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Other Teams: CLE | DEN | DET | IND | KCC | NYJ | OAK | SEA | SFO | STL | TBB | ARI | NEP | NOS | Summary
When Mike Singletary took over as the 49ers interim coach seven games into last season, there was only so much he could do to put his stamp on this team. But dropping trou at halftime only goes so far. Heading into the 2009 campaign, Singletary is taking more dramatic steps to impose his identity upon this team.
The short version is that Singletary wants this team to take on his personality: tough, aggressive, physical. Defensively the team scrapped the hybrid 3-4 when Mike Nolan was let go, and Greg Manusky’s more aggressive “pure” 3-4 showed signs of working as the Niners held four of their final five opponents to 16 points or less. Manusky is in his third year as San Francisco’s defensive coordinator, so he has a good feel for the personnel and how to get the most out of them.
Offensively, the 49ers will be breaking in their seventh offensive coordinator in the past seven seasons as 30-year NFL veteran Jimmy Raye takes the reins. Raye wasn’t necessarily Singletary’s first choice—Scott Linehan and possibly others reportedly turned down the gig—but his run-early, run-often philosophy meshes with the 49ers’ new direction.
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