Steve Mariucci

Stephen Ray Mariucci (born November 4, 1955), nicknamed "Mooch", is an American sportscaster and former football coach who was the head coach of two National Football League (NFL) teams, the San Francisco 49ers (1997–2002) and the Detroit Lions (2003–2005), and for a year at the University of California, Berkeley.

Mariucci was born and raised in Iron Mountain, Michigan, in the Upper Peninsula, where he met best friend and current Michigan State University basketball head coach Tom Izzo.

Both attended Iron Mountain High where they were teammates on the football, basketball, and track teams.

At Northern Michigan University (NMU) in Marquette, where they were roommates, Mariucci was a three-time All-America (Division II) quarterback.

As a sophomore in 1975, he led the Wildcats to three postseason wins and the national championship.

Mariucci signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League in May 1978, but was released a month later on June 9.

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 in the NFL with the Los Angeles Rams as quality control coach.

Mariucci returned to college football and joined the USC staff in 1986 and coached wide receiver Ken Henry to a season where he had 807 yards with 7 TDs; WR Randy Tanner also had 408 yards with 3 TDs.

He then moved to the coaching staff at the University of California, Berkeley (Cal) in 1987.

that first season, WR Brian Bedford had 515 yards with 4 TDs and WR Mike Ford had 479 yards with 3 TDs.

In 1989, WR Brian Treggs had 746 yards with 4 TDs.

In 1990 and 1991, he was the Golden Bears' offensive coordinator.

Quarterback Mike Pawlawski threw for 2,069 yards with 17 TDs and RBs Anthony Wallace and Russell White combined to run for 2,002 yards with 16 TDs.

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, and it was their third playoff loss to the Packers in as many seasons.

In 1991, Pawlawski threw for 2,517 yards with 21 TDs and White ran for 1,177 yards with 14 TDs; WR Sean Dawkins had 723 yards with 11 TDs.

Mariucci then moved to the NFL, and became the quarterback coach for the Green Bay Packers in 1992 under new head coach Mike Holmgren.

After four years with the Packers, he returned to Cal as head coach in 1996 and went 6–6, ending with an Aloha Bowl loss to Navy.

Following his season with the Golden Bears, Mariucci was considered a leading candidate for several NFL head coaching positions, and was hired by the San Francisco 49ers to succeed George Seifert.

In his first season in 1997, the 49ers went 13–3 during the regular season, earning home-field advantage in the playoffs in the National Football Conference (NFC).

After defeating the Minnesota Vikings in the divisional round, San Francisco hosted the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game, but lost 23–10 in a muddy, rainy contest at Candlestick Park.

In 1998, the 49ers posted a 12–4 record and returned to the playoffs as a wild-card team, finally beating Green Bay in the Wild Card game but lost 20–18 in the divisional round to the eventual NFC champion Atlanta Falcons.

The Wild Card Game saw Terrell Owens drop several passes but redeem himself with The Catch II, scoring the winning touchdown.

Two highly disappointing seasons followed, with the team finishing 4-12 and 6-10 respectively.

The team bounced back in 2001, posting a 12-4 record and returning to the playoffs, only 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 wild-card game, posting the third-biggest comeback playoff victory in NFL history (second biggest at the time).

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.

As San Francisco's coach, he compiled a 60–43 (.583) record, while his teams earned playoff berths four times.

His firing caused an uproar among 49er fans.

The franchise struggled heavily following Mariucci's departure, finishing without a winning season for each of the subsequent 10 years.

Mariucci was named the Detroit Lions' 22nd head coach on February 4, 2003, and was fired on November 28, 2005.

In his abbreviated three seasons in Detroit, he compiled a disappointing .340 record.

Mariucci's troubles in Detroit were partially attributed by many fans and experts to poor personnel evaluations by then Lions' general manager Matt Millen, who had signed Mariucci to a five-year $25 million guaranteed contract, the NFL's highest coaching contract at the time.

During his time in Detroit, the Lions finished no higher than third in their division and never contended for a playoff berth.

The decision to fire Mariucci came after a 27–7 blowout 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 criticized 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.