Steve Mariucci Stephen Ray " Steve " Mariucci ( born November 4 , 1955 ) is a former National Football League coach . He coached for the San Francisco 49ers and most recently for the Detroit Lions . Early career . Mariucci was born and raised in Iron Mountain , Michigan , and was a three - time All - America ( Division II ) quarterback at Northern Michigan University ( NMU ) in Marquette . In 1975 , he quarterbacked NMU to the NCAA Division II National Football Championship . He began his coaching career at his alma mater ( 1978 – 79 ) , and moved to Cal State Fullerton ( 1980 – 82 ) and Louisville ( 1983 – 84 ) . Mariucci ' s first pro position was as a receivers coach for the USFL ' s Orlando Renegades in 1985 . Later that fall , he had a brief stint with the Los Angeles Rams as quality control coach . He joined the USC staff in 1986 and then moved to the coaching staff at California in 1987 . In 1990 – 91 , he served as the Golden Bears ' Offensive Coordinator before being appointed as QB coach for the Green Bay Packers . After four years as quarterback coach for the Green Bay Packers , Mariucci returned to Cal as Head Coach in 1996 where the team finished 6 – 6 , including a loss in the Aloha Bowl to the U . S . Naval Academy . Coaching career in professional football . Following his season with the Golden Bears , Mariucci was considered a leading candidate for several NFL coaching positions , and was hired to coach the San Francisco 49ers . Mariucci ' s 1997 team went 13 – 3 during the regular season , earning home - field advantage in the NFC . After defeating the Minnesota Vikings in the Divisional Playoffs , 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 . In 1998 , the 49ers posted a 12 – 4 record and returned to the playoffs as a wild card team , but lost 20 – 18 in the divisional round to the eventual NFC champion Atlanta Falcons . Two losing seasons followed , but in 2001 , the 49ers returned to the playoffs after a 12 – 4 season , once again to be eliminated by the Packers . Mariucci ' s final season in San Francisco was 2002 . The 49ers won the NFC West with a 10 – 6 record and beat the New York Giants in a controversial wild - card game , posting the second - biggest comeback playoff victory in NFL history . However , they were crushed 31 – 6 by the eventual Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the divisional round . On January 15 , 2003 , the 49ers fired Mariucci , reportedly after the coach 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 . Mariucci was named the Lions ' 22nd head coach on February 4 , 2003 , and was fired on November 28 , 2005 . In his 2 + years in Detroit , he compiled a disappointing 15 – 28 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 never finished higher than third in their division and never contended for a playoff berth . The decision to fire Mariucci came after a 27 – 7 blowout loss on national television on Thanksgiving Day to the Atlanta Falcons . During the Brett Favre – Green Bay Packers dispute throughout the 2008 off - season , Favre discredited 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 14 – 0 start with the Indianapolis Colts during the 2009 season . During coverage for " NFL Combine " , he had been mocked for cutting Jerry Rice and Kurt Warner . After coaching . Since being fired by the Detroit Lions , Mariucci has not returned to coaching . He has since been hired by NFL Network to work on their show " NFL GameDay " and contribute as an analyst on NFL Network ’ s four - hour pregame show " NFL GameDay Morning " , as well as provide follow - up reports from the late afternoon and Sunday night matchups on " NFL GameDay Highlights " . In a notable event in 2011 , Joe Theismann mistakenly called Danny Woodhead " Danny Woodcock " , causing Mariucci and Deion Sanders to laugh uncontrollably . It was speculated that Mariucci would be considered for the head coaching position at Michigan State after the dismissal of John L . Smith . However , Mark Dantonio was hired to replace Smith . Mariucci had been a prospective coach to replace Karl Dorrell at UCLA but such assertions were dismissed with the hiring of Ravens Offensive Coordinator and UCLA alumnus , Rick Neuheisel . He was also speculated to be in talks with the Washington Redskins , who have hired West Coast - style offense personnel since Joe Gibbs ' second retirement . However , the Redskins named former Seahawks ' QB coach Jim Zorn as the Head Coach . Mariucci now resides in Monte Sereno , California . He has four children – Stephen , Tyler , Adam , and Brielle . Stephen and Adam are founders and frontmen to their pop - rock band The Relay Company . His eldest son Tyler is working in intercollegiate athletics at Fresno State as the Director of Major Gifts . Shortly after Pete Carroll left USC , Mariucci was reportedly seen on campus , and ESPN ' s Adam Schefter reported shortly thereafter that Mariucci was a candidate for the Trojans head coach position and that the university had " made contact " with the announcer .