Mike Singletary is one of the greatest defenders in Chicago Bears history. A two-time Defensive Player of the Year and seven-time All-Pro. He was one of the best middle linebackers of the 1980s. The heart and soul of arguably the best defense in NFL history in the 1985 Bears. A no-doubt Hall of Famer. Imagining him in another uniform nowadays is borderline sacrilege. Yet if the man himself had his way back in 1981? He’d have gone elsewhere.
Dan Pompei of The Athletic revealed that Singletary had been picked by the news outlet as the 93rd best player in NFL history. The second Bear to appear on the list thus far along with Mike Ditka (#96). While discussing the accolades and accomplishments, Pompei made some interesting revelations a lot of people might not know. As a child, Singletary was a huge fan of the Dallas Cowboys. So much that he was prepared to run away from home because his father wouldn’t let him play football.
When he finally got his chance, he excelled.
Remember that Singletary was a Texas native. So he made sure to attend college there at Baylor University. He starred across four years and was a two-time All-American. When the time for the NFL draft came around, there was one objective. Find a way to convince the Cowboys to take him if they got the chance. Sure enough, the opportunity was there, but Dallas chose to pass. The reason? One they probably regret.
“By the age of 12, Singletary was fascinated with the Cowboys and yearned so badly to play football that he plotted to run away to join a team. After his parents divorced, his mother finally relented, allowing him to chase his dream.
Singletary wanted to be a linebacker from the start, but the linebacker coach at his high school didn’t see it, according to what Singletary told The Baylor Line Foundation…
…Singletary was a natural at the position, but his height — 5-11 and change — always led to skepticism. He lettered four times at Baylor, was named All-America twice, and Southwest Conference player of the year twice, but the NFL still had reservations. His college coach Grant Teaff tried to sell him to Cowboys coach Tom Landry, but Dallas rejected him because Singletary did not have the measurables the team deemed necessary for success at the position.”
Dallas ended up taking guard Howard Richards in the 1st round of that 1981 draft. Singletary went to the Bears 12 picks later. Richards only started one season for the Cowboys. What probably makes their decision sting even more? The team actually drafted three linebackers in a row in the 4th and 5th rounds. None of them ever became starters or lasted in the league beyond 1986.
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Mike Singletary might’ve changed their fortunes too
Most people remember the Dallas Cowboys of the early 1980s as one of the league’s good teams but one that routinely came up short in the playoffs. That same year in 1981, they reached the NFC championship and lost to San Francisco. The next year in 1982, they reached the NFC championship and lost to Washington. One persistent theme in those two losses? The Cowboys’ inability to stop the run. Especially late.
San Francisco ran for 127 yards. Washington ran for 137. In 1985, Los Angeles ripped through them for 269 yards. It’s fair to wonder how big of a difference Mike Singletary would’ve made in those games. His mix of leadership, instincts, and run-stopping power was what made him great. He ended up getting his revenge. In the first two games the linebacker played against Dallas in 1984 and ’85, the Bears beat them 24-10 and 44-0 respectively.
Utter defensive domination. Singletary had a sack in that first game too.
One thing is for sure. No team was happier that Dallas failed to listen than the Bears. They reaped the rewards of that mistake for over a decade. Imagining him in blue and silver with a star on his helmet makes one feel physically ill. Another reminder though that teams might want to heed the warnings of college coaches a little more often.
