Dennis Erickson Vows To Eliminate Culture Of Winning From 49ers

SAN FRANCISCO--49ers coach Dennis Erickson is presiding over a period of transition for the franchise, as they shift from perennial champion to NFC West doormat. Gone are Joe Montana, Steve Young, and Jerry Rice, as well as the winning attitude they brought to the field each Sunday. Erickson has vowed to bring a new attitude to the franchise and to eliminate the “culture of winning” that has plagued it for over a decade.

“Winning is an attitude, it’s a feeling,” said Erickson. “It’s not just about numbers and stats. It’s an atmosphere that exists in the locker room, in the front office, and in the stands. What I’m going to do is change all that and install a new culture where players don’t just hope to lose, they expect to lose. No matter who we’re playing, we’re going to go out there and get our asses kicked. That’s the attitude we have to have.”

Erickson believes the culture of winning that has dominated the team for the past twenty years is a cancer that needs to be eradicated through practice, training, and psychology.

“It’s going to take some time to undo the damage that’s been done here for the past few years,” he said. “The winning attitude is so deeply ingrained that the fans actually expect you to win more games than you lose. From top to bottom, everyone here believes they’re a winner, and that’s got to stop. I mean, you hired me for a head coach. How much of a winner can you be?”

To impress on his team why they’re going to be so terrible, Erickson decided to remind them of his own career failures. After a successful stint at University of Miami, Erickson was hired to coach the Seattle Seahawks, where he failed miserably, going 31-33 in four seasons. He went back to college with his tail between his legs, then was inexplicably hired by the San Francisco 49ers two years ago.

“We hired Dennis because he was the least qualified guy available,” said 49ers GM Terry Donahue. “We hired him because he brings a lack of credibility and a losing reputation. OK, so he was a good college coach. But does anyone think he can succeed in the NFL? Of course not. We figure we’ve been winning for long enough. It’s time to give someone else a chance.”

Wholesale changes are already visible in the 49ers locker room. What was once a simple, quiet, disciplined locker room area is now full of distractions. Players assemble at long tables to play dominoes and the sound of hip hop music blends with the incessant noise of ringing cell phones and chattering conversation. The only thing not being discussed in this 49ers locker room these days in football.

Erickson says that distractions in the locker room are a key aspect to building and maintaining a culture of losing. Past 49ers teams have spent too much time and energy trying to better themselves as players and not enough time screwing around, something that the Erickson regime is looking to change.

“The second I walked into that locker room I could see that some big changes were going to be needed to accomplish my goals,” he said. “I wanted to convey to the players that this is no longer their daddy’s 49ers team. This isn’t the successful, streamlined, well-oiled machine of years past. No way. We’ve turned the page on that and we have to start believing that we can’t possibly win ever. Once that happens, I’ll be able to drive the franchise into the ground. Then I’ll return to the college ranks for a couple years until some other NFL team hires me to ruin their franchise. It’s all very simple.”

The culture of losing has already started to take effect on the team. No longer are they confident, professional, and dedicated. Instead, they are a complacent group resigned to the fact that they have no chance of being successful. Still, Erickson says it’s too early to start celebrating.

“We’ve come a long way, but we still have a lot of work to do,” said Erickson. “There are still some teams that are much, much worse than us that we’ll have to overtake. Take the Arizona Cardinals for example. Now there’s a franchise we can model ourselves after.”

“All it takes is a taste of failure for these guys to understand what it’s all about,” he continued. “Once they get that taste—that feeling that you get when the game is on the line and you know you have no chance—then everything else starts to fall into place. I pride myself on being able to bring that atmosphere to the table. The legacy of Bill Walsh and Joe Montana is dead now, and we’re shoveling it over with dirt. From now on, we look forward to future—a glorious shining future of incompetence and failure. Watch out for the 49ers. We’re a team on the decline.”