Larry Bird, who coached the Indiana Pacers retired after just three years after leading his team to the NBA finals. He had just missed winning a championship, but he stepped away from the game gracefully anyway. When asked as to why he came and left so quickly, Bird responded "After three years, guys stop listening to you." I believe that statement sums up our problems under the direction of Mariucci. What Bird said is the truth. A Head Coach has a three year period to win it all with his team. After three years of his style, his chances of success are over. His act becomes trite and drearily predictable. Even classic show "The White Shadow" went off the air after just three years, possibly because Ken Howard's act as basketball coach of the Carver High team was wearing thin very quickly.

What Steve Mariucci is finding out as his tenure gets longer and longer in San Francisco is that the remaining veterans on his incredibly young unit are sick and tired of his coaching style. Terrell Owens happens to be one such player. Owens has been with this team longer that Mariucci. He has been taking orders from the same coach for the past five years, and clearly, he has grown tired of it. Every relationship will go through some rough spots sometime after five years. J.J Stokes is another such player. Stokes has been here long before Mariucci, and has had to deal with the same thing year in and year out.

But why are the other players just standing by and not sticking up for either Mariucci or the veterans when all this is going on? Well, just take a look at our team for a minute. This team is by far the youngest in the NFL. There are over 30 first, second, and third year players on this team. The names Ahmed Plummer, Jeff Garcia, Paul Smith, Anthony Parker, Chike Okeafor, Jason Webster, Julian Peterson, Jeff Ulbirch, Jamie Winborn, Andre Carter, and John Engelberger come to mind. How many veteran leaders are on this team? Very few, if any. Dana Stubblefield and Derek Smith came over from free agency, so how much can they say? So who's to stop this from going on? A plethora of young guys who are afraid to open their mouth? Basically, Terrell Owens and Steve Mariucci would be free to brawl all over San Francisco with all of the young, innocent faces of 49er hopefuls standing by and watching. It's a sad, sad story in San Francisco.

So what is to be done? There aren't veterans who can step in and intervene. If Owens is to be cut, who's going to replace him, both as a player and as a team leader? If Steve Mariucci is fired, what is going to happen to the more experiened youngsters like Garcia, Fred Beasley, Garrison Hearst, Lance Schulters, and Dave Fiore? The answer is not pretty for both. There is no replacement for Owens. J.J Stokes can be a great wide receiver and even a go-to guy, but he's no where near the big-play threat Owens is. Nor is he the type of aggressive leader that Owens is. If Mariucci is fired, the future will look as grim for all of the youngsters and younger veterans as it did for the young wrestlers from WCW when they were bought out by Vince McMahon and the WWF. Basically, the heart of this problem is a power struggle by Mariucci and Terrell Owens. A power struggle can't be solved by peaceful methods. The anger and bitterness will still be there. It can't be solved by one person winning the war for the same reason. The only way to stop it is to get rid of them both. Owens obviously wants to become a dictator-like figure in the franchise, and that would have a disastrous result. Mariucci's act has completely worn thin on all of the veteran players in the organization, and he would have to complete dismantle the franchise in order to regain full respect again. Young guys would listen to him, they would take notice. But what would be the product? Chances are, not a Super Bowl ring. So the answer is that both Owens and Mariucci need to go. We'll miss Owens' big plays, we'll miss Mariucci's offensive mind, but in the grand scheme of things, the hard working good guys on the team are what's important. Now, I don't want to give the impression that Owens is a bad guy, because that is obviously not true. He's a great individual, but he's troubled within this organization. For the young veterans and the young talents to have their opportunities, we need to make sure that the old influences, particularly Owens and Mooch, are removed from the organization. J.J Stokes and Tai Streets can take over at wide receiver, and while it may not be as explosive as when Owens was there, at least it will give them a chance to succeed. A new head coach must be hired, and it should be one who will take control of this team and will commend respect in the locker room as soon as he arrives. Terry Donahue will have to make these decisions, and hopefully, he will get the 49ers back on top where they need to be.