Mike Singletary: Inspirational or Just Plain Crazy?

It didn't take long for Mike Singletary to make some waves as the new interim head coach of the San Francisco 49ers.

He benched his starting quarterback, sent Vernon Davis to hit the showers with more than 10 minutes left in the game, and then put on a news conference that will be a staple in some top 10 lists—alongside "Playoffs," "You play to win the game," "The Bears are who we thought they were," and "This ain't intramurals."

Singletary's tirade is the lead story on NFL.com, and it's one of the most interesting stories emerging from the weekend. Should a head coach be making this kind of noise six days after assuming the interim position? And does it seem like he did it for the benefit of his team or for his own career?

If you're a player in the 49ers locker room are you inspired or just humored by this guy? Let's look at both sides:

Inspirational

There's no questioning Singletary's passion. Anyone who's seen him in a Bears jersey stalking running backs sideline to sideline knows that if any team buys into his philosophy, they're going to give 100 percent.

Singletary is old school, and that's what this team needs.

A little bit of yelling is a nice change from Mike Nolan, and Singletary is a natural-born winner. It's only a matter of time before he whips these guys into shape—and if he can't win it's only because he doesn't have the right personnel.

Comical

Singletary has been the on-staff inspirational guy all season, so he's already been yelling at these players for months. He's not setting any new tone—and it hasn't worked before, so maybe he's just making a fool of himself.

He isn't a new leader whipping a new team into shape, he's the same guy saying the same stuff with a new podium. Why would players respond? This sort of attack on his team should be reserved for the locker room or for closed-door meetings.

So what is it? Is this guy the real deal? Is he the motivator that the 49ers need? Or is he just a lunatic?

I'm not sure...I'll tell you in week 10—right after the 49ers' next game.