No apologies for 49ers, Mariucci
Cam Inman
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
SANTA CLARA - Not even some eight months later is Steve Mariucci willing to accept the reason 49ers owner John York publicly gave for firing him as the 49ers coach on Jan. 15.
York cited philosophical differences related to the front office rather than on-field performance in dismissing Mariucci after six seasons, four of which ended in the playoffs.
Does Mariucci buy that?
"No," Mariucci responded Wednesday in a conference call with Bay Area media.
Did his on-field production have more to do with it?
"I don't know the answer. It's hard for me to explain it," Mariucci said. "My father asked me that question and I couldn't explain it to him, so how can I explain it to you guys?"
Mariucci avoided making bitter comments about his former employers during his 18-minute interview. He instead touted the goals of the new team he's coaching, the Detroit Lions, and downplayed his personal feelings about returning to Candlestick Park for Sunday's game against the 49ers, who share the Lions' 1-3 record.
But as smooth talking as Mariucci can be, he didn't exactly mask any resentment he might feel toward York and general manager Terry Donahue.
Has York apologized to him for the way he was fired?
"No."
Has he talked to York since then?
"No."
Has he talked to Donahue?
"We haven't had any conversations. I think I said hello, and I remember seeing Andrea, his wife, at the league meetings."
York said Jan. 15 that the move came after Mariucci's alleged demand to take on a bigger role in personnel matters, and that there was "just too much noise" the previous two years regarding friction between Mariucci and Donahue, as well as Mariucci and team consultant Bill Walsh.
Two days after Mariucci's firing, quarterback Jeff Garcia said: "It's more than just a conflict between Dr. York and coach Mariucci. It's something that's probably been an issue the past couple seasons. It's something everybody outside the organization can see or recognize. It's not any secret."
Mariucci has long defended his relationship with Walsh, whom he said he's admired and noted Wednesday that he's had a "few conversations" with him since leaving.
Donahue said Monday he couldn't recall whether he's spoken to Mariucci since his dismissal, adding that he didn't expect Mariucci's return to distract the 49ers this week.
"I don't think it's an issue, a distraction," Donahue said. "The only things we can possibly have on our minds is us. We're worried about us and what we're doing wrong. It's not on anything else. Steve was here as coach and moved on to a really good job. We wish him well. We want to win Sunday and there's nothing to talk about."
York, in an interview last week with the Times, said things are quieter upstairs at the team facility as a result of more open communication between the coach and general manager.
"There's no question about that," York said. "You see Dennis and Terry together. You see Dennis get irritated about something and it gets resolved. You see Terry get irritated about something and it gets resolved. ... You can have differences of opinion and you can express those loudly. But when there's a decision made about which direction to go, we ought to be pulling the same wagon, and I think we really are pulling the same wagon today."
York said he still believes he made "the right decision" in changing coaches, but he said he regrets how events transpired Jan. 15. "It came down a little messy," said York, who informed Mariucci of his firing during a 11/2-hour meeting.
Mariucci wasn't in York's office more than 20 minutes before team officials let national and local media know of the move. Mariucci's wife, Gayle, reportedly heard the news on the radio, drove to the team facility and was consoled by players and coaches in Mariucci's office before Mariucci emerged from York's.
"I've tried to make my apologies to Steve, and through Steve to Gayle," York said, "because that should not have happened as it did, and I apologize for that, and I meant it."
Among those players who visited Mariucci as he packed boxes in his office was wide receiver Terrell Owens, whose public feud with Mariucci died down last year after Mariucci made an April visit to Owens in Atlanta.
"We had spent six years together," Mariucci said of Owens. "He had a lot of success and growth as a wide receiver and a 49er. We sort of did it together. It wasn't always perfect. But I suppose deep down there was certainly a mutual respect."
Mariucci said he doesn't have time to think about sympathizing with or relating to 49ers coach Dennis Erickson's plight in terms of dealing with Owens, who got called into Erickson's office Monday for recent outbursts on the sideline and in the media.
Lions guard Ray Brown, who played with the 49ers from 1996 to 2001, said he wasn't too surprised by the 49ers' firing of Mariucci.
"The NFL, this business per se, you would think it would be a meritocracy, and it's not. It has a lot to do with being wanted in a place," Brown said. "That's probably the case. He probably wasn't wanted there and he was wanted here."
Added Mariucci: "I look at my 49er experience as an awesome one. I loved it. I learned so much from it. ... I gave it my all. Circumstances led to me being elsewhere. Now I am enjoying this."
