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Contra Costa Times

49ers' surprising choice -- Erickson

February 12, 2003

Oregon State coach, whose candidacy never was made public, gets a five-year deal to replace Mariucci
By Cam Inman
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
SANTA CLARA - Four weeks ago, deposed 49ers coach Steve Mariucci covertly fled the team facility in the back of a janitor's black van.
So began the 49ers' search to find a new coach, an odd odyssey that reached a fitting conclusion Tuesday with Oregon State coach and surprise candidate Dennis Erickson being hired as Mariucci's successor.
The team's official announcement came via an early-afternoon press release rather than a grand presentation. That pomp and circumstance instead will take place today when Erickson, Oregon State's coach the past four seasons after a mediocre four-year stint with the Seattle Seahawks, formally is introduced in a noon news conference in San Francisco.
"We have found what we were looking for in a new coach -- a leader, a motivator, a teacher -- an individual with exceptional skills in coaching the game of football," 49ers general manager Terry Donahue said in a team-issued statement. "Dennis Erickson has a long history of coaching winning teams and I am confident he will succeed in San Francisco."
Erickson, a success at former Pac-10 doormat Oregon State and a two-time national champion at the University of Miami, never was publicly mentioned by the 49ers as a candidate during the 28-day search.
"It happened really quickly," Erickson told reporters late Tuesday afternoon in Corvallis, Ore. "It happened on Friday. I went down and visited with them, then visited with them again (Monday). ... It was very difficult to turn down."
Three NFL defensive coordinators -- the 49ers' Jim Mora, the New York Jets' Ted Cottrell and the Chicago Bears' Greg Blache -- had follow-up interviews last week with Donahue and 49ers owner representative John York. Each of those coaches was paraded out to the Bay Area media afterward for questions.
Cottrell and Blache were bidding to become the first black coach in 49ers history, and Mora was looking to follow in the footsteps of his father, an NFL head coach for 141/2 seasons with the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts.
Those three defensive-minded candidates received phone calls Tuesday morning from Donahue, informing them they had lost out to the offensive-minded Erickson, who, unlike those three coordinators, has NFL head coaching experience.
Cottrell, who's interviewed for seven head coaching jobs the past three years, said in a statement: "While it is obviously disappointing, I would like to thank Dr. York and Mr. Donahue and the entire San Francisco 49ers staff for their professionalism throughout the interviewing process."
Blache told the Associated Press that he believed the 49ers gave him a fair shot and dismissed the suggestion he was interviewed simply because he is black.
"I feel good about the process. For me to say I was paraded around, used, I can't believe that. I walk away from it feeling like they did things in good faith."
Although Erickson, 55, never enjoyed a winning season with the Seahawks -- going 8-8 three times and 7-9 in 1996 -- his 31-33 record is the same one held by current Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren.
Leaving the NFL without success apparently has been eating at Erickson.
"I guess there's a little piece of me missing from my time in Seattle to have the opportunity to win a world championship," Erickson said. "That's basically what it boiled down to. And dealing with Terry Donahue and Bill Walsh and John York was just the right thing."
Erickson accepted a five-year deal worth $2.5 million annually when offered it Tuesday morning by Donahue.
Erickson signed a two-year extension two weeks ago that tied him to Oregon State through 2009, and he had a buyout clause of $125,000, according to Beavers sports information director Hal Cowan. Erickson reportedly was making $1 million a year after signing a seven-year extension in 2000.
Erickson went 31-17 at Oregon State, which had 28 consecutive losing seasons before Erickson arrived. He led the Beavers to three bowl appearances, losing in last season's Insight.com Bowl, 38-13 to Pittsburgh.
"This opportunity with the 49ers is based on a lifetime of success, but also the last few years here," Oregon State president Tim White said in an evening news conference carried live on ESPN.
York and Donahue did not return calls seeking comment.
"I think he's a great coach, but I didn't know that beforehand," York told Clayton. "... But after we talked face to face, I came out with a great feeling about him.
"Terry also came out with a different view from what we originally thought. There is a calmness to how he is. He understands what's going on both on offense and defense, and he is aggressive on both sides of the ball."
York has not faced the media since after the 49ers' 31-6 divisional playoff loss to the eventual Super Bowl-champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Jan. 12.
Donahue also has kept a low profile leading up to the biggest personnel move in his two years as general manager. After announcing Mariucci's firing Jan. 15, Donahue told reporters in a conference call Jan. 21 that he planned initial interviews with four NFL coordinators -- Mora, New England Patriots defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel, Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson and Eagles offensive coordinator Brad Childress.
Johnson and Childress each withdrew from consideration after accepting lucrative contract extensions from the Eagles. Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin took a similar path, passing on an interview with the 49ers and accepting a three-year extension that made him the league's highest-paid coordinator at $1.7 million annually.
"They've blown out coordinator salaries in the NFL forever," said one agent who wished to remain anonymous.
Mariucci also cashed in, signing a five-year, $25 million deal last week to return to his home state and coach the Detroit Lions.
"Our course of action was exhaustive, it was thorough, and it was aimed at finding the best possible coach for this football team," said Donahue, who conducted first-round interviews out of his Southern California home.
After his successful stint at Miami from 1989-94, Erickson made the leap to the NFL and promptly endured a firestorm of bad publicity in 1995. First came a drunken driving arrest soon after he was hired by the Seahawks. Then the NCAA handed down severe sanctions at Miami -- eliminating 31 scholarships and a bowl appearance -- for what it cited as a decade of violations and a lack of institutional control.
Erickson's resume also includes an offensive approach different from the 49ers' West Coast style. He learned the single-back, three-receiver spread formation as an assistant under Jack Elway at San Jose State from 1979-81.
Erickson then embarked on his head coaching career, starting with Idaho, Wyoming and Washington State before landing in Miami and winning a national championship his first season there (1989) and another in 1991.
In becoming the 14th coach in franchise history, Erickson joins Norman "Red" Strader (1955) as the only 49ers coaches with prior NFL head coaching experience.

Tell us what you think on the new 49ers Clubhouse message board.

Oregon State coach, whose candidacy never was made public, gets a five-year deal to replace Mariucci

By Cam Inman
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

SANTA CLARA - Four weeks ago, deposed 49ers coach Steve Mariucci covertly fled the team facility in the back of a janitor's black van.

So began the 49ers' search to find a new coach, an odd odyssey that reached a fitting conclusion Tuesday with Oregon State coach and surprise candidate Dennis Erickson being hired as Mariucci's successor.

The team's official announcement came via an early-afternoon press release rather than a grand presentation. That pomp and circumstance instead will take place today when Erickson, Oregon State's coach the past four seasons after a mediocre four-year stint with the Seattle Seahawks, formally is introduced in a noon news conference in San Francisco.

"We have found what we were looking for in a new coach -- a leader, a motivator, a teacher -- an individual with exceptional skills in coaching the game of football," 49ers general manager Terry Donahue said in a team-issued statement. "Dennis Erickson has a long history of coaching winning teams and I am confident he will succeed in San Francisco."

Erickson, a success at former Pac-10 doormat Oregon State and a two-time national champion at the University of Miami, never was publicly mentioned by the 49ers as a candidate during the 28-day search.

"It happened really quickly," Erickson told reporters late Tuesday afternoon in Corvallis, Ore. "It happened on Friday. I went down and visited with them, then visited with them again (Monday). ... It was very difficult to turn down."

Three NFL defensive coordinators -- the 49ers' Jim Mora, the New York Jets' Ted Cottrell and the Chicago Bears' Greg Blache -- had follow-up interviews last week with Donahue and 49ers owner representative John York. Each of those coaches was paraded out to the Bay Area media afterward for questions.

Cottrell and Blache were bidding to become the first black coach in 49ers history, and Mora was looking to follow in the footsteps of his father, an NFL head coach for 141/2 seasons with the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts.

Those three defensive-minded candidates received phone calls Tuesday morning from Donahue, informing them they had lost out to the offensive-minded Erickson, who, unlike those three coordinators, has NFL head coaching experience.

Cottrell, who's interviewed for seven head coaching jobs the past three years, said in a statement: "While it is obviously disappointing, I would like to thank Dr. York and Mr. Donahue and the entire San Francisco 49ers staff for their professionalism throughout the interviewing process."

Blache told the Associated Press that he believed the 49ers gave him a fair shot and dismissed the suggestion he was interviewed simply because he is black.

"I feel good about the process. For me to say I was paraded around, used, I can't believe that. I walk away from it feeling like they did things in good faith."

Although Erickson, 55, never enjoyed a winning season with the Seahawks -- going 8-8 three times and 7-9 in 1996 -- his 31-33 record is the same one held by current Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren.

Leaving the NFL without success apparently has been eating at Erickson.

"I guess there's a little piece of me missing from my time in Seattle to have the opportunity to win a world championship," Erickson said. "That's basically what it boiled down to. And dealing with Terry Donahue and Bill Walsh and John York was just the right thing."

Erickson accepted a five-year deal worth $2.5 million annually when offered it Tuesday morning by Donahue.

Erickson signed a two-year extension two weeks ago that tied him to Oregon State through 2009, and he had a buyout clause of $125,000, according to Beavers sports information director Hal Cowan. Erickson reportedly was making $1 million a year after signing a seven-year extension in 2000.

Erickson went 31-17 at Oregon State, which had 28 consecutive losing seasons before Erickson arrived. He led the Beavers to three bowl appearances, losing in last season's Insight.com Bowl, 38-13 to Pittsburgh.

"This opportunity with the 49ers is based on a lifetime of success, but also the last few years here," Oregon State president Tim White said in an evening news conference carried live on ESPN.

York and Donahue did not return calls seeking comment.

"I think he's a great coach, but I didn't know that beforehand," York told Clayton. "... But after we talked face to face, I came out with a great feeling about him.

"Terry also came out with a different view from what we originally thought. There is a calmness to how he is. He understands what's going on both on offense and defense, and he is aggressive on both sides of the ball."

York has not faced the media since after the 49ers' 31-6 divisional playoff loss to the eventual Super Bowl-champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Jan. 12.

Donahue also has kept a low profile leading up to the biggest personnel move in his two years as general manager. After announcing Mariucci's firing Jan. 15, Donahue told reporters in a conference call Jan. 21 that he planned initial interviews with four NFL coordinators -- Mora, New England Patriots defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel, Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson and Eagles offensive coordinator Brad Childress.

Johnson and Childress each withdrew from consideration after accepting lucrative contract extensions from the Eagles. Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin took a similar path, passing on an interview with the 49ers and accepting a three-year extension that made him the league's highest-paid coordinator at $1.7 million annually.

"They've blown out coordinator salaries in the NFL forever," said one agent who wished to remain anonymous.

Mariucci also cashed in, signing a five-year, $25 million deal last week to return to his home state and coach the Detroit Lions.

"Our course of action was exhaustive, it was thorough, and it was aimed at finding the best possible coach for this football team," said Donahue, who conducted first-round interviews out of his Southern California home.

After his successful stint at Miami from 1989-94, Erickson made the leap to the NFL and promptly endured a firestorm of bad publicity in 1995. First came a drunken driving arrest soon after he was hired by the Seahawks. Then the NCAA handed down severe sanctions at Miami -- eliminating 31 scholarships and a bowl appearance -- for what it cited as a decade of violations and a lack of institutional control.

Erickson's resume also includes an offensive approach different from the 49ers' West Coast style. He learned the single-back, three-receiver spread formation as an assistant under Jack Elway at San Jose State from 1979-81.

Erickson then embarked on his head coaching career, starting with Idaho, Wyoming and Washington State before landing in Miami and winning a national championship his first season there (1989) and another in 1991.

In becoming the 14th coach in franchise history, Erickson joins Norman "Red" Strader (1955) as the only 49ers coaches with prior NFL head coaching experience.

Tell us what you think on the new 49ers Clubhouse message board.