Michael Singletary (born October 9, 1958), nicknamed "Samurai Mike",[1] is an American former professional football player and coach.

Mike, along with his father, Charles, mother, Rudell, and several brothers and sisters, shared a small wood-frame home.

By the time Mike and Charles Jr. were able to break a window, and force entry into the room, fumes from the coal stove had claimed the life of Dale.

Grady filled the void, telling young Mike to stay away from vices such as drinking beer and smoking cigarettes.

Mike's interest in playing football piqued each Sunday, as he would watch the Dallas Cowboys, and idolized players including Roger Staubach, Bob Lilly, and Lee Roy Jordan.

Grady, who Mike Singletary had looked up at as a father figure, was killed in a six-car accident caused by a drunk driver.

During Singletary's senior season of 1980, Baylor won 10 games, marking the first time in school history that had been accomplished.

At 6 ft (1.8 m), 230 lb (100 kg), Singletary became a starting linebacker in the Chicago Bears defense in the eighth game of his rookie season (1981).

In a game against the Kansas City Chiefs, his third as a starter, Singletary gave a remarkable defensive performance, recording 10 tackles and forcing a fumble.

Selected to play in a team record 10 Pro Bowls, Singletary was All-Pro eight times, and All-NFC every year from 1983 to 1991.

Coach Mike Ditka said that the day before the game, he was talking to the offense while Singletary was in the next room giving the defense a motivational speech.

While it started out quiet, within minutes, Samurai Mike was screaming at the top of his lungs and the defensive players were throwing chairs and knocking over tables.

The next day, he provided a memorable play where he stopped Eric Dickerson behind the line of scrimmage on third-and-short early in the 2nd quarter.

In 2007, Singletary interviewed for the head coaching job of the Dallas Cowboys and San Diego Chargers, but was ultimately passed over.

With Morriss leaving Baylor after the 2007 season, Singletary appeared to be the leading candidate for his replacement, and expressed interest in the job.

[12] On November 19, 2007, Baylor athletic director Ian McCaw flew to San Francisco to interview Singletary.

[16] Singletary instantly made a statement in San Francisco by sending tight end Vernon Davis to the locker room with more than 10 minutes remaining in his head coaching debut, a 34–13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on October 26, 2008.

[18] It was later reported that during halftime of their game against the Seahawks, Singletary intentionally dropped his pants while giving a speech to illustrate just how poorly the 49ers had played in the first half.

[20] While the 49ers were being blown out by the visiting Atlanta Falcons in Week 5, Singletary lost his temper over his team's poor play; afterward, he expressed remorse for his actions, saying how he wished he "had more coaching etiquette" while reiterating how he would "get better at those things as time goes on.

In a Week 14 Monday Night Football matchup against the Arizona Cardinals, however, Singletary and his coaching staff were better able to integrate running back Frank Gore into the spread offense and pulled off an impressive 24–9 victory.

[23] With this momentum and their slim playoff hopes still alive, the 49ers visited the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 15, and lost 27–13.

Those players were Patrick Willis, Andy Lee, Vernon Davis, Frank Gore, and Justin Smith.

[34] On June 28, 2016, Singletary announced in an interview with a radio station that he would be returning to the coaching ranks as an advisor for the Los Angeles Rams defense.

The move reunited Singletary with former Bears teammate and then-Rams head coach Jeff Fisher.

He has co-authored several books: Singletary was a contestant on the first season of the CBS reality series Beyond the Edge, which premiered in March 2022.