.jpg) Mariucci at the2011 NFL draft | |
| Profile | |
|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1955-11-04)November 4, 1955 (age 70) Iron Mountain, Michigan, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| High school | Iron Mountain |
| College | Northern Michigan |
| Career history | |
Playing | |
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
Coaching | |
| |
| Head coaching record | |
| Regular season | NFL: 72–67 (.518) NCAA: 6–6 (.500) |
| Postseason | NFL: 3–4 (.429) Bowl games: 0–1 (.000) |
| Career | NFL: 75–71 (.514) NCAA: 6–7 (.462) |
| Coaching profile atPro Football Reference | |
Stephen Ray Mariucci (born November 4, 1955), nicknamed "Mooch", is an American sportscaster and formerfootball coach who was the head coach of twoNational Football League (NFL) teams, theSan Francisco 49ers (1997–2002) and theDetroit Lions (2003–2005), and for a year at theUniversity of California, Berkeley.
Mariucci was born and raised inIron Mountain, Michigan, in theUpper Peninsula, where he met best friend and currentMichigan State University basketball head coachTom Izzo. Both attended Iron Mountain High where they were teammates on the football, basketball, and track teams.
AtNorthern Michigan University (NMU) inMarquette, Mariucci and Izzo were roommates. Mariucci was a three-timeAll-America (Division II)quarterback. As a sophomore in1975, he led theWildcats to threepostseason wins and thenational championship. Mariucci signed with theHamilton Tiger-Cats of theCanadian Football League inMay1978,[1] but was released a month lateron June 9.[2]
He began his coaching career at hisalma mater (1978–79), and moved toCal State Fullerton(1980–82) andLouisville(1983–84). Mariucci's first pro position was as a receivers coach for theUSFL'sOrlando Renegades in1985. Later that fall, he had a brief stint in the NFL with theLos Angeles Rams asquality control coach.[3]
Mariucci returned to college football and joined theUSC staff in1986 and coached wide receiver Ken Henry to a season where he had 807 yards with 7 touchdowns; WR Randy Tanner also had 408 yardswith 3 touchdowns.[4]
He then moved to the coaching staff at theUniversity of California, Berkeley (Cal) in1987. that first season, WR Brian Bedford had 515 yards with 4 touchdowns and WR Mike Ford had 479 yardswith 3 touchdowns.[5] In1989, WR Brian Treggs had 746 yardswith 4 touchdowns.[6]
In1990 and1991, he was theGolden Bears'offensive coordinator. QuarterbackMike Pawlawski threw for 2,069 yards with 17 touchdowns and RBs Anthony Wallace andRussell White combined to run for 2,002 yards with 16 touchdowns.[7] In 1991, Pawlawski threw for 2,517 yards with 21 touchdowns and White ran for 1,177 yards with 14 touchdowns; WRSean Dawkins had 723 yardswith 11 touchdowns.[8]
Mariucci then moved to theNFL, and became the quarterback coach for theGreen Bay Packers in1992 under new head coachMike Holmgren. After four years with the Packers, he returned to Cal as head coach in1996 and went6–6, ending with anAloha Bowl losstoNavy.
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Following his season with the Golden Bears, Mariucci was considered a leading candidate for several NFL head coaching positions, and was hired by theSan Francisco 49ers to succeedGeorge Seifert.
In his first season in1997, the 49ers went13–3 during the regular season, earning home-field advantage in theplayoffs in theNational Football Conference (NFC).[9] After defeating theMinnesota Vikings in the divisional round,[10] San Francisco hosted theGreen Bay Packers in theNFC Championship Game, butlost 23–10 in a muddy, rainy contest atCandlestick Park.[11] The defeat was the 49ers' fourth NFC title loss of the 1990s, following losses to theNew York Giants in1990 and theDallas Cowboys in1992 and1993, and it was their third playoff loss to the Packers in as many seasons. In1998,[12] the 49ers posted a 12–4 record and returned to the playoffs as a wild-card team, finally beating theGreen Bay Packers in the Wild Card game,[13] butlost 20–18 in the divisional round to the eventual NFC championAtlanta Falcons.[14] The Wild Card Game saw Terrell Owens drop several passes but redeem himself withThe Catch II, scoring the winning touchdown. Two highly disappointing seasons followed, with the team finishing 4-12 and 6-10 in1999 and2000 respectively.[15][16] The 49ers bounced back in2001,[17] postinga 12-4 record and returning to the playoffs, only to be eliminated by theGreen Bay Packers.[18]
Mariucci's final season in San Francisco was2002.[19] The 49ers won theNFC West with a10–6 record and beat theNew York Giants in a wild-card game, posting the third-biggest comeback playoff victory in NFL history (second biggest at the time).[20] However, they were crushed31–6 by the eventualSuper Bowl championTampa Bay Buccaneers in the divisional round.[21] On January 15, 2003, the 49ers fired Mariucci, reportedly after Mariucci lost a power struggle with general managerTerry Donahue.[22] 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 49ers fans. The 49ers struggled heavily following Mariucci's departure, finishing without a winning season for the subsequent eight seasons.
Mariucci was named theDetroit Lions' 22nd head coach on February 4,2003,[23] and was fired on November 28,2005.[24] In his abbreviated three seasons in Detroit, he compiled a disappointing15–28 (.349) record. Mariucci's troubles in Detroit were partially attributed by many fans and experts to poor personnel evaluations by then Lions' general managerMatt 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 a27–7 blowout loss on national television onThanksgiving Day to theAtlanta Falcons in 2005.
During theBrett 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 theWest Coast Offense style played in Green Bay.
Mariucci is one of thirteen head coaches since theAFL–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, which has since been trumped byJim Caldwell's14–0 start with theIndianapolis Colts during the2009 season.
Throughout his career, Mariucci coached a high number of players (9) inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Hall of Fame inductees coached by Mariucci as either their position or head coach include:Tony Gonzalez,Brett Favre,Steve Young,Jerry Rice,Kevin Greene,Rod Woodson,Chris Doleman,Charles Haley, andTerrell Owens.
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California Golden Bears(Pacific-10 Conference)(1996) | |||||||||
| 1996 | California | 6–6 | 3–5 | 5th | LAloha | ||||
| California: | 6–6 | 3–5 | |||||||
| Total: | 6–6 | ||||||||
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| SF | 1997 | 13 | 3 | 0 | .813 | 1st in NFC West | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost toGreen Bay Packers inNFC Championship Game |
| SF | 1998 | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 2nd in NFC West | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost toAtlanta Falcons inNFC Divisional Game |
| SF | 1999 | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 4th in NFC West | – | – | – | – |
| SF | 2000 | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 4th in NFC West | – | – | – | – |
| SF | 2001 | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 2nd in NFC West | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost toGreen Bay Packers inNFC Wild Card Game |
| SF | 2002 | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 1st in NFC West | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost toTampa Bay Buccaneers inNFC Divisional Game |
| SF Total | 57 | 39 | 0 | .594 | 3 | 4 | .429 | |||
| DET | 2003 | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 4th in NFC North | – | – | – | – |
| DET | 2004 | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 3rd in NFC North | – | – | – | – |
| DET | 2005 | 4 | 7 | 0 | .364 | (Fired) | – | – | – | – |
| DET Total | 15 | 28 | 0 | .349 | – | – | – | |||
| Total[3] | 72 | 67 | 0 | .518 | 3 | 4 | .429 | |||
Since being fired by the Detroit Lions, Mariucci has not returned to coaching. He has since been hired byNFL Network to work on their showNFL GameDay and contribute as an analyst on NFL Network's four-hour pregame show "NFL GameDay Morning," as well as provide follow-up reports from the late afternoon and Sunday night matchups on "NFL GameDay Highlights."
Mariucci now resides inMonte Sereno, California. He has four children: Stephen, Tyler, Adam, and Brielle. His eldest son Tyler is Senior Associate Athletics Director for Development atFresno State University.[25] Adam works in Real Estate in New York City and his son Stephen is country music artist, Stephen Ray.[26]
In 2011, Mariucci founded the Mariucci Family Foundation. It is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing opportunities and support for underserved youth and families.
Shortly afterPete Carroll leftUniversity of Southern California (USC), Mariucci was reportedly seen on campus,[27] and ESPN's Adam Schefter reported shortly thereafter that Mariucci was a candidate for the Trojanshead coach position and that the university had "made contact"[28] with the announcer.
Following the dismissal ofArkansas head coachBobby Petrino in April 2012, Mariucci was recommended as a replacement by Carroll.[29]
Mariucci expressed interest in the head coaching job of theSan Diego Chargers in late 2012 with speculation ofNorv Turner's departure from San Diego.[30]