49ers Clubhouse

Contra Costa Times

49ers are covering all bases in search

February 09, 2003

The tedious process has frustrated some, but the candidates respect the team's handling of the interview process
By Cam Inman
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
Of the 13 men who've held the title of 49ers coach, only one had previous NFL head coaching experience before being handed the 49ers' reigns.
It wasn't Bill Walsh, George Seifert or Steve Mariucci, the 49ers' coaches the past 24 years. It was Norman "Red" Stradler, the second coach in franchise history, who coached two years with the New York Yanks before his one-season stint as 49ers coach in 1955.
Why the history lesson? Well, as the 49ers search for Mariucci's replacement nears the one-month mark, none of the three known candidates have been an NFL head coach.
Those candidates are all longtime defensive assistants, and they're all defensive coordinators -- the 49ers' Jim Mora, the New York Jets' Ted Cottrell and the Chicago Bears' Greg Blache.
All three voiced strong support of the 49ers' turtle-paced search after interviewing last week with owner representative John York and general manager Terry Donahue at the team's Santa Clara facility. Of course, all three remain in contention, so it's no wonder they endorse the team's methods.
"The process, I'm sure for outsiders, can be frustrating. But for those of us involved in the process, we realize that it's very complete," Mora said. "If you want to select the best football coach for this organization and for the fans of this city, then you want a guy who will set an agenda and follow it. That's what Terry and John have done.
"They said from the very beginning, 'This is going to be our process. This is our agenda. This is our plan of action.' And they've followed it."
That appears true, 25 days after Mariucci's firing. But one key aspect of the search remains in limbo. Donahue, who hasn't directly spoken with the media since Jan. 21, said in a statement Tuesday he planned to look at a "limited number" of college candidates. So far, the 49ers haven't announced who those candidates are.
Which leaves Mora, Cottrell and Blache, who, because of their lack of NFL head coaching experience may be virtually unknowns to mainstream fans.
"This has been a deliberate and lengthy process," Donahue stated Tuesday, "because not only have we been getting to know the coaches, but we have been talking to many highly respected football people around the league about our candidates."
Blache shed more light Friday on that investigation process.
"I know for a fact (Donahue) has called a lot of people, and I had a lot of people call me and say, 'Someone from the organization was asking about you,' " Blache said. "Holy Cow, these guys are worse than the FBI or CIA. They're digging deep. I gave them my mom's number, but nobody called her. I was trying to get somebody to say something even better."
Blache and Cottrell, who are both bidding to become the first black coach in 49ers history, hadn't met Donahue until their first interviews with him. Cottrell was interviewed Jan. 28. Blache joined the fray last week, meeting with Donahue on Monday.
"A lot of people make mistakes by only hiring the people they know and not broadening their horizons," Blache said. "(Donahue) talked to some of the other general managers and the other people in the business, my name kept popping up and that's probably what piqued their interest. He's done his homework."
Added Cottrell: "This is a team that has really gone out of their way to try to do a good job with their interview process and let it runs its course. They are going to come up with the best candidate that they feel can lead this team. They have a plan. At least they have a plan and they're sticking to it."
A week ago as they prepared for the Pro Bowl, quarterback Jeff Garcia and center Jeremy Newberry questioned whether a plan really was in place.
"It's been lengthy, it's been time consuming, but it's been methodical," Mora said. "If any of you have been with Terry Donahue in the draft room, which you haven't been, you would understand the process. He's a guy that doesn't blink. He sets a course and stays with the course. If you were to judge this process by our draft process, it's going to end up being successful because we've had some great drafts."

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

The tedious process has frustrated some, but the candidates respect the team's handling of the interview process

By Cam Inman
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

Of the 13 men who've held the title of 49ers coach, only one had previous NFL head coaching experience before being handed the 49ers' reigns.

It wasn't Bill Walsh, George Seifert or Steve Mariucci, the 49ers' coaches the past 24 years. It was Norman "Red" Stradler, the second coach in franchise history, who coached two years with the New York Yanks before his one-season stint as 49ers coach in 1955.

Why the history lesson? Well, as the 49ers search for Mariucci's replacement nears the one-month mark, none of the three known candidates have been an NFL head coach.

Those candidates are all longtime defensive assistants, and they're all defensive coordinators -- the 49ers' Jim Mora, the New York Jets' Ted Cottrell and the Chicago Bears' Greg Blache.

All three voiced strong support of the 49ers' turtle-paced search after interviewing last week with owner representative John York and general manager Terry Donahue at the team's Santa Clara facility. Of course, all three remain in contention, so it's no wonder they endorse the team's methods.

"The process, I'm sure for outsiders, can be frustrating. But for those of us involved in the process, we realize that it's very complete," Mora said. "If you want to select the best football coach for this organization and for the fans of this city, then you want a guy who will set an agenda and follow it. That's what Terry and John have done.

"They said from the very beginning, 'This is going to be our process. This is our agenda. This is our plan of action.' And they've followed it."

That appears true, 25 days after Mariucci's firing. But one key aspect of the search remains in limbo. Donahue, who hasn't directly spoken with the media since Jan. 21, said in a statement Tuesday he planned to look at a "limited number" of college candidates. So far, the 49ers haven't announced who those candidates are.

Which leaves Mora, Cottrell and Blache, who, because of their lack of NFL head coaching experience may be virtually unknowns to mainstream fans.

"This has been a deliberate and lengthy process," Donahue stated Tuesday, "because not only have we been getting to know the coaches, but we have been talking to many highly respected football people around the league about our candidates."

Blache shed more light Friday on that investigation process.

"I know for a fact (Donahue) has called a lot of people, and I had a lot of people call me and say, 'Someone from the organization was asking about you,' " Blache said. "Holy Cow, these guys are worse than the FBI or CIA. They're digging deep. I gave them my mom's number, but nobody called her. I was trying to get somebody to say something even better."

Blache and Cottrell, who are both bidding to become the first black coach in 49ers history, hadn't met Donahue until their first interviews with him. Cottrell was interviewed Jan. 28. Blache joined the fray last week, meeting with Donahue on Monday.

"A lot of people make mistakes by only hiring the people they know and not broadening their horizons," Blache said. "(Donahue) talked to some of the other general managers and the other people in the business, my name kept popping up and that's probably what piqued their interest. He's done his homework."

Added Cottrell: "This is a team that has really gone out of their way to try to do a good job with their interview process and let it runs its course. They are going to come up with the best candidate that they feel can lead this team. They have a plan. At least they have a plan and they're sticking to it."

A week ago as they prepared for the Pro Bowl, quarterback Jeff Garcia and center Jeremy Newberry questioned whether a plan really was in place.

"It's been lengthy, it's been time consuming, but it's been methodical," Mora said. "If any of you have been with Terry Donahue in the draft room, which you haven't been, you would understand the process. He's a guy that doesn't blink. He sets a course and stays with the course. If you were to judge this process by our draft process, it's going to end up being successful because we've had some great drafts."

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