Seifert Is Resigned to 49ers’ New Blood

SAN FRANCISCO —  In eight years as the San Francisco 49ers coach, George Seifert won two Super Bowls and built the best winning percentage in NFL history. On Wednesday, he decided he wanted to do something else.

Fresh from a fishing trip in Mexico, he made a stunning announcement.

“This is a sad day for the fish and wildlife population,” Seifert said. “I’m here to announce my resignation as the football coach of the San Francisco 49ers.”

He’ll apparently be succeeded by Steve Mariucci, who spent one year as the coach at California.

“My wife first told me when I got this job, ‘Don’t screw it up.’ I don’t think I did,” said Seifert, who was 108-35 after succeeding Bill Walsh following the 1988 season.

“I’m proud of the things we accomplished during my watch.”

Carmen Policy, the 49ers president, said the team had not yet hired Seifert’s replacement--but that only one person was being considered and an announcement could come as early as today.

“We are presently negotiating with that one individual. No offer has been made to anybody. Those negotiations are going to continue tomorrow,” Policy said. “I don’t think it’s going to be a terribly complex process. I think it’s going to be very simplistic.”

Policy said he and owner Eddie DeBartolo were surprised by the decision by Seifert, whom they had expected to be the team’s coach in 1997. Seifert had one year left on his contract.

Coaching changes have been rampant around the NFL. Seifert becomes the 10th coach to leave a team since the start of this season, meaning one-third of the teams have made changes.

Seifert, 57 next week, won Super Bowls in 1989 and 1994. With a record of 108-35, Seifert is the franchise’s winningest coach and has a winning percentage of .755. He reached 100 victories faster than any NFL coach.

“It’s time for some new blood. I’m not saying my blood is stagnant. But I’m saying let’s just pass this on to someone else,” Seifert said. “There’s a natural process to this thing. You don’t stay a head coach for infinity.”

Mariucci was schooled in the 49ers system while working for Green Bay Coach Mike Holmgren, a former offensive coordinator for San Francisco. He was an assistant for four years with the Packers, getting much of the credit for turning quarterback Brett Favre into a two-time NFL MVP.

Mariucci, 41, has been coaching for 18 years. His Cal team began the 1996 season with a 5-0 record, but lost six of its last seven games--including a defeat to Navy in the Aloha Bowl.

Under Mariucci, Favre became the youngest quarterback in NFL history to play in the Pro Bowl.

“There’s no doubt the bulk of my success in the NFL has been due to Steve Mariucci,” Favre has said. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without his coaching.”

The formal announcement of the coaching change came during a late afternoon news conference, but word of the change swept earlier in the day through the locker room where 49ers players had come to work out.

“It’s a big surprise, a shock,” cornerback Tyronne Drakeford said. “I don’t know if it was something planned or a spur of the moment type thing.

“From what I understand, Seifert is always under pressure to win the Super Bowl. It keeps mounting each year he doesn’t win it. That’s part of the business. You take it as it comes.”

Certainly, Seifert’s departure signals wide-ranging changes for the 49ers, whose season ended in a 35-14 playoff loss at Green Bay two weeks ago.

Defensive coordinator Pete Carroll, a candidate for the St. Louis Ram job, was passed over and the move appears to seal the fate of offensive coordinator Marc Trestman, whose departure has been rumored after players grumbled about his play calls.

Defensive tackle Dana Stubblefield said the team expected changes after the loss to Green Bay and DeBartolo said as much in an address to the club.

“Everybody knew that around the locker room,” Stubblefield said. “No matter if it was coaching staff or player-wise, personnel-wise, scouting-wise, something had to change. There was something in the mix that just wasn’t right.

“We players knew that. We knew that something was going to happen. We didn’t know it was going to be George.”

“It’s a cold day in January,” tackle Steve Wallace said. “I’m left speechless. I don’t know the reason. He’s a great coach, a class person. It’s a sad day for a lot of 49ers fans.”

“They must feel that he has a great young mind to give him a position like that,” Wallace said of heir-apparent Mariucci. “They must feel he has all the credentials. But he’s going to be under a lot of pressure. He’s going to be compared to Bill Walsh and George Seifert.”

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How Seifert Compares

Highest NFL winning percentages since George Seifert was named coach of the San Francisco 49ers in 1989 (regular season only):

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COACH W-L PCT George Seifert 98-30 .766 Barry Switzer 34-14 .708 Marv Levy 85-43 .664 Bill Cowher 53-27 .663 Mike Holmgren 51-29 .638 M. Schottenheimer 81-46-1 .637 Joe Gibbs 43-25 .632 Ray Rhodes 20-12 .625 Mike Shanahan 22-14 .611 Don Shula 67-45 .598 Art Shell 55-37 .598 Jack Pardee 43-29 .597 Dom Capers 19-13 .594 Bill Parcells 57-39 .594 Dennis Green 47-33 .588

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