Following his season with the Golden Bears, Mariucci was considered a leading candidate for several NFL head coaching positions, and was hired by the
San Francisco 49ers to succeed
George Seifert. In his first season in
1997, the 49ers went during the regular season, earning home-field advantage in the
playoffs in the
National Football Conference (NFC). After defeating the
Minnesota Vikings in the divisional round, San Francisco hosted the
Green Bay Packers in the
NFC Championship Game, but
lost 23–10 in a muddy, rainy contest at
Candlestick Park. The defeat was the 49ers' fourth NFC title loss of the 1990s, following losses to the
New York Giants in
1990 and the
Dallas Cowboys in
1992 and
1993, and it was their third playoff loss to the Packers in as many seasons. In
1998, the 49ers posted a 12–4 record and returned to the playoffs as a wild-card team, finally beating the
Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card game, but
lost 20–18 in the divisional round to the eventual NFC champion
Atlanta Falcons. The Wild Card Game saw Terrell Owens drop several passes but redeem himself with
The Catch II, scoring the winning touchdown. Two highly disappointing seasons followed, with the team finishing and in
1999 and
2000 respectively. The 49ers bounced back in
2001, posting record and returning to the playoffs, only to be eliminated by the
Green Bay Packers. Mariucci's final season in San Francisco was
2002. The 49ers won the
NFC West with a record and beat the
New York Giants in a wild-card game, posting the third-biggest comeback playoff victory in NFL history (second biggest at the time). However, they were crushed by the eventual
Super Bowl champion
Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the divisional round. On January 15, 2003, the 49ers fired Mariucci, reportedly after Mariucci lost a power struggle with general manager
Terry Donahue. 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 the
Detroit Lions' 22nd head coach on February 4,
2003, and was fired on November 28,
2005. In his abbreviated three seasons in Detroit, he compiled a disappointing record. Mariucci's troubles in Detroit were partially attributed by many fans and experts to poor personnel evaluations by then Lions' general manager
Matt 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 a blowout loss on national television on
Thanksgiving Day to the
Atlanta Falcons in 2005. During the
Brett 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 the
West Coast Offense style played in Green Bay. Mariucci is one of thirteen head coaches since the
AFL–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 by
Jim Caldwell's start with the
Indianapolis Colts during the
2009 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, and
Terrell Owens. ==Head coaching record==