It’s not often that a professional player is willing give up his career for another pursuit, and it’s even rarer to see one do it early on before they pocket a sizable amount of money for their athletic ability.

But that’s exactly what happened to the 49ers this morning, with running back Glen Coffee abruptly leaving the team’s training camp, telling head coach Mike Singletary that his heart was no longer in the game, and he would be moving on to other pursuits.

Coffee was entering his second season in the NFL, and expectations were high for him, after he put up solid numbers behind fellow running back Frank Gore last year. Now instead of having a proven commodity to back up Gore, the 49ers are now left with rookie Anthony Dixon and little used veteran Michael Robinson to handle that role.

Singletary was respectful in his comments towards Coffee’s departure, indicating that he felt that Coffee handled it appropriately, despite the odd timing involved.

“I appreciate his honesty and I appreciate him not coming out here and going through the motions. He said his heart isn’t in it. It’s his decision. He is a man, and the last thing that I’m going to do is disrespect him and try to drag something out.”

– San Francisco head coach Mike Singletary

Coffee has not yet turned in his retirement papers to the league offices in New York, leaving open the possibility of his return later on this fall or possibly next year if his sabbatical from the game fails to work out for him.

Dixon is eager to step into the void left by Coffee, and given his success on the collegiate level at Mississippi State last season, there is little doubt that he’ll be effective in his duties.

Whether or not he can handle the pressure of being a feature back if Gore were to go down with an injury during the season is still up in the air, but for their part, the 49ers seem comfortable moving on from Coffee, and should be okay for the time being at the position.