t allowed to make changes like that. When both Buddy and Mike were there, Buddy gave him the freedom to make the calls he saw fit.”

Singletary remained in Chicago until 1992, announcing his retirement at season’s end after earning his 10th consecutive Pro Bowl selection. Concluding his career with an unofficial total of 1,488 tackles (885 solo), Singletary ranks second only to Dick Butkus in that category in team annals. He also recorded 19 sacks, seven interceptions, and 12 fumble recoveries during his time in the Windy City. The Pro Football Hall of Fame subsequently wasted little time in opening its doors to Singletary, admitting him in 1998, the first time his name appeared on the ballot.

Unable to attain the same level of success as an NFL coach, Single-tary has assumed several coaching positions around the league, including working as an assistant with the Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco 49ers, Minnesota Vikings, and Los Angeles Rams. He also spent two years serving as head coach of the 49ers, before being relieved of his duties following the conclusion of the 2010 campaign. After taking a brief break from football, Singletary became head coach of Trinity Christian Academy in Addison, Texas, on March 29, 2018. Less than two months later, he also assumed head coaching duties for the Memphis Express of the Alliance of American Football.