49ers ask Stafford about parents divorce.
 

Is nothing off limits when asking questions to respective draftees? I would be offended if this were to happen to me.

[url=http://blogs.nfl.com/2009/04/12/smoothing-things-over-stafford-to-visit-49ers/]NFL.com Blogs » Blog Archive Smoothing things over: Stafford to visit 49ers «[/url]

And the comments made by Singletary is just salt in the wound. I wonder how the topic came about and if he just gave a "no comment" type answer or if he became defensive. I just think some things are out of bounds when interviewing for a "job".

Thoughts?

Re: 49ers ask Stafford about parents divorce.
 

Maybe over the top but I can see where teams are coming from. They're about to pay a guy millions to be the face of the franchise. You want to make sure you've dotted all your I's and crossed all your T's.

Re: 49ers ask Stafford about parents divorce.
 

The questions potential draftees are asked can be quite intense. But they're peppered in with football related questions. They're designed more than anything to test a) the player's ability to react quickly and b) to be honest

Some examples

"What did you say to your wife when she found out you cheated on her?" (said to a player without a wife)

"What if I told you your son isn't really yours right before kickoff? Could you play?"

"What's your favorite pie?" (made that one up)

"I asked Coach Gibbs a question. What did you think?" (made that one up too)

Still, Singletary's response was kind of ridiculous. I think he' taking his "I'm a tough guy" act a bit far, and he's going to lose that team fast if he doesn't pull back some.

Re: 49ers ask Stafford about parents divorce.
 

Singletary pull back? Is that even possible? The guy wrote the book on intensity.

Re: 49ers ask Stafford about parents divorce.
 

The problem is Singletary comes off as a arrogant prick. Plus talking about Stafford's private business to the media is crossing the line. You can ask a player what ever you want behind closed doors, but keep it private. Why is Singletary talking about it to the media?
If someone from the media asks just say no comment.
Instead 49ers coach Mike Singletary fueled the controversy last month after comments with Ralph Barbieri on KNBR, a local radio station. “If you’re going to look at drafting a guy in the first round,” Singletary says in the interview, “and you’re going to pay him millions of dollars, and asking him about a divorce about his parents, if that’s going to be an issue, then you know what, maybe he doesn’t belong here.”

That is like a school with out a teacher...NO CLASS!

Re: 49ers ask Stafford about parents divorce.
 

I was involved in the interview process for a recent new hire at my job. Before I got started I was pulled aside by my supervisor and was verbally given a list of types of questions we were not allowed to ask. Most were like, dont ask if they are gay, dont ask if they have kids, are they married, how old they are, and stuff like that. I was told it was for legal reasons because a applicant could say that we discriminated against them because they were......whatever.

I wonder if there are ANY restrictions on the teams at these interview sessions.

Re: 49ers ask Stafford about parents divorce.
 

[quote=gibbsisgod;545231]I was involved in the interview process for a recent new hire at my job. Before I got started I was pulled aside by my supervisor and was verbally given a list of types of questions we were not allowed to ask. Most were like, dont ask if they are gay, dont ask if they have kids, are they married, how old they are, and stuff like that. I was told it was for legal reasons because a applicant could say that we discriminated against them because they were......whatever.

[B]I wonder if there are ANY restrictions on the teams at these interview sessions.[/B][/quote]

I would think that's something the CBA would have to include, otherwise the nfl is merely bound by all other federal laws re: hiring practices.

Re: 49ers ask Stafford about parents divorce.
 

Big whoop! If Stafford doesn't have a thick skin he won't make it as franchise QB. If those type of questions hurt his feelings I wouldn't want him on my team (Ryan Leaf). Also, if he does have some emotional baggage that he hasn't been able to properly focus then he'll be worthless. Of course, at this stage he probably has sorted out that stuff. I don't think this equates to a 45k/year job interview.

Re: 49ers ask Stafford about parents divorce.
 

I agree with SS, very few coaches can stay extremely intense and remain in good terms with their team. You do these kinda things a couple times so people realize not to F with you but then back off.

It's like how they tell you kick someone's ass or become someone's bitch as soon end up in a federal prison.

Re: 49ers ask Stafford about parents divorce.
 

I don't see a problem with any of this.

Re: 49ers ask Stafford about parents divorce.
 

Well the question was asked by the teams psychologist and I could see why it was asked when given the money they plain on giving this guy. Its not like he is applying for a job at McDonalds.

Re: 49ers ask Stafford about parents divorce.
 

[quote=firstdown;545283]Well the question was asked by the teams psychologist and I could see why it was asked when given the money they plain on giving this guy. Its not like he is applying for a job at McDonalds.[/quote]

That is true and he should not get offended, but it is difficult to remain composed when someone pretty much tells you "have issues" especially when you feel they have no idea about the situation or it is simply none of their business.

Obviously there is a professional way of responding, but if I were in his position I would definitely be pissed I just wouldn't show itt.

Re: 49ers ask Stafford about parents divorce.
 

I would have flat out told them "may parents' personal lives are none of your business."

Singletary's tough guy act is getting old. If he still wants to act this way, then come out of retirement and strap on a helmet. Methinks he'd find some humility pretty quickly in that case.

I don't care how much money they are about to invest in these guys, some of this stuff is silly.

Re: 49ers ask Stafford about parents divorce.
 

[quote=Mattyk72;545221]Maybe over the top but I can see where teams are coming from. They're about to pay a guy millions to be the face of the franchise. You want to make sure you've dotted all your I's and crossed all your T's.[/quote]

Didn't the Raiders have a PI follow JaMarcus Russell around before the draft? I know some people had issue with it, but I thought it was a good idea.

Re: 49ers ask Stafford about parents divorce.
 

[quote=GMScud;545292]I would have flat out told them "may parents' personal lives are none of your business."

Singletary's tough guy act is getting old. If he still wants to act this way, then come out of retirement and strap on a helmet. Methinks he'd find some humility pretty quickly in that case.

I don't care how much money they are about to invest in these guys, some of this stuff is silly.[/quote]

Yeah I agree. I thought Singletary was going to be a really good head coach but now I'm starting to doubt it. Some of his antics are not going to work in the pro game. Leave that stuff behind closed doors. Plus what is the divorce rate in this country? Almost 50%? Stupid question.

Re: 49ers ask Stafford about parents divorce.
 

I wouldn't allow any "team psychologist" in my building if I were in charge. I can't see Parcells having a "team psychologist". The HC is suppossed to be the "team psychologist. Of course this is San Fransisco. The whole town needs psychiatric help.

Re: 49ers ask Stafford about parents divorce.
 

[quote=gibbsisgod;545217]Is nothing off limits when asking questions to respective draftees? I would be offended if this were to happen to me.

[URL="http://blogs.nfl.com/2009/04/12/smoothing-things-over-stafford-to-visit-49ers/"]NFL.com Blogs » Blog Archive Smoothing things over: Stafford to visit 49ers «[/URL]

And the comments made by Singletary is just salt in the wound. I wonder how the topic came about and if he just gave a "no comment" type answer or if he became defensive. I just think some things are out of bounds when interviewing for a "job".

Thoughts?[/quote]

Can you face adversity? What if you lose your QB coach or head coach that supported you, favorite wide receiver, etc.

Hell they can ask things like that in a college entrance interview and certain jobs. Likely the kid has had to talk about it before and should be a man enough to talk about it now. Sure it's not the most pleasant subject but it's not like they're breaking the news to him.

Re: 49ers ask Stafford about parents divorce.
 

[quote=SmootSmack;545224]The questions potential draftees are asked can be quite intense. But they're peppered in with football related questions. They're designed more than anything to test a) the player's ability to react quickly and b) to be honest

Some examples

"What did you say to your wife when she found out you cheated on her?" (said to a player without a wife)

"What if I told you your son isn't really yours right before kickoff? Could you play?"

"What's your favorite pie?" (made that one up)

"I asked Coach Gibbs a question. What did you think?" (made that one up too)

Still, Singletary's response was kind of ridiculous. I think he' taking his "I'm a tough guy" act a bit far, and he's going to lose that team fast if he doesn't pull back some.[/quote]

This too, while I admire his grittiness, it's not going to get him very far in today's NFL unless he can start a one-team revolution, can't see the prima donnas going for that though

Re: 49ers ask Stafford about parents divorce.
 

[quote=GMScud;545292]I would have flat out told them "may parents' personal lives are none of your business."

Singletary's tough guy act is getting old. If he still wants to act this way, then come out of retirement and strap on a helmet. Methinks he'd find some humility pretty quickly in that case.

I don't care how much money they are about to invest in these guys, some of this stuff is silly.[/quote]

Stafford could always find another job where they give you over 10 mil your first year to walk the sidelines with a clipboard. Or if that's too insulting he can work construction with vick this year.

Re: 49ers ask Stafford about parents divorce.
 

Ahhh the life of a "celebrity". They get offended, and we talk about it like it's a big issue.
1- This is something Stafford should expect, and Singletary, while a little over the top, might be right depending on how Stafford responded.
2- Like Zerohero pointed out, if you don't like the line of questioning, why not try your hand in the real world where they are not allowed to ask that.
3- 10th pick? Seriously? You are interviewing with the 10th pick 49ers? What was your agent smoking when he set up this interview? If he goes that far in the draft, he has FAR worse problems than questions being asked.
4- When is the season going to start? These are those "non issues" that we tend to talk too much about because of the offseason.

Re: 49ers ask Stafford about parents divorce.
 

[quote=Mattyk72;545221]Maybe over the top but I can see where teams are coming from. They're about to pay a guy millions to be the face of the franchise.[B] You want to make sure you've dotted all your I's and crossed all your T's[/B].[/quote]

mua ha ha ha with blood.

Re: 49ers ask Stafford about parents divorce.
 

and this is the exact reason I believe he should have gotten dirt on Singletary so when an inappropriate question came up he could ask one in return. Certainly if someone is going to be an a-hole and ask a stupid personal question then you don't want to be on that team. Might as well burn your bridge with the team so they don't pick you.

Re: 49ers ask Stafford about parents divorce.
 

[quote=SBXVII;545446][B]and this is the exact reason I believe he should have gotten dirt on Singletary so when an inappropriate question came up he could ask one in return.[/B] Certainly if someone is going to be an a-hole and ask a stupid personal question then you don't want to be on that team. Might as well burn your bridge with the team so they don't pick you.[/quote]

Ha! That's funny.

Even though Singletary isn't the one who asked Stafford the divorce question, it would still make for a funny exchange if it happened:

Singletary: Have you gotten over your parents' divorce?
Stafford: Do you routinely show your bare ass to the team as a motivational tactic?

Re: 49ers ask Stafford about parents divorce.
 

:lol: That's funny. Nice comeback.

Re: 49ers ask Stafford about parents divorce.
 

[quote=GMScud;545447]Ha! That's funny.

Even though Singletary isn't the one who asked Stafford the divorce question, it would still make for a funny exchange if it happened:

Singletary: Have you gotten over your parents' divorce?
Stafford: Do you routinely show your bare ass to the team as a motivational tactic?[/quote]

This.

Instant classic. Wtf is wrong with Mike Singletary!? lol All those years smashin heads at LB knocked him a little silly imo.

Re: 49ers ask Stafford about parents divorce.
 

[quote=70Chip;545361]I wouldn't allow any "team psychologist" in my building if I were in charge. I can't see Parcells having a "team psychologist". The HC is suppossed to be the "team psychologist. Of course this is San Fransisco. The whole town needs psychiatric help.[/quote]The psychology approach worked out really well when they opted for Alex Smith at #1 overall. Think they wish they had traded down and taken Aaron Rogers? So true what you say about Parcells.

Re: 49ers ask Stafford about parents divorce.
 

[quote=Defensewins;545229]The problem is Singletary comes off as a arrogant prick. Plus talking about Stafford's private business to the media is crossing the line. You can ask a player what ever you want behind closed doors, but keep it private. Why is Singletary talking about it to the media?
If someone from the media asks just say no comment.
Instead 49ers coach Mike Singletary fueled the controversy last month after comments with Ralph Barbieri on KNBR, a local radio station. “If you’re going to look at drafting a guy in the first round,” Singletary says in the interview, “and you’re going to pay him millions of dollars, and asking him about a divorce about his parents, if that’s going to be an issue, then you know what, maybe he doesn’t belong here.”

That is like a school with out a teacher...NO CLASS![/quote]

Agreed. Singletary is proving to be a real douche!

Re: 49ers ask Stafford about parents divorce.
 

[quote=GMScud;545447]Ha! That's funny.

Even though Singletary isn't the one who asked Stafford the divorce question, it would still make for a funny exchange if it happened:

Singletary: Have you gotten over your parents' divorce?
Stafford: Do you routinely show your bare ass to the team as a motivational tactic?[/quote]

Thank You. lol. I knew someone would have dirt. lol.

You know I kinda was apprehensive about Singletary getting the job. I liked the idea cause people were saying how good he is at coaching. but there was something about his attitude that turned me off. Everytime he gets in front of the cameras I get turned off and tune him out. I'm supprised not one player hasn't just walked up to him and just punched him in the face and walked away. I think I would have been traded by now.

Re: 49ers ask Stafford about parents divorce.
 

[quote=tryfuhl;545392]Can you face adversity? What if you lose your QB coach or head coach that supported you, favorite wide receiver, etc.

Hell they can ask things like that in a college entrance interview and certain jobs. Likely the kid has had to talk about it before and should be a man enough to talk about it now. Sure it's not the most pleasant subject but it's not like they're breaking the news to him.[/quote]

I think they're trying to get an unpracticed response out of him or get a real read on the guy. It may mean nothing to them other than to see how he'll respond to an off-question. Remember, he'll be asked thousands of questions for the rest of his career, maybe longer and he'll have no way to control what is asked.
And with there being so much time in-between these kids last college game and the draft, they have agents and people around them coaching them how to respond to "what would you if you lost your favorite receiver" questions. They're going to give cliche answers like "other guys are going to need to step up" or something along those lines.
Yeah divorce is common in this country and it may be none of anybody's business but when a team is investing TENS OF MILLIONS of GUARANTEED DOLLARS in ONE PLAYER, your damn right they're going to cover all the bases.
Remember Ryan Leaf. He was highly touted, had tremendous physical attributes and yet couldn't handle the pressure of playing QB at the NFL level. Now he's in a self imposed exile coaching golf in South Dakota or Idaho.
Teams want to know if they're drafting Ryan Leaf or Peyton Manning and sometimes asking tough unrelated questions is another way to size a guy up. Just my two cents.

Re: 49ers ask Stafford about parents divorce.
 

Good thing some of you aren't in the NFL because you would need to lose your skirts awful quick.

Re: 49ers ask Stafford about parents divorce.
 

Sending Vernon Davis to the locker room was the single finest act by an NFL head coach I've seen maybe ever in a game. From that day he sent a clear message to everyone that the team is more important than the individual regardless of contract. As far as I know, no player of his has voiced any sort of complaint about him.

Re: 49ers ask Stafford about parents divorce.
 

I've got no problem with the question or even really Singletary's opinion of it. Singletary's decision to discuss the question and his opinion of it publicly is where I take issue. My guess is he is trying to convince other teams not to take Stafford and drop his status down to say the 10th pick in the draft (unlikely he'd drop that far), so he's putting this out there. But still, it seems a bit classless to do that.

Re: 49ers ask Stafford about parents divorce.
 

[quote=SmootSmack;545539]I've got no problem with the question or even really Singletary's opinion of it. Singletary's decision to discuss the question and his opinion of it publicly is where I take issue. My guess is he is trying to convince other teams not to take Stafford and drop his status down to say the 10th pick in the draft (unlikely he'd drop that far), so he's putting this out there. But still, it seems a bit classless to do that.[/quote]
I agree with you 100%. If he cannot take getting asked these questions how will he handle every sunday when D L is coming after him and talking thrash about anything they can think of. Its airing this in public thats not right.

Re: 49ers ask Stafford about parents divorce.
 

[quote=SBXVII;545507]
You know I kinda was apprehensive about Singletary getting the job. I liked the idea cause people were saying how good he is at coaching. but there was something about his attitude that turned me off. Everytime he gets in front of the cameras I get turned off and tune him out. I'm supprised not one player hasn't just walked up to him and just punched him in the face and walked away. I think I would have been traded by now.[/quote]

I can certainly understand that, but Singletary deserves respect for what he did on the field. He also has a nice big honkin sb ring that speaks volumes. We think of it in terms of "what would I do if someone did that to me at work"? When it's a game, and motivation is taken from several different areas, and almost all of them haven't really been in the working world and they have all been motivated by different things.
I guarantee you ask any coach if showing his bare ass to the team would mean they would play better, all of them would do it. Singletary needs to be smart enough to not speak to the media, he needs to take the vegas approach: What happens in the locker room, stays in the locker room!

Re: 49ers ask Stafford about parents divorce.
 

[quote=SmootSmack;545539]I've got no problem with the question or even really Singletary's opinion of it. Singletary's decision to discuss the question and his opinion of it publicly is where I take issue. [/quote]

exactly

Re: 49ers ask Stafford about parents divorce.
 

[quote=jsarno;546053]I can certainly understand that, but Singletary deserves respect for what he did on the field. He also has a nice big honkin sb ring that speaks volumes. We think of it in terms of "what would I do if someone did that to me at work"? When it's a game, and motivation is taken from several different areas, and almost all of them haven't really been in the working world and they have all been motivated by different things.
I guarantee you ask any coach if showing his bare ass to the team would mean they would play better, all of them would do it. Singletary needs to be smart enough to not speak to the media, he needs to take the vegas approach: What happens in the locker room, stays in the locker room![/quote]


Some people are awsome players. Some are awsome coach's. It's the ones that can transition from being player to coach with being tactful that are even more special. I honestly don't see Dinglebarry being anything special. Yes he was an awsome player. Perhaps even an awsome positional coach who usually do not get to talk to the media much. ......but put him in the spotlight and he seems less then tactfull. I know some of the best are excentric but I think its more his arrogance and how he comes across that would leave me wanting to be traded to a new team.

Re: 49ers ask Stafford about parents divorce.
 

[quote=SBXVII;546085]Some people are awsome players. Some are awsome coach's. It's the ones that can transition from being player to coach with being tactful that are even more special. I honestly don't see Dinglebarry being anything special. Yes he was an awsome player. Perhaps even an awsome positional coach who usually do not get to talk to the media much. ......but put him in the spotlight and he seems less then tactfull. I know some of the best are excentric but I think its more his arrogance and how he comes across that would leave me wanting to be traded to a new team.[/quote]

Singletary went 5-4 as the 49ers coach, he took over for a team that was 2-5. That's a massive improvement. He's doing something right, even if we don't like it. Being tactful isn't always something that is important, but you will eventually lose the ship if you don't calm it down. I am not saying I'd love him as a coach, but I'm saying, it's working. All in all it has been 9 games. Tough to tell if he will be successful or fall flat on his face due to mutiny. But one thing is for certain, whether he succeeds with fireworks, or fails spectacularly, it will be 100% because of Singletary, and it will be fun to watch.