SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Nobody knew it at the time, but in a cozy corner of a San Francisco restaurant six years ago, a baton was passed.

A warm day had turned to a cool night. Over pleasant dinner music, Mike Singletary sipped a cranberry sparkling water. He picked at a salmon Caesar salad — and the mind of a white-haired genius.

Singletary took notes that night, and in five subsequent meetings. Lots and lots of notes. He still has them, and he refers to them often. Notes about what kind of assistant coaches he would need and how to find them, what to look for in players, what positions were most important to building a team, how being demanding was critical, how he needed to maintain balance in his life, and how he needed to stress precision.

If Bill Walsh were alive today, he would be proud to see Singletary sitting in the office that once was his — the office of the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers.

The office is a bit messy at the moment. Singletary was named interim coach on Oct. 20 after the firing of Mike Nolan, and the ensuing week was a whirlwind. There are boxes here and balloons there, but Singletary's wife Kim is on her way to tidy things up.

Walsh and Singletary started talking about Singletary becoming a coach during his final season with the Bears, in 1992. When Walsh heard Singletary was interested a decade later, he invited him to San Francisco to talk.

"I could never figure out why he allowed me that time," Singletary said. "But I'm very thankful he did."

Walsh had been a rival he respected intensely. Singletary used to ask former 49ers safety Ronnie Lott about Walsh, and Lott would ask Singletary about Mike Ditka. Singletary admired the way the 49ers played. Lott envied the Bears' intensity and passion.

What made Walsh different from anyone Singletary had known was that Walsh had sustained success, winning three Super Bowls in eight years.

"I always had a lot of respect for him because he was able to keep it intact for a long time," Singletary said. "It was always a contrast between the 49ers and being with the great Bears organization. We just couldn't keep it together."

If Singletary will take one coaching lesson from Ditka, it is to have a vision beyond initial success.

"In my mind coach Ditka was on the verge of being ... the greatest coach of all time," Singletary said. "He had the passion, the heart, the fury. But he lost the vision after we went to the Super Bowl in '85. Other things became more important."

Not that Singletary would have had it any other way. A Bear is what he was.

"I couldn't have played for a better coach than coach Ditka," Singletary said. "He was like my dad. I love coach Ditka."

In fact, when asked whom his head-coaching style will resemble, Singletary says he thinks he will be part Tony Dungy, part Ditka.

He also might have some of Buddy Ryan's strategy in him. Last year Singletary heard Ryan would be in Las Vegas for an appearance, so he flew there to meet with him and talk about defense for all of 45 minutes.

"Buddy Ryan was the best thing that ever could have happened to me," Singletary said about the '85 Bears defensive coordinator.

Singletary's Bears days have given him a reference point for what it takes to attain greatness.

"When I'm teaching these guys, I have a vivid picture in my mind of how it's supposed to look, a vivid picture of what a great defense looks like, a vivid picture of what a team looks like in the face, in the eyes, when they are ready to play," Singletary said. "I would have never known that had I not been with the Chicago Bears of '85. When players come off the field and tell me, 'I'm ready to play,' I say, 'You're not ready to play. You think you're ready to play. You're not.'"

Singletary does not hesitate to tell his players things they might not like to hear. Players say he called a few out in team meetings his first week on the job. He demands the same kind of attention to detail that helped him become a Hall of Fame linebacker.

During training camp he made 11-year veteran Takeo Spikes perform a shuffle drill a second time because he hadn't done it correctly. Then a third time. Spikes was fuming. And he balked when Singletary told him to do it again.

"You need to do it again," Singletary yelled. "I ain't going to lie to you. I'm going to tell you why. Because I love you too much."

Said Spikes: "He sounded like my father, so I did it a fourth time. He's going to pull everything out of you."

Linebacker Patrick Willis, who was the NFL's defensive rookie of the year in 2006 under his tutelage, said Singletary coaches him like he never has been coached before.

"No matter what I do, it never seems right with him," Willis said. "I thought I was my hardest critic, but he's even harder. I could go around the edge and make a tackle for a loss. He'd say, 'No, that's not it. Why waste all that energy when you could go right there?'"

No way could a linebacker tune out a coach with Singletary's resume.

"Words can't describe how I feel when I'm having a conversation with him," Willis said. "I just feel honored and blessed to be in his presence."

San Francisco is where Singletary belongs now. When he decided to get into coaching in 2003, he called then-Bears coach Dick Jauron. After consulting with management, Jauron told Singletary he had no job for him. Singletary went to work as an assistant for the Ravens and then the 49ers. He interviewed for head-coaching jobs with the Lions in 2006 and the Falcons, Cowboys and Chargers in 2007.

One reason he hadn't gotten a head-coaching job previously is he had no experience as a coordinator, and his strategic personality had yet to be defined. But no rule says a head coach must be a coordinator first. Ditka never was. Neither were Andy Reid, Herm Edwards, Jim Zorn or John Harbaugh.

As with Edwards, Singletary's strong suit is leadership.

"Nothing great ever happens until leadership comes," Singletary said. "And I think that's one of my gifts in life. I'm excited to see if I'm right."

It will be difficult for Singletary to prove much in the 49ers' remaining games this season. Some of the issues that led to Nolan's undoing could be problems for Singletary as well.

His name already has been stenciled in with white paint on the parking spot that used to belong to Nolan. By February, everyone knows another name could be there.

General manager Scott McCloughan indicated Singletary was chosen mostly because McCloughan thought he was the best person to lead the team this season. But McCloughan said the hope is Singletary proves to be the long-term solution.

"I'm not really thinking about proving myself," Singletary said. "I'm just going to be me. And I think that will be enough."