49ers' surprising pick
February 12, 2003
By Ann Killion
Mercury News
An era ended Tuesday. The family tree was uprooted. For the first time in almost a quarter-century, the 49ers went outside the Bill Walsh Forest for a coach. Maybe that is why the hiring of Dennis Erickson -- a successful college coach who was fired from his only NFL job -- seems so strange. For starters, he isn't from the Walsh family tree, the roots of 49ers legitimacy.
Or maybe it seems odd because the one-time dynasty hired a coach who was the picture of mediocrity during four years in Seattle, never going over .500 and never making the playoffs.
Or perhaps it's weird because the 49ers paraded two qualified minority candidates and considered rising-star college coaches only to settle on a retread.
Or maybe the strange feeling stems from the basic question we've all been asking for the past four weeks, since Steve Mariucci was so clumsily dismissed:
If you're going to fire a successful coach, can you hire someone better? Is Erickson really that guy?
Erickson has an incredible record as a college coach. Though his two national championships at the University of Miami were tainted by the scandal that followed them -- the program was put on probation and embarrassed nationally -- Erickson has been a success everywhere he has been. In college, that is.
But he wasn't a success in the NFL. Some of that can be blamed on the mess he inherited in Seattle, which suffered from unstable ownership. Nevertheless, in 1999, Mike Holmgren -- who has since compiled a 31-33 record that is identical to Erickson's -- won the division title with essentially the same talent that Erickson finished third with the season before.
Coaching in college and coaching in the NFL are completely different challenges. The pro coaches who succeed tend to run a tight ship, manage within the boundaries of the salary cap and free agency rules, gain the trust and respect of veterans and rookies and do it over the long haul.
All those elements were troublesome for Erickson in Seattle. His team was dubbed Club Med for its overly relaxed atmosphere. One of the foremost criticisms of Mariucci was that he was too nice, too much the good cop. Same story for Erickson in Seattle. That's part of the reason he had a hard time gaining credibility with Seattle's veterans.
By the end of his time there, he reportedly had lost control of the locker room. That could be an issue at the 49ers' facility, where players just witnessed the firing of a coach whom they not only liked but who led them to success.
Erickson, a native of Everett, Wash., came to Seattle lauded as a hometown product who could resurrect the moribund Seahawks franchise, about which there were few expectations. He left Seattle blaming the media for his undoing and uncomfortable with the scrutiny.
In the Bay Area, Erickson will face the twin burdens of being an outsider with heavy expectations. He doesn't run the West Coast system. He has run the spread offense that he learned as an assistant at San Jose State under Jack Elway -- a wide-open offense that can be entertaining but might not be the best fit for quarterback Jeff Garcia.
Erickson's expertise is running an offense and spotting talent. The X's and O's won't be a problem. But the question remains: Is this coach better than the one who was fired after going 23-12 over the past two seasons?
This long strange journey started with the 49ers coveting one of their own, Holmgren. But it ended with the guy who was fired to make way for Holmgren. The 49ers apparently didn't want another of their own, one-time assistant coach Dennis Green, because they were concerned about off-the-field behavior. But they hired a guy with past issues, including a drunk-driving conviction and a reputation for overseeing an out-of-control college program.
Holmgren and Green were logical candidates because both had worked for the 49ers. Both ran the West Coast offense. Both have been successful NFL head coaches. By persuading team director John York to hire a coach with no direct connection to Walsh or his system, General Manager Terry Donahue has made a statement: that he is his own man. This decision has a high comfort level for Donahue. Both he and Erickson are 50-something, longtime college coaches. And they have one other thing in common: Neither has yet proved that he can succeed in the NFL.
Whoever was chosen to follow Mariucci would face a challenge. But a connection to the 49ers and their legacy would have provided instant credibility.
Though Walsh claims to be out of the loop, his embrace is still the best way to gain respect around the 49ers and with their impatient fans.
Though Mariucci was part of the family tree, having worked for Holmgren, he was doomed by his perceived inability to measure up to Walsh's legacy and Walsh's reluctance to support him.
Erickson will soon find out that around here roots mean something. Family trees are important. And so is playing with style, offering up nice sound bites and keeping friends in the front office. Winning, of course, is mandatory.
But it certainly isn't enough. And if you don't believe that, call the Detroit Lions and ask for the office of Mr. Mariucci.
Tell us what you think on the new 49ers Clubhouse message board.
