The teacher is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He got there by establishing himself as one of the greatest middle linebackers in NFL history.
The student is a mere four games into his NFL career. His No. 1 professional goal is to one day join his teacher in the Hall.
And there you have the foundation of the refreshing and inspiring relationship between Mike Singletary and Patrick Willis.
"It's an honor being coached by him," said Willis, the first of the 49ers' two first-round picks in this year's draft. "I always have a lot of respect for somebody who has been there and done that."
Singletary is equally appreciative that his young student doesn't act as if he already has been there and done that. In fact, that is what he likes best about the former University of Mississippi standout. Oh, he also likes Willis' off-the-charts combination of speed, athleticism, strength and sure tackling. He won't hesitate to talk about the rookie's keen instincts and ability to consistently do what all good middle and inside linebackers do -- always put himself in the same neighborhood as the ball.
But the teacher knows, from his experience as a player and a coach, that all of that talent is worthless if the student won't do his part to learn. Willis does his part. He has a burning desire to do whatever is necessary to improve every aspect of his game in every way.
"First of all, it's very unusual, very unlikely, that you're going to find a kid that's as talented as (Willis) is that still has a hunger to be great and is willing to work at it," said Singletary, who before becoming a coach was one in a long line of great middle linebackers for the Chicago Bears. "Most kids that have talent don't really understand that you have to have a work ethic that goes along with that talent and will make it count as something special. And, to be honest, I'm not even sure he understands that. I just think it's more his personality. He wants to be the best he can possibly be.
"And the more I see him, the more I want to help in that process because I think he's going to be something special."
So far, the 6-foot-1, 242-pound Willis is off to an excellent start.
He broke into the starting lineup midway through training camp and has gone on to lead the 49ers with 38 tackles (including a team high 29 solos) and is tied for third in the NFL. In San Francisco's season-opening, 20-17 victory over the Arizona Cardinals, Willis was credited with a team-high 11 tackles. He also forced Edgerrin James to fumble and his hit on Matt Leinart on a third-down blitz forced an incompletion. For his efforts, Willis was named Diet Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Week, an honor he would capture again the next week with an eight-tackle performance against St. Louis.
He has since gone on to perform well in the 49ers' last two games. Although the team has suffered two straight losses and ranks 20th in total defense, Willis has clearly been a bright spot.
The first time he met Singletary, during last January's Senior Bowl, Willis heard something that, initially, took him aback but later became the starting point of his NFL education. Singletary, as part of the San Francisco staff coaching the South All-Stars, told him he had no technique. Not a little, but none.
"When I first saw him, I said, 'You've got to be kidding me,' " Singletary recalled. "I mean a guy with his ability that doesn't have technique? How much better could you have been in college?"
After all, Willis was the first player in Ole Miss history to receive the Butkus Award as the nation's top linebacker, which he achieved in 2006. He led the Southeastern Conference in tackles in 2005 (128) and 2006 (137). He was credited with at least 10 tackles in all but three of his 22 collegiate starts as a middle linebacker.
Willis told Singletary to feel free to take his game down to the least common denominator and "begin to build me up the right way." Singletary told Willis that he wouldn't sugarcoat anything and would become a figurative full-time resident on the youngster's back.
"There's not a day that goes by where he doesn't coach me," Willis said. "Every play, he's going to tell me about the things I do well and then he's going to tell me about the things that I don't do so well. He wants to be a perfectionist and I have a lot of respect for that.
"One thing he teaches us is about to play technique-sound, to use our techniques. Playing linebacker is just a lot easier when you take a blow and keep your balance and keep your leverage to be able to come off and make a play. Sometimes you see linebackers play too high and they get pushed around and they really don't have any explosiveness when it comes to making a play. So one thing he teaches us is to play low and take on blocks, not run around blocks."
Singletary's teaching philosophy took hold when he played at Baylor University. He had a coach, Corky Nelson, who was a stickler for technique.
"(Nelson) would not let me go with just doing it one day the wrong way," said Singletary, a 1998 Hall-of-Fame inductee who began his coaching career by tutoring the inside linebackers for the Baltimore Ravens in 2003 and 2004 and joined the 49ers staff in '05. "He made me do it the right way every day, every snap. He rode me, so I take from that."
Singletary's favorite teaching tool is a shuttle, a box metal frame covered by a tarp. He puts linebackers through drills -- the most demanding of which is "shuffling," the transference of weight from one side to the other -- under the tarp while constantly warning them to "stay low!" If any part of their body touches the tarp, they aren't low enough. And as long as they don't make contact with the tarp, they are in the precise position they need to be on the field.
"That's a huge part of being a linebacker because it's all about leverage," Singletary said. "And if you're not going to bend at the waist, bend at the knees, have a flat back, then it's very difficult to be successful at linebacker over the long haul.
"Pat really took to it right away and he does it very well. He does it better than most people I've seen do it. He has great feet. The thing I want to do is to make sure he doesn't develop any bad habits. He's got some really good technical skills that he's developing, and that's going to take him a long way."
Maybe all the way to Canton, Ohio?
It is far too soon for Willis or anyone else to address that in any meaningful way. However, reaching the Hall of Fame has been his goal since childhood.
"A lot of people play the game because the money is good," Willis said. "A lot of people play it because they love it.
"I remember playing the Madden (video) game and in the franchise part, there was a question on the Wonderlic (intelligence) test that asked, 'If you can pick one thing which would it be: Fame or fortune?' I picked fame because fame will forever be out there, you'll be amongst the best that will ever be in the NFL. But you can be drafted real high and make all of the money in the world or whatever, but after that contract's up if you haven't been productive, you're just going to be another player who was paid a lot of money and wasn't productive.
"I want to be a guy who played for a long time and was good at what he did."
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