49ers' search for coach ends with Erickson hiring -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ESPN.com news services The San Francisco 49ers' drawn-out search for a head coach ended in surprising fashion Tuesday with their hiring of Oregon State's Dennis Erickson. Oregon State confirmed Erickson's hiring, first reported by ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli, on Tuesday afternoon. The school has scheduled a 9:30 p.m. ET news conference in Corvallis, Ore. Erickson, who coached the Seattle Seahawks from 1995-98 and went 31-17 at Oregon State with a 1-2 bowl record, will be introduced by the 49ers this week, The Associated Press reports. The 49ers had concentrated their search on NFL defensive coaches during the 3½ weeks since owner John York fired Steve Mariucci on Jan. 15. Erickson, 55, wasn't among the finalists -- defensive coordinators Jim Mora Jr. of San Francisco, Ted Cottrell of the New York Jets and Greg Blache of the Chicago Bears. Of the NFL's five offseason head-coach openings, one went to a minority when Cincinnati hired former Redskins defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis, giving the NFL three African-American head coaches. Cottrell and Blache are African-American. Erickson was 31-33 as Seahawks head coach, the same record his successor, Mike Holmgren, has compiled. Before joining Seattle, Erickson won national titles at the University of Miami in 1989 and 1991, going 63-9 with a 3-3 bowl record in six seasons. Erickson also has coached at Idaho and Washington State. Mariucci was fired despite leading the 49ers to four playoff appearances in six seasons, with a remarkably brief rebuilding period in between. Mariucci, who led the 49ers to a 10-6 record, the NFC West title and a playoff victory over the New York Giants this past season, had a difference in philosophy with team executive John York. Last week, Mariucci signed a lucrative five-year contract to coach the Detroit Lions. Erickson is just the 49ers' fourth coach since 1979, following Bill Walsh, George Seifert and Mariucci. Walsh and Seifert both won Super Bowls. I don't know whether to laugh or cry. I was a 49ers fan as a child (growing up in the golden age of Montana and Rice) and continue to silently root for them. But to fire Mariucci for this hack? His work in Seattle was awful! Stupid move by Walsh, Donahue, and York. This looks like a puppet regime, a la Campo and the Cowboys.
