Steve Mariucci

Infobox NFL PlayerCoach


Name=Steve Mariucci
|Image
DateOfBirth=birth date and age|1955|11|4
Birthplace=Iron Mountain, Michigan
DateOfDeath=
College=Northern Michigan
Position=Head Coach
Quarterback
Record=72-67-0 (Regular Season)
3-4 (Postseason)
75-71-0 (Overall)
player=yes
years=1974-1977
teams=Northern Michigan University
coach=yes
coachingyears=1996
1997-2002
2003-2005
coachingteams=California Golden Bears
San Francisco 49ers
Detroit Lions
Stats=Y
DatabaseFootballCoach=MARIUSTE01
PFRCoach=MariSt0
Record=

Steve Mariucci (born November 4, 1955 in Iron Mountain, Michigan) is a former National Football League coach, most recently for the Detroit Lions.

Early career

Mariucci grew up in Iron Mountain, Michigan, and was a three-time All-America (Division II) quarterback at Northern Michigan University in Marquette. In 1975 he quarterbacked Northern Michigan to the Div 2 National Championship.

He began his coaching career at his alma mater (1978-79), and moved to Cal State Fullerton (1980-82) and Louisville (1983-84). Mariucci's first pro position was as a receivers coach for the USFL's Orlando Renegades in 1985. Later that fall, he had a brief stint with the Los Angeles Rams as quality control coach.

He joined the USC staff in 1986 and then moved to the coaching staff at California in 1987. In 1990-91, he served as the Golden Bears' Offensive Coordinator before being appointed as QB coach for the Green Bay Packers.

After four years as quarterback coach for the Green Bay Packers, Mariucci returned to Cal as Head Coach in 1996 where the team finished 6-6, including a loss in the Aloha Bowl to the U.S. Naval Academy.

Professional coaching career

Following his success with the Golden Bears, Mariucci was considered a leading candidate for several NFL coaching positions, and was hired to coach the San Francisco 49ers, then one of the top teams in the league.

Mariucci's 1997 team went 13-3 during the regular season, earning home-field advantage in the NFC. After defeating the Minnesota Vikings in the Divisional Playoffs, San Francisco hosted the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game, but lost 23-10 in a muddy, rainy contest at Candlestick Park. The defeat was the 49ers fourth NFC title loss of the 1990s, following losses to the New York Giants in 1990 and the Dallas Cowboys in 1992 and 1993. In 1998, the 49ers posted a 12-4 record and returned to the playoffs as a wild card team, but lost 20-18 in the divisional round to the eventual NFC champion Atlanta Falcons. Two losing seasons followed, but in 2001, the 49ers returned to the playoffs after a 12-4 season, once again to be eliminated by the Packers.

Mariucci's final season in San Francisco was 2002. The 49ers won the NFC West with a 10-6 record and beat the New York Giants in a controversial wild-card game, posting the second-biggest comeback playoff victory in NFL history. However, they were crushed 31-6 by the eventual Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the divisional round. On January 15, 2003, the 49ers fired Mariucci, reportedly after the coach lost a power struggle with general manager Terry Donahue. [ [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/news/2003/01/15/mariucci_released/ CNNSI.com - Pro Football - 49ers release Mariucci from contract - Thursday January 16, 2003 02:42 PM ] ] As San Francisco's coach, he compiled a 60-43 (.583) record, while his teams earned playoff berths four times.

Mariucci was named the Lions' 22nd head coach on February 4, 2003, and was fired on November 28, 2005. He compiled a 15-28 record during that span. The decision to fire Mariucci came after a 27-7 loss on national television on Thanksgiving Day to the Atlanta Falcons.

During the Brett Favre/Green Bay Packers dispute throughout the 2008 off season, Favre discredited the Packers for not interviewing Mariucci for their head coaching job in 2006. Mariucci, who previously worked with Favre, was figured to be a great candidate for the West Coast Offense style played in Green Bay.

Mariucci is one of thirteen head coaches since the AFL-NFL Merger in 1970 to lead his team to a division title in his first season. Mariucci established an NFL mark for consecutive wins by a rookie head coach with an 11-game winning streak.

After coaching

Since being fired by the Detroit Lions, Mariucci has not returned to coaching. He has since been hired by NFL Network to work on their show NFL GameDay. Many speculated that Mariucci would be considered for the head coaching position at Michigan State after the dismissal of John L. Smith. However, Mark Dantonio was hired to replace Smith.Mariucci had been a prospective coach to replace Karl Dorrell at UCLA but such assertions were squelched with the hiring of Ravens Offensive Coordinator and UCLA alumnus, Rick Neuheisel. He was speculated to be in talks with the Washington Redskins, who have hired West Coast-style offense personnel since Joe Gibbs' second retirement. [http://blog.washingtonpost.com/redskinsinsider/2008/01/something_to_chew_on.html] However, these rumors were squashed when the Redskins named former Seahawks' QB coach Jim Zorn as the Head Coach. [http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d80699cf6]

References

"UCLA reportedly searching for new head coach" http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3138961

External links

* [http://www.49ersparadise.com/biographies/mooch.shtml Steve Mariucci Tribute On 49ers Paradise]