Former 49ers and Lions coach Steve Mariucci, who last coached during the 2005 season and who has become a fixture at NFL Network, says he hasn’t heard from officials at Arkansas regarding the school’s suddenly vacant coaching job. But he didn’t say he wouldn’t be interested.
“I just had a few phone calls from my son and a few friends asking what’s going on and to be honest I hadn’t heard about it,” Mariucci told Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com regarding a report linking Mariucci to the job. “It comes as a complete surprise to me.”
Mariucci coached Cal in 1996 before being hired by the 49ers. He said he could return to coaching at some point. “It has to be the right situation,” Mariucci said. “I haven’t ruled it out [coaching again]. I enjoy what I do now. If something that comes up that makes sense, but I’ve had no contact with Arkansas.”
CoachingSearch.com identified Mariucci and Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels as potential candidates for the job.