Getting comfortable
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — A season ago, headstrong coach Bill Parcells kicked in the door upon his arrival with the Dallas Cowboys, transforming a team that had gone 5-11 into one that finished 10-6 and made the playoffs.
At the same time, Marvin Lewis proved to be a magnetic force in Cincinnati, as the new coach coaxed the Bengals to a .500 record a year after they went 2-14.
Dennis Erickson, meanwhile, eased into his first year with the 49ers, taking over the reins — but not so tightly as to shake things up dramatically. He respectfully deferred some power to offensive coordinator Greg Knapp and defensive coordinator Jim Mora, whom he inherited from predecessor Steve Mariucci.
“I don’t think he felt that this was completely his football team last year,” said Tim Lappano, the 49ers’ running-backs coach and a longtime Erickson friend.
So when the 49ers took the field for their preseason opener Aug. 14 against the Oakland Raiders, it marked the unveiling of the new Erickson era. Coaches and players say Erickson is more hands-on and more comfortably in charge thanks to his hand-picked coordinators. Willy Robinson, who has known Erickson since the 1970s, takes over for Mora; Ted Tollner replaces Knapp.
For better or for worse, the 49ers of 2004 will be more of Erickson’s show, especially on offense. Erickson said to expect more single-back formations, more four- and five-receiver sets and more of what he calls “red ball” — a no-huddle offense run without the urgency of the two-minute drill.
“He’s putting his stamp on this team,” Lappano said.
The 49ers went 7-9 last year, down three victories and a playoff spot from the previous season. In style, they looked mostly the same under Erickson as they had under Mariucci, amassing 5,687 yards on offense (14 fewer than the previous season).
Despite repeated public vows about opening up the passing game, the 49ers’ plan never took flight. They moved 3,408 yards through the air — 49 fewer than under Mariucci.
On defense, the improvement from Mariucci’s last season to Erickson’s first was roughly two football fields — 230 yards.
In other words, Erickson’s impact, or lack thereof, hardly required a calculator. But by all accounts, the hands-off approach has been replaced by a tightening grip.
“The first year was kind of a courtship,” right tackle Scott Gragg said. “Now we’re more comfortable with him and he’s more comfortable with us.”
General Manager Terry Donahue said: “I think that Dennis is much more comfortable this year in the sense that these are all his coaches. These coordinators are people he has long relationships with — a history.”
Erickson returned to the NFL in part to prove he could win here, too. In 17 years as a college coach, he is 144-57-1. He continues to wear the national championship ring he won at Miami in 1989.
But in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks and the 49ers, Erickson is 38-42 and has yet to post a winning season. He has three 8-8 seasons and two of 7-9.
“The problem is that he hasn’t had the talent in the NFL that he had in college,” said Jim Sweeney, the former Fresno State coach who had Erickson on his staff in 1976-78. “He had great players in Miami and at Oregon State. He’s never had depth like that at every position in Seattle. And it’s going to be the same thing in San Francisco. I think he and Terry Donahue both know that it’s going to take a couple of years.”
The 49ers enter this season with seven new starters on offense thanks to a salary-cap purge that has prevented the team from adding high-priced free agents. The 49ers are also burdened with $29 million in dead money — salary-cap space devoted to players who will never so much as hear Erickson blow a whistle this year.