How did Singletary know he found his man?

"When I sat down and listened to what he had to say in terms of what his philosophy was and the conviction behind it," Singletary said.

"He talked about the toughness, both mentally and physically, that the offense has to have and the discipline in which it takes to do those things. That to me, that was something that we were really excited about."

Raye said he adheres to the same philosophies Singletary stated as his preference during their interview at the 49ers' team offices in Santa Clara.

"We have a shared vision of how you play the game and what he'd like to see," Raye said. "It's along the same thoughts I have. The overriding factor is we want to be tough-minded, physically and emotionally. I think those were the things that he was excited about."

The 49ers agreed with Raye on a three-year contract to become the club's seventh offensive coordinator in seven seasons. He replaces Mike Martz, whom Singletary fired on Dec. 30. The 49ers also hired Mike Johnson to serve as quarterbacks coach.

Raye, 62, has coached 32 NFL seasons, including 12 years as a coordinator with six different teams. Raye and Martz both come from similar offensive backgrounds. But Singletary likes the way Raye leans more toward the run game.

Former St. Louis Rams head coach Scott Linehan turned down Singletary's offer on Jan. 18, forcing Singletary to return to the drawing board to fill the vacancy.

"Scott Linehan was honest," Singletary said. "I asked Scott Linehan straight forward: 'Can you do these things? If you can't, be honest and let me know.' He got back to me and said, 'What you need right now, I don't think I can do. I'm going to have to back away.'"

Raye was the eighth candidate to formally interview for the position, following Linehan, Dan Reeves, Rob Chudzinski, Rick Dennison, Hue Jackson, Clyde Christensen and Jeff Jagodzinski.

Some of the candidates might have thought Singletary's vision for the offense was restrictive. There might have also been a concern that a new coordinator would have been unable to hire his own staff.

"He is the head coach of the football team. And the vision of the offense will be his, because it is on his watch," Raye said. "Maybe some other people in the interview process didn't feel there was enough flexibility. I didn't get that sense from my time talking to him."

Raye served the past three seasons as New York Jets running backs coach. He was Norv Turner's offensive coordinator with the Oakland Raiders in 2004-05. Turner called most of the plays.

His two previous coordinator jobs came with the Washington Redskins in 2001 and Kansas City from 1998-2000.

The Chiefs ranked fourth in the league in rushing in 1999 with a committee of four running backs. In 2000, the Chiefs ranked fifth in the league in passing with quarterback Elvis Grbac.

Singletary has outlined a plan in which the 49ers will be able to run the ball when they want to run the ball. But Raye recognizes that the passing game will have equal importance.

"This is the new millennium. This is 2009," Raye said. "I don't think you can play one-dimensional, and I never have. I have no objection to throwing the football. Our offense will be able to take care of the contingencies of what the defense presents."

One of the big issues is the 49ers' plan for quarterback. The club is 7-3 the past two seasons with Shaun Hill at quarterback. The 49ers want Alex Smith to return, but the sides will have to agree to a reduced contract.

"In looking at Jimmy Raye and what he brings to our organization, I'm just excited about him talking about our offense and how everybody plays a part in that, and not just the quarterback," Singletary said. "Right now, I feel very good about Shaun Hill, and we'll have to see what happens with Alex Smith."