SANTA CLARA — Front-office strife and playoff shortcomings led to the end of Steve Mariucci’s 49ers tenure after the 2002 season. It sounds like Mariucci believes Jim Harbaugh might be headed toward a similar fate.
“I don’t know if this thing is going to continue another year or not. It’s really interesting,” Mariucci said Tuesday on Baltimore’s 105.7 The Fan.
Harbaugh is four seasons into a five-year deal with the 49ers, who tabled contract-extension talks with him before the season.
“When you coach, you sign on the dotted line, and you’re not married, you’re only dating. Nothing is permanent,” said Mariucci, an NFL Network analyst the past nine years. “It’s a shame too because Jim Harbaugh has had so much success there. Of course this season’s not over, he can make the playoffs again.
“To be talking about his conflict with Trent Baalke and now with Jed York, it’s like, ‘Gosh.’ Nothing is sacred anymore. Winning doesn’t necessarily help you keep your job, either.”
After the 49ers fell to 7-5 and into third place with Thursday’s 19-3 loss to Seattle, York responded with a tweet apologizing to fans and calling the performance unacceptable.
Mariucci said of the tweet: “Jed apologized to the fans. I’m sure the coaches and team frowned upon that, because they’re doing the best they can and they’ve been so darn successful over the last three years.
“They finally got it back to winning ways. Their should be some harmony over there and I kind of wish there was, and there’s not. You’ve got to follow this story in the next month or two. There’s going to be some things, and it’s unfortunate, because they have got a good thing going on.”
Mariucci coached the 49ers to the playoffs in four of his six seasons as coach (1997-2002), and the franchise went eight seasons without a postseason berth until Harbaugh’s first season in 2011. Upon getting fired because of “philosophical differences” with the front office, Mariucci went on to coach the Detroit Lions in 2003 and was dismissed 11 games into 2005.
For more on the 49ers, see Cam Inman’s Hot Read blog at blogs.mercurynews.com/49ers. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/CamInman.
