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Full-Court Press
THE irony wasn't lost on anyone in the room. Minutes into his Wednesday morning press conference in Stockton, Calif., San Francisco 49ers head coach Steve Mariucci was interrupted in mid-sentence by media-relations director Kirk Reynolds. Steve Young
phones it inWhen told he had a telephone call, Mariucci looked at Reynolds with a bemused expression on his face. He all but said, "Hey, can't you see I'm talking here.'' But knowing Reynolds wouldn't interrupt the proceedings unless it was someone important, Mariucci tentatively took the cellular phone.
"Steve?'' Mariucci asked after realizing it was his retired quarterback on the line. Steve Young was just checking in to see if all the veterans had arrived safely. He had no idea Mariucci was in the middle of something.
"Uh, how was the first practice?'' Mariucci said for the bevy of reporters and camera crews. "It was fine.''
Everyone wanted to know if Young wanted to come back. Like a person trying to hear two conversations at once, Mariucci held up his hand in a show of silence before asking the former Brigham Young standout if he wished he were here.
"Yep,'' Young replied.
There's no missing football like that first year out. Young was feeling it, just not enough to fly to Stockton for the first week of two-a-days. "Steve, you know what I'm doing right now? I'm holding a press conference. Yeah, no kidding.''
Mariucci excused himself and promised to get back to the king of the West Coast offense. After handing the phone to Reynolds, someone asked where Young was calling from. Maybe he was down the street at the nearby 7-11. Mariucci said, "I just hope he wasn't in Denver.''
Young's departure from the scene is like a big-screen TV missing. You notice it right away.
Oh sure, current quarterbacks Rick Mirer and Jeff Garcia are the ones Mariucci prefers to talk about. But Young's call hit home harder than seeing Joe Montana wearing a Kansas City Chiefs uniform.
These days, the 49ers are a team in transition. Say that out loud and any number of people will tell you that's not entirely true. Granted, Young has returned to the big Y in the sky and hard-hitting safety Tim McDonald plies his trade elsewhere. But all is not lost.
FOR one, Jerry Rice is back at receiver after he had his contract restructured to fit him under the salary cap. He is just one of a talented stable of wideouts that includes Terrell Owens and J.J. Stokes.
"I miss Steve,'' Rice told a reporters. "You don't lose a future Hall of Fame quarterback and not notice it. We're a team that's kind of having to regroup. We have a lot of young guys still trying to learn the system, but we have some veterans, too, who know how to win.''
Chief among them are defensive end Bryant Young and linebacker Ken Norton Jr. Their leadership is key during these uncertain times. Running back Garrison Hearst remains sidelined with an ankle injury until at least October and McDonald's departure would be felt under the best of circumstances.
Throw in the fact that Pro Bowl safety Lance Schulters missed the first day of camp in a contract dispute and it's easy to see San Francisco is not the marquee team of old.
If there were any doubters, Young's telephone call brought it back into view. After all, the 49ers are coming off a stunning 4-12 campaign in 1999. Having a winning season in 2000 would be accomplishment enough.
Add a playoff appearance in late December and Mariucci will have taken the first step toward filling the void left by Young, who's decision to phone it in on Wednesday was felt by everyone in the room.
Paul Arnett has been covering sports
for the Star-Bulletin since 1990.