Donahue seeks upgrade
February 20, 2003
Of The Examiner Staff
Now that he finally has a new coach in place, general manager Terry Donahue will embark on the process of finding the talent essential to take the 49ers to the next level.
Donahue, who made Dennis Erickson the 14th coach in 49ers history on Feb. 11, will be joined by a number of the team's assistants and scouts at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. The combine -- the official site for evaluating draft-eligible players -- opened Tuesday and ends Monday.
An estimated 330 prospects will undergo a battery of tests and workouts before a contingent of NFL representatives at the RCA Dome. The players will undergo a detailed medical exam before engaging in a number of measurables -- such as the 40-yard dash, bench press and other position-related drills before being interviewed by representatives from the NFL's 32 teams.
While Donahue will oversee the evaluation of players in preparation for the April 16-17 draft, a team official said Erickson has opted to spend the week completing his staff of assistant coaches. Erickson, however, will have some input regarding the players he would like to bring aboard to tweak the roster of a 49ers team that finished 10-6 en route to winning its first NFC West title since 1997.
The 49ers own the 26th overall pick; all totaled, they will have seven choices in the seven-round draft. But the Niners anticipate being awarded a few extra selections as compensation for the loss of free agents last off-season.
The 49ers are projected to be $6.8 million under the league's $74.8 million salary cap and aren't likely to be major players in the free-agent market. Conversely, the team must restructure the contracts of a few big-money players to free up cash to sign its draft picks.
All of that puts a greater emphasis on the NFL Draft for the 49ers, who believe they are a few players away from challenging the Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers for supremacy in the NFC. The 49ers have a solid core of young players, but they will have to address a number of needs -- including finding a receiver to complement Pro Bowl selection Terrell Owens -- in the draft or, perhaps, free agency.
There is also a prevailing belief that the 49ers could be in the market for another defensive back, someone to push starting cornerback Jason Webster or nickel back Mike Rumph, last year's first-round pick who struggled before coming on strong in the final few weeks of the season.
Adding depth along the defensive and offensive lines is also paramount for the 49ers, who may be inclined to draft another linebacker given the uncertain health status of Jamie Winborn, who missed much of the 2002 season with a knee injury that originally was projected to sideline him for just a few weeks.
Targeting a more versatile halfback to compete with veteran Garrison Hearst, 32, and reserve Kevan Barlow, who suffered minor knee injuries in each of his first two NFL seasons, also figures to be a priority for Donahue and his staff.
Meanwhile, Erickson continued to put the finishing touches on his staff of assistant coaches.
The team confirmed Tuesday that Greg McMackin, the defensive coordinator at Texas Tech, is leaving the school to become the 49ers' associate head coach of defense as well as linebackers coach, ostensibly replacing Richard Smith -- who spent six seasons the as the Niners' linebackers coach. Smith joined the Detroit Lions' staff as assistant head coach-linebackers coach shortly after ex-Niners coach Steve Mariucci was hired by Detroit on Feb. 5.
The loss of McMackin was a blow to a Texas Tech program that has lost five coaches this off-season.
"I told him he's done a good job and I enjoyed working with him," Texas Tech athletic director Gerald Myers told the Lubbock (Texas) Avalanche-Journal over the weekend. "But we understand if he got a good opportunity and felt like he couldn't turn it down, he was going to take it."
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