Devin Singletary and Mike Singletary are not related and do not have any biological relationship even though they are both in the NFL. While they may share an identical last name, this doesn’t mean that they have any blood connections with each other.
In fact, contrary to what many people think when their names pop up in the same sentence, the sports stars are not related in any way. Asides from their striking similar last names, their involvement in professional American football, and the fact that they are African-Americans, Devin and Mike seem to have little in common.
With an illustrious career in the American National Football League, Mike Singletary has proven his worth not just as an impressive player but as an amazing coach. In 1995, he was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. He also clutched a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998. For Devin Singletary, AKA “Motor”, the American football arena has presented a rollercoaster ride. He currently plays Running Back for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League and can boast of achieving a lot as a football player since joining the NFL in 2019.
Truths About Devin Singletary and Mike Singletary’s Relationship
In the world of sports, there are many athletes who share family ties and also play the same kind of sport, so they do not only share sports rivalry but also the usual family rivalry. In the NFL, examples of this sort of relationship abound and some of them include brothers Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce, Devin McCourty and Jason McCourty, J.J. Watt, Derek Watt, and T.J.Watt, among many others.
There are also so many examples of fathers and sons who are both in the professional American football arena. Judging by the obvious age difference between Devin Singletary and Mike Singletary, one might easily think that they share such a relationship, or maybe an uncle-nephew relationship, but could that be true?
Many people hold the erroneous belief that the two men have a blood relationship, but there is nothing to back that up. They are both African Americans born twenty-nine years apart in different states of the United States by parents who are in no way related or connected. Even though Devin and Mike have professional football careers, their significance and level of influence in the industry are of varying degrees.
The latter, who was popularly known as “The Heart of the Defense”, is a Chicago Bears legend and recipient of many distinguished awards while the former, Devin, was drafted into the National Football League in 2019 and is still trying to make a mark in the pro world. So, although there are many sports celebrities who share a biological relationship, same last name or not, Devin Singletary and Mike Singletary are not on that list. In fact, there is even no record of them ever meeting.
Mike Has A Son Named Matt Singletary But He Didn’t Make It To The NFL
There would have been a Singletary related to NFL’s Mike Singletary if his son, Matt made it to the NFL. Following in the footsteps of his father, Matt played football as a defensive end and offensive lineman while in San Jose Valley Christian High School in San Jose, California. You can say ‘Like Father Like Son.’ Upon his graduation in 2007, he enrolled in Baylor University, the same higher institution his father played for in the 1970s before joining the NFL in 1980.
Matt played for the university’s football team as a defensive end from 2008 to 2009 but later transferred to West Valley College in Saratoga, California, in 2010. Not long after, he moved again to California Polytechnic State University where he finished his college career, playing 11 games.
However, rather than go pro, he made a career switch, going into the entertainment industry. According to IMDb, Matt is now a writer and an actor. He made his on-screen debut in 2014 in an episode of Chicago P.D. and appeared in his first leading role in the 2015 action film titled Hood.
As it stands now, the only known blood relation that Mike Singletary has in the NFL is his nephew, Vantz Singletary, who is also a coach. Vantz is the current Tennessee State University Defensive Ends Coach. He formerly coached under his uncle, Mike, when he was the 49ers’ coach.
Background Details Of Devin Singletary and Mike Singletary
To further understand the differences between the two NFL stars, we explore their family backgrounds and other personal details.
Mike Singletary
The last of ten children and 20 years younger than his oldest sibling, Michael was born into a humble background on October 9, 1958, in Houston, Texas. His father, Charles Singletary, served as a street preacher in Dallas but later relocated to Houston with his wife, Rudell Singletary, and their ten children.
The entire family lived in a small wood house together and beside this house, was a church called ‘Church of God’, which was founded and built by Charles, and there, he played guitar every Sunday. Though a preacher, Mr. Charles earned a living working as a contractor during the week, he also owned a concrete business.
During the first few years of his life, Mike suffered series of illnesses, ranging from pneumonia to different kinds of fevers and bronchitis. He eventually started getting healthy around the age of 5 after his family managed to pull through a devastating loss. Tragically, Dale, the third oldest child of Charles and Rudell, died unexpectedly at the age of 20 from inhaling smoke from a coal stove while asleep.
Mike’s relationship with his father would later fall apart and as this happened, Grady Singletary, Mike’s brother, took his father’s place, encouraging him to eschew smoking, drinking, and other vices. Seven years down the line, his parents’ divorce shattered the family.
His father got entangled in several affairs and eventually decided to cut loose from his marriage and his calling as a minister. While he was still dealing with the pain of seeing his parents’ union crash, Mike was further broken by the death of his brother and father figure, 22-year-old Grady, who died in a car accident involving six cars, no thanks to a drunken driver who triggered it.
The incident devastated the entire family and left Mike’s mother crushed. Consequently, he became much more closer to his mother and further estranged from his father. However, being alienated from his father turned out to be a blessing in disguise because it gave Mike the opportunity to play football as his father considered sport a sin and wouldn’t allow any of his children to get involved in it.
Meanwhile, as a youngster, Mike attended Evan E. Worthing High School, an all-black school in Houston. As a ninth-grader, he seized an opportunity to become an all-state guard and linebacker. His interest in playing football was spurred by watching the Dallas Cowboys. Players like Roger Staubach, Bob Lilly, and Lee Roy Jordan are said to have been his favorites.
Despite battling poor grades in high school, Mike subsequently improved academically. Sequel to his star career at Worthing High School, he landed a scholarship to attend Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where he set and broke some team records in addition to earning All-America honors.
He was later drafted into the NFL in 1981 and after a very impressive career, he took a break from the field to raise his 7 children with his wife before coming back to the world of football as a linebackers coach.
Devin Singletary
Growing up decades apart from Mike, Devin Singletary was born on September 3, 1997. He is a native of Deerfield Beach, Florida. His parents are Devon Singletary Sr., who played college football at Norfolk State, and Sabrina Singletary.
Due to his love for privacy, not much is known to the public about his childhood but he is said to have grown up with fellow football player, Lamar Jackson as one of his close friends. The two stars lived not up to ten minutes away from each other. They also played football together.
Following his father’s footsteps, Devin began his football career at American Heritage School, a high school at Delray Beach, Florida. He later headed to Florida Atlantic University. His drive to build a huge career in the NFL was inspired by the death of Greg Bryant, his high school teammate who, although his senior, was also his friend and mentor.
A super-talented player who everyone believed would definitely be in the NFL, Greg was fatally shot while he was visiting home for Mother’s Day weekend. He was killed while in a car in Palm Beach County. Upon rushing him to the hospital, he was confirmed brain dead and as a result, his family decided to let him go by taking him off life support. Living with the belief that Greg still lives on, but in a different realm, Devon says he prays before every game, asking him to play through him.
Devin goes by the nickname “Motor,” which was also his father’s sobriquet. The name refers to his determined and tough-minded style of running, which reminds one of his father.
Who Has a Bigger Career Between Devin Singletary and Mike Singletary?
Playing in the position of a linebacker at Baylor, Mike received All-America honors in both his junior and senior years. He became the first to win 10 games in the history of the high school. In 1981, the football legend became a starting linebacker in the Chicago Bears defense in the seventh game of his rookie season. His 12-year career saw him start 172 games for the Bears which is the second-most highest in club history.
The Chicago Bears eventually won Super Bowl XX by beating the New England Patriots in a
game that ended with a 46–10 score. In 1985 and 1988, the Associated Press named Mike the NFL Defensive Player of the Year. He was also ranked number 56 on the popular Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players in 1999.
Reluctant to abandon his passion for American football, Mike dabbled into the world of football coaching. The NFL heavyweight went on to become a long-term head coach of the 49ers in 2008. Ten years later, Mike earned the title of the head coach of the Memphis Express of the Alliance of American Football. These are just a few out of many of his achievements in the American football arena.
Apart from his outstanding career in America’s National Football League, Mike has also spread his tentacles to other ventures. He serves as a motivational speaker and also seems to be following his father’s footsteps as he is now an ordained minister. He has also co-authored books, including Calling the Shots, Singletary on Singletary, and One-on-One.
On the other hand, Devin Singletary was selected as a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award. As a sophomore, he led all Division I FBS players with 162 points scored and ranked fourth with 1,632 rushing yards. The native of Deerfield Beach set the Florida Atlantic single-season record for rushing yardage.
Devin has been named a second-team All-American by Sporting News for his performance. In December 2018, he finally took a chance in the 2019 NFL draft, ending his college career as Florida Atlantic University’s all-time rusher and with the sixth-most rushing touchdowns in FBS history. On September 8, 2019, he made his professional debut for the Buffalo Bills, scoring his first professional rushing touchdown one week later.
According to an article published on January 15, 2021, on thebuffalofanatics.com, Devin Singletary was one of the NFL’s most efficient running backs in football in 2019 with his record of 775 rushing yards and an average of 5.1 yards per carrying. What made his performance more impressive was the fact that he made those numbers from just 12 games.
All through the 2020 season, Devin split carries with Zack Moss but that notwithstanding, he still finished the season as Buffalo’s top rusher. Following his performance, it was pointed out in a different article on thebuffalofanatics.com that Devin could be the next Thurman Thomas, not only because they have the same type of physique, but also because they have a similar style of play.
It’s safe to say that young blood, Devin Singletary, has a long way to go in catching up with
the legend, Mike Singletary. But he also has many years ahead of him and judging by his performance so far, he definitely has all it takes to be as great, or even greater than Mike.
