York and Donahue knew what was at stake in picking a new 49ers coach

By Cam Inman
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

It took 28 days for the 49ers, or, specifically, general manager Terry Donahue and owner representative John York, to land Steve Mariucci's replacement, Dennis Erickson.

Throughout that month-long search, Donahue and York were aware of the magnitude of their choice and its implications on their budding NFL careers, which began when they joined the 49ers front office less than five years ago.

"I knew this would be the most highly scrutinized decision that I made since I've been here," Donahue said Wednesday, after formally introducing Erickson as the new head coach at a news conference in San Francisco. "When you're making a No. 1 draft pick, it's going to be scrutinized. ... I knew that compared to a No. 1 draft pick, this would be scrutinized even more closely."

The ultimate overseer of the process was York.

"Terry chose the head coach," York said Wednesday. "All I did was support it and bless it."

But York also is fully cognizant that this hire, coupled with his Jan. 15 firing of Mariucci, could define his tenure with the 49ers.

"I can tell you that Terry and I felt like we were Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and we were holding hands when we jumped off that cliff, and we were hoping one of us could swim," said York, whose wife, Denise DeBartolo York, took over full ownership of the 49ers from her brother, Eddie DeBartolo, three years ago.

There to throw them a life preserver, in case they needed it, was team consultant and franchise icon Bill Walsh. But Walsh said his input in the coaching search came mainly during the interview process.

"I probably spent an hour alone with Dennis, but I also was with the other (candidates)," Walsh said.

Those candidates included three NFL defensive coordinators -- Jim Mora of the 49ers, Ted Cottrell of the New York Jets and Greg Blache of the Chicago Bears -- and apparently the University of Washington's Rick Neuheisel. After denying on Monday that he interviewed for the 49ers post, Neuheisel told two Seattle newspapers Wednesday night that he had lied and that he indeed met Sunday in Santa Clara with Donahue, York and Walsh.

Donahue responded Thursday by stating that the team had confidentiality agreements with every college coach it contacted, hence its failure to inform the media of those candidates.

Considering all the bad publicity they received as their search dragged on, Donahue and York said they didn't waver from their so-called plan of attack.

"To me, I approached it like I do the draft process," Donahue said. "We go about that to select the best players we can for this organization. We go about it systematically with a planned course of action, and we don't blink or deviate when we receive criticism or second-guessing from people who would do it differently."

To abide by the guidelines the NFL instituted last season to encourage minority hiring, York said he talked with league representatives, including Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney and Baltimore Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome.

Of the six candidates Donahue confirmed as having interviewed, three are black -- Blache, Cottrell and New England Patriots defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel. Donahue, from his Southern California home in Newport Beach, conducted first-round interviews of Blache, Cottrell, Crennel, Mora and Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Brad Childress.

"We had a process we said was going to be inclusive," York said. "I can tell you last week I didn't know Dennis Erickson was going to be our coach."

Three candidates -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson and Childress -- withdrew from consideration after signing lucrative extensions to remain with their clubs.

"I was surprised that not everyone who coaches in pro football has a desire to be a head coach," Donahue said.

Unlike the other three finalists -- Cottrell, Blache and Mora -- Erickson had head coaching experience, not only at the college level, but in the NFL, from 1995-98 with the Seattle Seahawks.

"I did not feel we had to get someone with head coaching experience," Donahue said.

But did Donahue pick Erickson because he knew him better than the other candidates, including two, Blache and Cottrell, whom he met only two weeks earlier?

"When you're thrust into a decision, particularly a decision as scrutinized as highly as this, you rely on your instincts, and I did," Donahue said.

Walsh said of Erickson: "He knows what he's doing. He's a pro. That's what I reminded John and Terry as they made a decision -- this man is a pro."

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