Niners’ Coach Singletary Isn’t Worried About Job Security

Added on Oct 05, 2010 by Jason Kearney in

NFL

Despite an 0-4 start in a season where his team was expected to content for the NFC West title, San Francisco 49ers coach Mike Singletary says he isn’t worried about his job. He did acknowledge that questions about job security were ‘the nature of the game’ when asked, but suggested that he’s not concerned:

“Players have responsibilities, and if they don’t do their jobs certain things happen. Coaches have responsibilities, and if they don’t do their job, things happen. My mind doesn’t focus like that. I don’t worry about who I need to talk to, am I OK. These 53 guys, that’s my responsibility. The last thing I’m thinking about is my job security.”

Singletary was responding to reports that have suggested his job is safe until the end of the season, but only because there’s not a legitimate replacement candidate on the staff. Even so, Singletary could be fired at the end of the season unless the Niners rally to make the playoffs. For his part, the coach says he’s just not paying any attention to that speculation:

“The most important thing that I’m thinking about is where this team is going, the direction of this team. As far as all that other stuff, there are coaches right now that are riding pretty high, and at the end of the season, their job will be in jeopardy.”

Singletary says he remains optimistic about the team and the 2010 season:

“My high hopes, they haven’t gone anywhere. I mean, there are still high hopes. We’re 0-4, but we have a lot of football games to play. The way our team’s playing, I’m very encouraged by what I see. I’m very encouraged by what I hear our guys talking about and where their focus is. … The last thing I’m doing is sitting around thinking, ‘Oh man, I’ve got these problems. I got this, I got that.’ I’m thankful that I have problems to deal with.”

Despite their record, the Niners aren’t out of the playoff hunt playing in a very weak NFC West division. The other three teams in the division are 2-2, and San Fran has five division games remaining. The schedule sets up well from here on out as the 49ers play their next two games and four of their next six at home. They play their only real road game in that stretch at 0-4 Carolina along with a neutral site game against Denver in London. Singletary wouldn’t hear talk that the schedule ahead is ‘soft’:

“I don’t ever say the schedule is softening, because the minute you say something like that, you set yourself up for failure.”

The Niners will try to get their first win of the year this weekend as the host the Philadelphia Eagles who’ll almost certainly be without starting quarterback Michael Vick.