5 individuals San Francisco 49ers should have never let get away

No. 3: Steve Mariucci Loses Power Struggle with 49ers’ Terry Donahue

There were plenty of problems facing the 49ers early in the 2000s, including a budding salary cap hell, locker room issues and conflicts between the coaching staff and front office.

And the latter ultimately cost then-head coach Steve Mariucci his job in San Francisco.

Mariucci engineered some awfully successful Niners teams in the wake of former head coach George Seifert’s reign. From 1997 through 2002, Mariucci posted a 57-39 overall record with the 49ers and secured playoff berths in four of those six years.

The problem, though, is Mariucci was often at odds with then-general manager Terry Donahue and owner John York.

San Francisco fired Mariucci early in 2003.

“I’m just surprised and saddened,” Mariucci told ESPN shortly after his firing. “I didn’t see it coming. Really, I didn’t. I have a lot of admiration for this place and I’ve invested a lot here. So, sure, I wanted to stay and finish what we had set out to do.”

In the wake of Mariucci’s firing, the 49ers went to head coaches Dennis Erickson, Mike Nolan and Mike Singletary. None worked out well, almost like what happened in the two years after Jim Harbaugh left.

For the Niners teams of the 2000s, though, it marked a near-decade long dark period.