SAN FRANCISCO — Mike Singletary is not just the 49ers' coach for next season and beyond.

He is a bona fide rock star.

He is the leader that floundering franchise has sorely missed while posting six straight losing seasons.

Of all Sunday's shenanigans — the owners' son, Jed York, is named team president, the season's final seconds feature a winning field goal, the postgame press conference reveals Singletary's new four-year contract — there was one scene that really captivates the 49ers' newfound life.

A swarm of 40 fans descended on Singletary like paparazzi as he walked off the field during pregame warm-ups. Rather than rush through the crowd, he stopped under the south goalposts to sign autographs and amuse those awestruck fans, many of whom turned into amateur paparazzi and snapped photos of their leader.

No 49ers coach has received such rock-star treatment in the past 15 years. Why exactly 15 years? Because that's how long 49ers security director Fred Formosa has been escorting head coaches on and off fields, having done so with George Seifert, Steve Mariucci, Dennis Erickson, Mike Nolan and now Singletary.

When Formosa told Singletary "Let's go, let's go" in the midst of that pregame scrum, Singletary responded simply, "No, it's OK." "It's fun to watch him," Formosa said. "He's so loved. He gets everybody working."

Perhaps no team in NFL history ever ended a 7-9 season with as good of vibes as the 49ers just did Sunday, and not just because they pulled out a 27-24 win over the Washington Redskins.

Responsible for this love fest is Singletary, who won four of his final five games and went 5-4 overall with that ugly "interim" tag attached to his role as a blossoming head coach.

"He was consistent every day. The players bought in. The players kept battling for him," general manager Scot McCloughan said. "The coaches around him kept battling for him. The organization grew stronger in a very tough situation, which I respect, which the ownership respects.

"He was put in a situation (as a head coach) he's never been in before, not even at a high school or college level. The job he did keeping his guys together was very, very impressive and we look to build on it." Good luck finding anyone who isn't buying into Singletary. Of course, he still needs to unveil his plans for next season's offensive coordinator, with Mike Martz likely packing up and fleeing to Al Davis' doorstep for a job interview. Of course, Singletary (or McCloughan, actually) must also find a new starting quarterback, because next year's is not on this roster.

But don't let those major issues distract you from what Singletary just pulled off the past two months. He's come a long way since his wacky debut two months ago in a blowout loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

That unforgettable launching point featured him benching J.T. O'Sullivan in favor of Shaun Hill at quarterback, kicking tight end Vernon Davis off the field, dropping his pants during a halftime locker room speech and then delivering his epic "I Want Winners" address to the media.

Asked to reflect on that unconventional debut and whether it hurt Singletary's chances to keep the job, McCloughan said: "I was worried about how he'd be on the sideline. I was not worried about how he'd be in the locker room or off the field. But could he work the sideline, handle timeouts, all of that." "I find myself in the middle of something," Singletary said. "I feel very, very fortunate to be surrounded by all of the good people around me."

That the 49ers made this move so swiftly was somewhat a surprise.

Grinding out extensive coaching searches had been the norm under the York ownership the past decade (see: Dennis Erickson and Mike Nolan).

Neither of those hires worked anywhere near as well as Singletary's, so far.

He evolved into such a compelling coach, the 49ers really had no other choice but to promote him off his interim role.

Yes, they finished 7-9 and two games behind NFC West winner Arizona. But there's a sense that things are turning around, and 67,519 showed up at Candlestick Park to get one last feel of it for 2008.

Only it won't be the last Singletary show.

There'll be four more years. Four more years.