March 27, 2003
This is another "B" Line column, a periodic collection of news items of particular interest to members of the Baylor "B" Association. Contribute news about you or your teammates via e-mail to Lee Harrington (leenelaine@281.com), Dutch Schroeder (Dutch_Schroeder@baylor.edu), Reba Cooper (Reba_Cooper@baylor.edu) or Jack Loftis (Jack.Loftis@chron.com). The mailing address is Baylor "B" Association, P. O. Box 8120, Waco, TX 76714
There may be a personal bias involved, but I believe Houston Chronicle sportswriter and radio commentator John McClain is plugged into the National Football League deeper and tighter than any other media rep in America.
The Waco native and Baylor University graduate was the beat writer for the Houston Oilers for years and continued to cover the team after it morphed into the Tennessee Titans.
Today he is the Chronicle's NFL writer-at-large. Not only do his readers and listeners tend to abide by his opinions, as editor of the Chronicle for 15 years I know for certain that NFL general managers and a few college athletic directors also heed his words - all without compensation to him, of course.
All of this is a preface to a statement McClain recently made at a Baylor luncheon in Houston. When asked how Mike Singletary, the greatest Baylor football player of all time, would do as a coach for the Baltimore Ravens, McClain jumped on the question in his usual enthusiastic and self-confident style.
"Singletary was smart to go to work for Brian Billick, who's an outstanding head coach," McClain said. "And he was smart to take a job coaching linebackers like Ray Lewis and Peter Boulware, two of the NFL's best."
And what's ahead for Singletary?
"Mike should be a defensive coordinator within three years and once he makes that jump, it should take him another three years to become a head coach," McClain said. "In other words, Singletary's rise from motivational speaker to NFL head coach should be meteoric."
Going beyond words . . .
For those with cloudy memories following the 2002 football season, Singletary let it be known while Baylor was looking for a new head coach that he was ready to give up his lucrative career as a motivational speaker who often addressed many of America's Fortune 500 companies.
However, he realized his total lack of experience in coaching would be a difficult handicap to overcome. So - say those close to him - he wasn't discouraged when Baylor chose Kentucky head coach Guy Morriss ahead of him. Singletary simply looked elsewhere - and when the former linebacker known for "The Stare" looks, he finds.
In a Chronicle story earlier this year McClain reported Singletary as saying that if it had not been for the coaching search at Baylor, he probably would not have given serious thought to becoming a coach.
McClain said that after his failed shot at Baylor, Singletary turned to the Chicago Bears, where in 12 seasons he earned a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But they had no assistant coaching spots open.
"He had offers from the Bengals, Lions and 49ers and was wise enough to pass them up." McClain wrote. "He wanted a team that was on the cutting edge and forward-thinking and an organization that's committed to winning so he accepted a three-year offer from (the Ravens') Billick."
2000 Alumni dinner . . .
McClain reported that during Baltimore's 2000 Super Bowl season, Billick invited Singletary to address his team and Mike made quite an impression.
"He stood in front of a veteran group, and you could see them riveted," Billick said. "It occurred to me then if he ever decided to coach, what an impact he could make."
Anyone who heard Singletary's acceptance speech after receiving a Distinguished Alumni Award from the Baylor Alumni Association in January of 2000 would understand what Billick was talking about.
That night, accompanied by his wife and seven children, the Houston native turned the audience inside out emotionally. If he had commanded, those present would have darted out the doors of the Bill Daniels Student Center and been ready to scrimmage on the front lawn.
Instead, all sat in silence while Singletary paid tribute to certain individuals in the audience who had been instrumental in helping him become a great football player and - more importantly - a greater man.
One of those was Baylor English professor Ann Miller. When Singletary acknowledged that her private tutoring was a big factor in his later success he expressed it with a gentle nod in her direction. The tears flowed. But thinking back, she wasn't alone. There wasn't a dry in the entire room.
We had all been Singletary-ized.
JACK LOFTIS
CHAIRMAN
COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE
