Manly Man Mike Singletary

By Daniel Benjamin

Have you ever met those people where as soon as you see them you know instantly that they are one of those “manly men” or “tough guys”? Mike Singletary, who played professional football for the Chicago Bears from 1981-1992, and was the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers these past two years, is one of those guys. Singletary used a coaching style that was not one favored by his players when he was in San Francisco. His way of coaching was a lot like the way he used to play the game, loud, outspoken, aggressive, and with a take-no-prisoners attitude.

In an essay titled, “Becoming Members of Society” in Rereading America, the author describes “four main attitudes of masculinity”. According to Aaron Devor, to be a “real” man is to be violent and have an aura of aggression, be successful and have a high social status amongst peers, to have confidence and be self-reliant, and lastly to avoid all femininity. Singletary seems to posses all of these attitudes. Every young boy that watched the 49ers on Sundays used to get a little lesson on what it meant to be a man.

At the time that Singletary played for the Bears, they were one of the best teams in the league and had one of the most feared defenses in NFL history. He was the leader of that defense and played a position that is viewed by most to be one of the most violent one in the game, middle linebacker. He did not just play that position, but he played it so well that he is known as being one of the best and hardest hitters to ever step on the gridiron. He took this violent and aggressive play and transitioned it directly to his coaching. Singletary was always known for his rants on the sidelines and throwing of his headsets when something didn’t go his way. He also was not afraid to step up and get into any referees face. That is very apparent in the picture where it shows Coach Singletary on the field, violently pointing to someone and seemingly yelling as well.

Few people question Mike Singletary’s success and accomplishments. First off, he was a professional football player and played the game at a very high level. While he was playing he helped his team to win a Super Bowl and to be known as one of the best teams in history. Due to the fact that he earned a ton of respect from others while he was a player, he was able to become a head coach at the highest level as well. With the respect that Singletary demands from others, it allows him to get away with things that would not be allowed for other people. For example, storming out onto the field screaming and yelling, like he is in the picture.

The third thing that was stated in the essay is that real men are confident and self-reliant. Singletary has no problem possessing either one of those traits. He showed that he was a confident man when last year at a press conference before the season, he all but guaranteed that he would take the 49ers to the playoffs even after they had a below-average year the previous season. When someone is confident it usually means that their actions are done through a feeling instead of thinking it out and that is something that Singletary does. This became apparent when Singletary kicked his all pro tight end, Vernon Davis, off the field during one of the games two years ago. Coach Singletary was upset with the play of Davis and so he sent him to the showers early. This was a very rash decision but he was confident that this bold act, this moment of embarrassment for Davis would shape his player up and lead to better production out of him. Being out in the middle of the field pointing and harassing the referees is something that falls into that feeling category as well.

The last thing a man needs to be a real man is to avoid all femininity and Coach Singletary does that for the most part. The career he chose in life is something that has little femininity at all. The NFL has no women in the sport as players or coaches. The game is a very violent, face paced game and has done little to welcome women. Singletary’s outfit in the picture is one that is far from feminine as well. Coaches are allowed to wear what they want basically while on the sidelines and Singletary chooses not to take the more formal look but instead he decides to sport the more rugged look with a long sleeve t-shirt, some pants, and often times you can see him wearing a baseball cap. However, not everything about Singletary and his outfit is totally feminine. He always has a cross necklace on during every game and he does not hide it but shows it off. This shows that he is a religious and spiritual man which is something that is usually not paired with a tough guy. That shows that to be a real man it is alright to have a small amount of femininity.

Now that Mike Singletary is no longer a head coach in the league, his loud and aggressive personality will not be as public and documented. However, during the past few years everyone watching him could pick up on what it was like to be a “manly” man and got to see the “four main attitudes of masculinity” put straight into action every Sunday. I am sure young boys will not struggle to find other coaches or an army of players that have the same idea of what it means to be a true “manly” man.