Blache takes his turn
February 08, 2003
By Cam Inman
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
SANTA CLARA - Five years ago, a longtime assistant coach named Greg Blache interviewed to become the Indianapolis Colts coach, only to be beaten out by Jim Mora.
Blache remained on the Colts staff for a fifth season before becoming the Chicago Bears defensive coordinator in 1999. Now he's going up against another Jim Mora, the 49ers defensive coordinator whose father -- also named Jim Mora but with a different middle name -- coached the Colts for four years.
A day after the younger Mora conducted his second interview for the 49ers' vacant coaching job, Blache did the same Friday, meeting with 49ers owner representative John York.
The 49ers now have conducted follow-up interviews with their three known candidates -- Blache, Mora and New York Jets defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell. Whether the 49ers bring in any candidates from the college ranks remains to be seen, though general manager Terry Donahue said Tuesday he planned to talk with a "limited number" of college candidates.
Blache has interviewed for three head coaching positions in his 15 years as an NFL assistant, the two other times coming with the Colts in 1998 and 2002.
"This has been a lot more in depth, a lot longer. It's been a tougher process," Blache said. "(The 49ers) didn't know me like the people in Indy."
Although Blache and York both graduated from Notre Dame in 1971, they didn't exactly hang out in South Bend, Ind.
"He moved in a different circle than I did," Blache said. "I was very, very impressed with Dr. York. He's a very honest and open person. You hear all the tales from you guys and you walk in anticipating something, and I was pleasantly surprised."
Blache, the Colts defensive line coach from 1994-98, said the 49ers have gotten to know him quickly by doing intensive background checks through others who've coached with him.
Donahue was unavailable for comment, a team spokesman noting that Donahue is "off the map right now" and likely won't field questions from the media until he's ready to announce a coach.
Blache, who turns 54 on March 9, has been an NFL assistant since 1988, his first stint coming with the Green Bay Packers from 1988-93 before he joined the Colts and Bears.
Blache said he's a big proponent of the West Coast offense, adding that he was prepared to install that system in 1998 if he became the Colts coach. He also said he was going to bring it with him if he landed an unspecified college job he interviewed for some 10 years ago, adding that he planned to make then-Packers assistant Jon Gruden his offensive coordinator.
Blache's agent is Don Yee, who also represented former 49ers coach Steve Mariucci before they parted ways last spring after Yee reportedly fell out of favor with York.
One 49er who perhaps knows Blache better than any other is safety Tony Parrish, who joined the 49ers last season after playing three years under Blache with the Bears. "It would be funny to see Greg as a head coach. You'd get a whole lot of quotables, and the media in this city would love him," Blache told the Chicago Sun-Times this week. "As a player, I don't know. He hasn't been a head coach before, and you never know. From that standpoint, he might have his own ideas about how to do things. I'm just wait-and-see."
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