Originally posted by backontop:
If I remember correctly when he was the HC, fans were complaining he was to vanilla and to conservative. I believe that was the reason why he got fired as well.
The only reason he got fired was because Donahue had the Yorks in his backpocket and that was the only ammo needed to get rid of him. I highly doubt any legitimate franchise would've fired Mariucci after 4 playoff appearances (2 of which were AFTER a rebuilding effort--impressive).
But to be honest, Mariucci was pretty conservative for an offensive-minded West Coast Offense disciple.
As 49er fans, we were spoiled back then because we had a history of aggressive powerhouses on offense.
I think Mariucci could do it. He, with Bill Walsh's help as GM, did go through a rebuilding process with us once before. I don't blame him for Millen's idiocy in Detriot.
The question isn't, would Mariucci be a good fit... it'd be, would Mariucci WANT to come back? We fired him after 4 playoff berths. You only do that if it's a team that continues to lose in the playoffs and the team is SUPER TALENTED. The Chargers firing Schottenheimer, IMO, was legit. No idea about the Norv Turner replacement, but that's not the point. Mariucci wasn't the problem back then. Sure, he had some things we didn't like, but he's a good coach.
