ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, January 17, 1997 TAG: 9701170076
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: SANTA CLARA, CALIF.
SOURCE: Associated Press
Steve Mariucci, with only a year's experience as a head coach, inherited one of the great pro football legacies of success Thursday when he was introduced as coach of the San Francisco 49ers.
Standing on a podium between his predecessors, George Seifert and Bill Walsh, Mariucci admittedly was overwhelmed to be in their presence.
``I am in awe of those two coaches. I'm happy they're here,'' he said as the trio posed for pictures.
``I understand what I'm getting into,'' said the 41-year-old coach, who guided California to a 6-6 record this season in his only assignment as head coach. ``This has been the most successful franchise in professional football over the last 15 years. I understand that I have huge shoes to fill.''
Mariucci is the third coach for the 49ers in 18 years, taking over for Seifert, who resigned Wednesday after leading the team to two Super Bowl titles and surpassing Walsh as San Francisco's winningest coach.
He also is the first person from outside the Niners' organization to be selected for the job since Walsh arrived in 1979 and installed his pioneering West Coast offense.
Club president Carmen Policy said the terms of Mariucci's five-year contract were finalized little more than an hour before the start of the news conference.
The decision to hire a newcomer was reflective of the Niners' desire to instill ``imagination, to a degree youth and a more creative anticipation of what the game has to offer,'' Policy said.
``We'll let him grow into the job. We hope he possesses the kind of talent that will take us to the next level.
``The 49ers' organization is in desperate need of psychotherapy. Perhaps the standards we set are ludicrous. Perhaps what we need to do is develop a more pragmatic approach to winning in the NFL without losing our edge.''
Before Mariucci came to Cal, he spent four years as an assistant with the Green Bay Packers, getting much of the credit for turning Brett Favre into a two-time NFL MVP.
His Cal team won its first five games in 1996, but lost six of its last seven games, including a defeat by Navy in the Aloha Bowl.
Under Mariucci, Favre became the youngest quarterback in NFL history to play in the Pro Bowl. Mariucci also helped Cal quarterback Pat Barnes lead the Pacific 10 Conference in passing efficiency.
Mariucci didn't work with Walsh, but was no stranger to his offense as a disciple of Packers coach Mike Holmgren, with whom he spent four years as quarterbacks coach.
Holmgren, whose Packers knocked the Niners out of the playoffs the last two years, is a former San Francisco offensive coordinator.
Team owner Eddie DeBartolo and Policy said Seifert's decision to leave was strictly his own.
Seifert, who was 108-35 in eight years for a winning percentage of .755, best in NFL history, said the time was right for him to leave. However, he did not rule out taking a coaching job elsewhere.
Seifert said he would fulfill the final year of his contract by working in an as yet unspecified front-office role.
The fate of Seifert's assistants was uncertain, though offensive coordinator Marc Trestman, whose play calls were blamed in part for a decline in the Niners' offense, is ``gone,'' DeBartolo said.
No one else on the coaching staff was considered for Seifert's job, including defensive coordinator Pete Carroll, who remains a candidate for the St. Louis Rams job.
LENGTH: Medium: 70 linesby CNB