`OLD' 49ERS IN CONTROL FIRING SHOWS ORGANIZATION'S PRIDE IS BACK.Byline: Matthew Kredell Staff Writer The old San Francisco 49ers Consecutive playoff appearances played a part in the resurrection. A new Pro Bowl combination at quarterback and wide receiver - this time with Jeff Garcia
However, it wasn't until this offseason that the 49ers made the complete transition. San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden fired highly successful coach Steve Mariucci Steve Mariucci (born November 4, 1955 in Iron Mountain, Michigan) is a former National Football League coach, most recently for the Detroit Lions. He and his wife, Gayle, have four children: Tyler, Adam, Stephen, and Brielle. , who led the team out of salary-cap woes in only two years to reach the second round of the playoffs. Parting ways with Mariucci is the 49ers of old, a story Mariucci's predecessor, George Seifert George Seifert (born January 22, 1940 in San Francisco, California) is a former NFL head coach of the San Francisco 49ers and the Carolina Panthers. Seifert joined the 49ers' coaching staff under Bill Walsh in 1980 as defensive backs coach and served as the team's defensive , knows all too well: Anything less than the Super Bowl is unacceptable in San Francisco. The expectations are back for the 49ers, the surest sign the team is over its short down period and returning to the mindset mind·set or mind-set n. 1. A fixed mental attitude or disposition that predetermines a person's responses to and interpretations of situations. 2. An inclination or a habit. created with 16 consecutive 10-win seasons and five Super Bowls won from 1983 to 1998. ``In my rookie year of 2001, we were coming off a losing season,'' tight end Eric Johnson
Eric Johnson (born August 17, 1954) is a guitarist and recording artist from Austin, Texas. said. ``We wanted to get back to the point that Super Bowls were the expectation. Now for two years we've had most of the same people here, have begun turning it around and expect more of ourselves.'' Dennis Erickson is the new coach on the red-and-gold hot seat. It's his job to take the 49ers to the next level. Erickson led the University of Miami This article is about the university in Coral Gables, Florida. For the university in Oxford, Ohio, see Miami University. The University of Miami (also known as Miami of Florida,[2] UM,[3] or just The U to two national titles in 1989 and 1991, more recently rebuilding Oregon State into a Pacific-10 Conference contender. He doesn't have much success at the NFL NFL abbr. National Football League NFL (US) n abbr (= National Football League) → Fußball-Nationalliga level, going 31-33 in a four-year stint with the Seattle Seahawks. Of course, the 49ers have significantly more talent, tradition and expectations than those Seahawks teams. ``What I found is that there is great veteran leadership here,'' Erickson said. ``They have great practice habits. They work their rear ends off. The tradition is still here, passed on from the veterans to the young guys.'' For his part, Erickson promises to open up the offense to throw more deep passes while staying in San Francisco's West Coast system. Mariucci was criticized for running the offense too conservatively. The idea of more downfield down·field adv. & adj. Sports To, into, or in the defensive team's end of the field. Adj. 1. downfield - toward or in the defending team's end of the playing field; "he threw to a downfield receiver" throws has Owens and the receivers excited, though it is questionable whether Garcia has a strong enough arm to get the ball there. ``We're definitely excited for the coach to come in and say if a guy is manned up on the outside, we feel our guy is the best,'' wide receiver Cedric Wilson said. ``Let's give him a shot to win.'' Offense never really was a problem on the 49ers last year. San Francisco scored 24 consecutive points in the second half to beat the New York Giants
Garcia, Owens, the emergence of Tai Streets as the No. 2 receiver, and the combo of Garrison Hearst and Kevan Barlow at running back should again make the offense a strength. There are more question marks on defense, where the 49ers lacked a pass rush and struggled in the secondary last season. San Francisco was the worst defensive team in the NFL on third downs, allowing opponents to convert first downs 46.9 percent of the time. The young defense was promising the previous year under the direction of coordinator Jim Mora Jr. Though no impact additions were made, the hope is that the return of linebacker Jamie Winborn and safety Zach Bronson - both of whom suffered season-ending injuries last year - will spark the defense. ``I think the defense is going to fix itself,'' safety Tony Parrish said. ``We're more active, more aggressive and a little more physical this year than last. The key is to keep guys healthy and keep away from some of the injuries we had last year.'' Matthew Kredell, (818) 713-3607 matthew.kredell(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos, box Photo: (1) Dennis Erickson is the latest in a line of successful coaches to take the helm in San Francisco. The job comes with a cost, though - nothing less than a Super Bowl is acceptable. Associated Press (2) Expectations are again high in San Francisco, which has a recent history of losing coaches after successful seasons. The latest victim was Steve Mariucci (pictured), who took his team to the poayoffs last sseason and then was fired in the offseason. Box: GOLD STANDARD |
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