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Anatomy of a firing The 49ers made a mistake in ousting Steve MariucciPosted: Monday January 20, 2003 11:16 AM
PHILADELPHIA -- At no point during the 2002 NFL season did I want to believe that Steve Mariucci was toast. I just didn't think a team that had been shepherded through an overwhelming facelift would be foolish enough to fire the man responsible for it. The 49ers were. But there's an asterisk here. Actually, there are several asterisks. The only true thing I know, for sure, is what general manager Terry Donahue told me Friday night: This was something you saw coming from miles away, and anyone who tried to stop it was powerless -- similar to the way you might see two cars headed toward one another at an intersection and you open your mouth to scream but there's nothing you can do to prevent the accident. I will preface what I write about this by saying that Steve Mariucci was cooked with the owner's representative, John York, when Mariucci tried, unsuccessfully, to get involved in the Notre Dame job search 13 months ago, and further when he interviewed for, but did not accept, the Tampa Bay head coaching/football operations job on the heels of the Irish matter. Though Donahue told me last spring that Mooch was gone if he had one more flirtation, the fact is, in the minds of the 49ers, he was already done.
Put simply, I think letting Mariucci go is a mistake. I think there are too many chefs in the 49ers' kitchen, from the too-powerful and sometimes meddlesome Bill Walsh to Donahue to the quick-tempered York. I think one of them should have sat down with Mariucci at some point this season and said: "Here's the way it is, Steve. You're going to be the coach of this team and nothing more. Your responsibility will not include director of football operations or GM. We'll extend your contract and pay you an average of $3 million a year, but no more. We'd like you to stay, but this is the structure we'd have in place if Vince Lombardi were the coach, so you're going to have to accept it if you want to coach here." If they REALLY wanted him to be the coach into the future (and I have sincere doubts that they did), someone should have laid it out for him just like that, in those words, and he'd still be there. But don't think this is all the 49ers' fault either. If Mariucci REALLY wanted to be there, then I think he would have read the tea leaves and told them: Hey, I won't even hint at more authority. I will ask for an extension of $3.25 million a year, which is fair. That would have ranked him right about No. 10 on the NFL head-coaching pay scale, and for a guy who only coached and didn't also work as general manager, that would seem fair. There were two key moments to this whole mess. The first came during a meeting in St. Louis, just before the 49ers' last game of the regular season. In a bar/restaurant at the Niners hotel were York, Donahue and Mariucci's agent, Gary O'Hagan. At one point during the meeting, according to both York and Donahue, O'Hagan asked them to hand Mariucci the responsibilities of John McVay, the director of football administration, when McVay retired, which could happen as early as this spring. York and Donahue said they were certain of this request. In separate interviews over the weekend, they recited the request almost word-for-word. "Gary said, 'What Steve would like to do when John retires is take over his role,'" Donahue told me. "We both thought, 'Here we go again.' It was going to be the same old, same old. John York had been very clear that there would be a certain line of authority in the organization, and he felt the structure he wanted would never be peacefully in place." "We never asked for more authority," said Mariucci. "Never." Maybe not. But Mariucci wasn't in that meeting. When I called O'Hagan on Sunday, he said he had no comment about the meeting. So that makes it two of three people saying one very damaging thing, and the third not commenting. What am I -- and you -- supposed to believe? Another person with knowledge of the meeting in St. Louis says O'Hagan's version of the meeting is that the question about more authority was asked by the Niners "in a hypothetical way -- like, 'If McVay retires, would Steve be interested in adding that authority?'" Maybe. But I have my doubts. Why would York and Donahue, who were loath to give Mariucci any more authority, hypothetically ask if he wanted some? Then there was the strange meeting with Walsh last Monday, the day after the playoff loss in Tampa ended the 49ers season. Walsh went to Mariucci's office to tell him about a phone conversation he'd just had with Jacksonville owner Wayne Weaver. "Bill started saying Wayne was a great owner, and it would be a fresh start, and they've got a great quarterbacks," Mariucci said. "I couldn't believe it. I said, 'Bill, time out. I'm not interested in Jacksonville. I want to stay here.' I don't know exactly how that phone call came about, but Bill Walsh overstepped his bounds. I'm sure Bill talked to John about it, and I'm also sure it was a big-time monkey wrench in this." "I can tell you that was not greasing the skids for Steve," said York. "But by that time -- after the flirtation with Notre Dame, after the interview with Tampa Bay, with what his agent said, and now not knowing whether this thing with Jacksonville was something Steve was interested in or not -- I just got the feeling that making the structure work the way we wanted it to work was going to be very difficult." Last Monday night, Mariucci was watching Joe Millionaire with his kids. He said York called, upset. York later said he was not angry at the beginning of the call but gradually became so. Maybe he was annoyed by everything. Maybe he was bothered by the little things -- things such as new budgetary controls on an organization that always spent like a Sheikh, or the decree that the quirky little annual division championship belt buckle that the organization always bought for the coaches would be cut out this year. Perhaps he was steamed by Mariucci interjecting at that point and saying he'd buy the darned belt buckles if the owner wouldn't. Whatever, York got mad during their conversation. "I've had crank calls that made more sense than that one," Mariucci said. And that was it. The coach who'd won 13, 12, 4, 6, 12 and 10 games; who'd made the playoffs four times in six years; whose teams had a better record and racked up more total yards and scored more total points than Walsh's had compiled in his first six seasons at the helm of the team; and who was still in his prime was ... gone. So on Friday, Mariucci, his wife, and son Tyler were on the campus of Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, a Division I-AA school. Tyler's a 5-foot-11, 180-pound quarterback/receiver/safety type who wants to play ball in college. Just like his father, who played at Northern Michigan. "I'm going to enjoy life for a while," Mariucci said. "Go into detox. Decompress a little." And collect $2.25 million for the last year of his contract. It has been reported that the $2.25-million payment will be spread over 30 months, which is a heck of a nugget -- and a good thing for the Niners as they try to get a new coach who won't break their bank. Instead of going pretty cheap on a coach, now maybe they can go moderately cheap. In any case, I would be shocked if they took Walsh's recommendation and hired Dennis Green. I can pretty much tell you that won't happen, regardless of how the interview goes this week. "What I can tell you is we will hire the coach with the best chance of getting us to a Super Bowl in 2003," said York. They just let one go.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK Oakland QB Rich Gannon, who was 29-of-41 for 286 yards passing in the Raiders' 41-24 AFC Championship Game win over Tennessee. He threw three touchdown passes -- and had a fourth dropped by Jerry Porter -- but no interceptions. He also ran for another touchdown, and completed his first 12 passes of the game. I like it when a quarterback plays very big in the biggest game of his life. DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK Tampa Bay CB Ronde Barber. Quite simply, he had one of the best games I've seen a defensive player play all year: three tackles, a sack, a forced fumble, four passes defensed and the one interception he returned 92 yards for a touchdown. If he's not one of the two best cornerbacks in football, then he's not a twin. SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK Philadelphia KR Brian Mitchell, who did more in the first five minutes of a losing effort that any of his mates did in the remaining 55. Mitchell returned kickoffs for 70 and 43 yards, putting the Eagles in position to score twice. They converted once, a touchdown, and had to punt the second time. After that, Bucs kicker Martin Gramatica mostly aimed the ball away from Mitchell, or kicked ground balls. COACH OF THE WEEK Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden. "I used to live under this place," Gruden rasped after the game, as the former Eagles assistant hung out in the locker room at the Vet for the last time. Gruden made a city cry by figuring out how to keep the Eagles from running an effective blitz. His game-plan combination of quick throws, max-protection and changing up his line play -- based on the look the Eagles' D would give his offense -- worked to perfection. "Jon put together a brilliant plan," said Bucs reserve tackle Lomas Brown. Agreed. GOAT OF THE WEEK Philadelphia QB Donovan McNabb. On Saturday, when I met with Warren Sapp, he told me, basically: "Just watch. You'll see. McNabb's not the same guy as the one who left the game eight weeks ago." And boy, was he right. McNabb looked jumpy, easily flustered, and the polar opposite of the man who made the playoffs his personal playground a year ago. I wouldn't have been shocked to have seen A.J. Feeley warming up late in the third quarter. That's how bad it was. QUOTE OF THE WEEK "It's a dungeon. I've seen worms in the showers. I've seen cockroaches as big as lizards. I saw a thing one time that I think was a dog but might have been a wolf or coyote. Sometimes we hate it here, sometimes we love it. But it's home."
A sign in the parking lot of the south Philadelphia Holiday Inn -- a 12-minute walk from Veterans Stadium -- offered parking spaces for the NFC Championship Game for $50.
The missives came from wide and far to give me an education on everything from Spike Lee to long-snapping. Here goes: YOU INSULT THE PACK, MY FRIEND. From Jason Vondrachek of Chicago: "Green Bay not ranked in your Top 12? I had to do a triple-take on that one. While I will continue to read your column regardless, your analysis begins to lose credibility with such an obvious snub. You're slipping, my friend." My friend, when they played their last couple of games this season, the Packers were not among the best 12 teams in football. I consulted with my buddy Rick Gosselin, Mr. NFL for the Dallas Morning News, on this one. His comment: "A couple of teams that didn't make the playoffs -- Denver, for example -- were better than Green Bay at the end of the year. Don't look at the Packers' record. Look at their roster. Too many injuries at the end of the year." GIVE THE BUCS LINE ITS DUE. From Greg Ward of Clearwater, Fla.: "First off, I liked the guts you showed in casting a rather unpopular vote for LeCharles Bentley as offensive rookie of the year. It's nice to see someone thinking outside the box when it comes to the endless gamut of end-of-the year awards. With that thought in mind, in voting for the MVP of the league, shouldn't the entire Buccaneers defensive unit have garnered some consideration? I would argue that no single player or unit was more valuable to his/its team than this crew of defenders. If you placed a run-of-the-mill defense on this team it would be lucky to finish 4-12. Can you say the same about Gannon, Brett Favre or McNair?' I suppose your point is an arguable one. But I must go back into the box now. We can't vote for a group. I have, on occasion, split my vote for MVP, but I wouldn't divide it five or six ways. Having said that, if I had one vote for a Bucs player this year, it would go first to Brad Johnson (22 TDs, six picks, added total offensive credibility), then to Derrick Brooks (four touchdowns on defense, made an impact every week). YOU DEMEANED JACKIE ROBINSON. From Matt of New York City: "Though I'm certain you did not mean to equate the respective accomplishments of Will McDonough and Jackie Robinson, I still found your choice to include such a comparison to be misguided. Though McDonough was a skilled sports reporter, one of the first writers to talk about football on television and, from most accounts, a generally good guy, his legacy does not extend far beyond making it easier for you and others in your profession to make a comfortable living commenting on sports through an ever increasing number of mediums. Comparing him to Jackie Robinson (even if it is just to illustrate McDonough's significant impact on your own life/career) seriously demeans the profound impact Robinson had on a nation. As far as I know, McDonough never had to suffer the indignities of Jim Crow, or muster up the immeasurable courage to confront other unspeakable horrors that Robinson was forced to endure to ultimately help transform this country and its citizens." You're right. Matt, I got a few letters like this, and Bob Costas correctly pointed it out to me, too. In our little insular world, McDonough WAS Jackie Robinson. But our world is little, as I point out, and McDonough certainly did not have the social or life-changing impact of Robinson. Good point. SPECIAL TEAMS AREN'T THAT SPECIAL. From Dan Vishnesky of Chicago: "You wrote, 'I think if I'm an NFL general manager, the one lesson I take from the past month is this: Spend money on special teams.' I totally disagree. The Giants paid extra to get a specialist snapper for the playoffs. He failed them. The Packers spent money to get a return specialist. He failed them. The Titans paid good money to bring Joe Nedney in, and his mistake was one reason the game went to overtime. You probably already know that Morten Andersen is on injured reserve right now. Who is to say that he'd be healthy if he had stayed in New York? They have to use the regular players more." Not sure exactly what your point is, but I think I disagree with you. First of all, the Giants can't read the future and project Andersen would get hurt; they erred in not having a credible kicker on the roster, and it hurt them many times down the stretch -- just as it hurt them to play continual musical chairs with their snapper and holder. The time to spend money on a holder, no matter how great he is, is not in the dead of winter -- and especially not when you pull one out of retirement. Regarding specials in general: The NFL road is littered with teams that used field position and special teams to win when the pundits said they didn't have the best team. Look at the '90 Giants. Bill Parcells said after that season that four of his six most valuable players were special-teamers -- Matt Bahr, Sean Landeta, Dave Meggett and Reyna Thompson, who was one of the best cover players and hitters of all time. My point is that because games are so close, and because special-team plays now make up about 21 percent of an average game, you can't treat the unit as flippantly as some contenders do. One other thing: When I met with Jon Gruden Saturday afternoon to interview him for Sports Illustrated, one of the first game-related things he talked about was return specialist Brian Mitchell and field position. COWHER IS A BLOWHARD. From David Paquette of Holliston, Mass.: "After watching the Steelers lose AGAIN in the playoffs (as they did to the Patriots last year), it occurred to me that Bill Cowher will never coach that team to a Super Bowl victory. His teams consistently fall apart after bad calls. Know why? Because HE falls apart after bad calls, and keeps no semblance of composure. When that happens, they all start complaining and the game is over. When will this team learn to keep its mouth shut before it wins something?" The thing I disliked about Cowher's reaction was his vehemence in complaining about a perfectly legitimate call, the running-into-the-kicker penalty. He made it sound like the refs cost the Steelers the game with that call -- and everyone in the media picked up on it, as if they all believed that because Cowher said it, it must be true. Ridiculous. NOW, AN INTERPRETATION OF SPIKE LEE. From Michael A. Armstrong, Sr. of Columbus, Ga.: "You asked, 'What does it mean when Spike Lee calls a movie a "joint"? I might be last in the league in hipness, but I've never gotten that.' In this case, a 'joint' does not mean a marijuana cigarette, or anything like that. 'Joint' is more like a 'place,' one that is unique and significant, standing apart from all others, for better or for worse. Lee's movies have always been a little different in the way they're shot and in the methods in which he tells the story. For Lee, that's not just a 'movie.' It's bigger than that, so it's a 'joint.' I hope that makes sense." It's a start. Thanks PARCELLS IS NOT TO BE TRUSTED. From Greg Randle of Sydney, Australia: "Last year after Bill Parcells reneged on the Bucs, you wrote that in the future any NFL team should run the other way if Parcells shows an interest in coaching. What has changed, if anything, that will make Parcells and the Cowboys successful?" Good question. When I talked with Parcells last year after the reneging, he was distraught, and I thought: He'd be nuts to consider coaching again. But now he seems energized and excited. There's no guarantee he'll be good, or that he'll succeed, but as I've tried to point out, this is a marriage of two men who badly need each other -- Parcells because he missed the juice of the sidelines and, to some degree, the big dough, and Jones because he'd used up all his local goodwill after six long years without a Super Bowl. MOOCH, WE HARDLY KNEW YE. From Craig Addison of Stamford, Conn.: "When you talk to Steve Mariucci about being canned, please give him this comment from Giants fans (and I'm pretty sure I speak for all of them): Bummer." Touché.
Three Philadelphia-area factoids: 1. You can make it from Philadelphia to Newark, N.J., train station to train station, in 55 minutes on Amtrak's Acela Express. 2. If you order a cheesesteak sandwich at the world-famous Geno's in south Philly, and you want it with cheese and mushrooms, you have to step up to the window and say: "Whiz with mushrooms." Translation: Cheesesteak with the hot liquid cheese, Cheez Whiz, with mushrooms. 3. A Philadelphia pet store called "Accent on Animals" is doing a brisk business selling McNabb jerseys for dogs.
1. I think, on Martin Luther King Day, that I'm surprised at the lack of reaction by the black head coach advocates after Ted Cottrell, who has played a major part in constructing two good defenses with the Bills and Jets, didn't get an interview in Jacksonville and first-year defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio got the job. No knock on Del Rio, obviously. But Cottrell's problem mirrors the problem of this system. I'm told San Francisco will interview him for its vacancy, but I don't hear his name mentioned prominently among the 49ers brass. The other night, the committee of players and NFL Players Association types monitoring the black-coach hiring situation met by conference call. They chose to dwell on the bright side of Marvin Lewis getting the Bengals job and not on Cottrell, St. Louis' Lovie Smith and New England's Romeo Crennel -- all more accomplished defensive coordinators than Del Rio -- getting shut out. "It's very, very unfortunate for Ted," committee member Troy Vincent told me. "The Jacksonville hiring caught us off guard. It's surprising. But we've still got a ways to go. In many ways, we have to be over-qualified, and it anyone paid his dues, it's Ted. But now, if Denny Green gets the job in San Francisco, that'd be an increase from two to four [black head] coaches, and that's a good start." The only problem is Green's not getting that job. 2. I think these are my quick-hit football thoughts of the weekend: a. Sounds like Carson Palmer has solidified his top-draft-pick standing. I hear the Bengals' preliminary thought is to dump out of the pick, chose a lesser quarterback, and go with Jon Kitna for a while. b. I doubt the Bengals will find anywhere near good value for the pick. No one wants to pay Palmer $12 million to sign. c. The Cardinals, with new offensive coordinator Jerry Sullivan, will probably try to keep Jake Plummer at a low price. If some team wants to pay Plummer decently -- Denver is my best bet -- the Cards likely wouldn't fight to match it. d. Ten bucks says Tyrone Willingham will be at Notre Dame a minimum of four years. e. San Diego, here we come. My favorite Super Bowl site, and no other city's close for second. f. How'd you drop that ball, Jerry Porter? g. Tim Brown, Jerry Rice: 14 catches, 152 yards. Wow. I can't wait to see them Sunday. Great secondary against great receivers. Great matchup. i. You did everything you could, Keith Bulluck. The Raiders were just too good. j. Incredible how much of a non-factor that crowd was at the Vet. After the first few minutes, the folks seemed glazed. k. I love Gruden's first words to Joe Jurevicius when the latter arrived at the team hotel Saturday afternoon. "Thanks for coming," Gruden said. 3. I think Warren Sapp was right. On Saturday he told me, "You guys got it all wrong! Elements don't win! Thermometers don't decide football games! Stadiums don't win! You guys think we're going to go out there and get into the fetal position and wilt. You've got to be kidding me. We're going to win the damn game." 4. I think the line on the Super Bowl is interesting: Raiders by 3 1/2. I'd say Raiders by one. I can make more-than-legitimate argument for either side, and you can't often do that in a Super Bowl. 5. I think these are my non-NFL thoughts of the week: a. Are there any juniors left out there in college football? b. I have to hand it to Denise McDonough. She gave one of the most heartfelt and touching eulogies I've ever heard at her husband Will's funeral last Wednesday in South Boston. Incredible that a woman who so obviously and passionately loved her husband could hold it together while the rest of us struggled to do so. c. Coffeenerdness: The one thing I won't miss about the Vet is the stadium coffee. It sets new standards for vile. Said coffee actually forced me to turn to Swiss Miss Sunday in the frigid press box. d. Thanks, John McCormick, for taking care of the world's greatest travel agent, our own Katherine McDonald. e. Montclair (N.J.) High School Mock Trial Note of the Week: There is a scrimmage (that's what they call them) at Teaneck today, as I leave for the Super Bowl. Ace defense witness Mary Beth King is honing her skills as a sympathetic lass who was burned in a fire. I've been told she can almost cry on cue. Wonderful trait. But I think the real trials start in February. You'll be hearing about some of them of them in the offseason MMQB. 6. I think Bill Callahan is one of the most impressive, unknown stories of this season. And he likes it that way. The Philly writers who covered the Eagles when he coached there for three years never knew him. Not even to say hello. 7. I think even though I've heard all the explanations about why Philadelphia didn't blitz, and they all sound plausible, I still can't figure why you don't try to bury an immobile quarterback more often than the Eagles did. 8. I think if Gruden is the story of the week at the Super Bowl, Jurevicius will at least give him a run for his money. 9. I think I will leave you with this memory of the Vet: A cat once used the drop-ceiling above offensive line coach Juan Castillo's stadium office as a litter box -- until the sodden tiles gave way and the feline fell through the ceiling and onto Castillo's desk. The coach used the resulting fouled playbook all season because he thought it was irreplaceable, grossing out his colleagues and players with the stench. 10. I think there's one more I just remembered: In 1999, his first year as head coach, Reid was at the Vet one Saturday morning before a home game, a couple of hours before the team would have its walk-through practice. He saw one section of the field littered with cat droppings. "It's not the kind of thing you'd ask your assistants to take care of," he said. "It's not the kind of thing you'd ask anyone to take care of. So I just went around with a pooper-scooper and picked it up." How many other Coaches of the Year (Reid won it this year) ever interrupted game preparation to collect cat dung? Only in Philly. Sports Illustrated senior writer Peter King covers the NFL beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. Monday Morning Quarterback appears in this space -- no kidding -- on Monday mornings. Click here to send him a comment.
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