Mora faces his past again

<p>Jim Mora went back to his old home. No problem.</p><p>Now, it's time to face another issue from his past.</p><p>The unbeaten Atlanta Falcons will go for the best start in team history Sunday when they host the Detroit Lions, who just happen to be coached by the guy who had a huge impact on Mora's career.</p><p>Next to Mora's father, no one was more influential that Steve Mariucci.</p><p>"He's got great balance. He treats people with respect. It doesn't matter if he's lost five in a row or won five in a row, he's the same," Mora said. "You walk in on Monday morning and you're going to get an upbeat Steve Mariucci."</p><p>The Falcons (4-0) opened the season with a 21-19 victory in San Francisco, where Mora was an assistant coach the last seven years. Six of those years were spent working for Mariucci, who was unceremoniously dumped by the 49ers and is now in his second season with the Lions (2-1).</p><p>Mora was admittedly pumped up about returning to Candlestick ("Please, not Monster Park," he said, referring to the stadium's new corporate name). The emotions aren't nearly as intense this week, even though his former boss will be on the opposite sideline.</p><p>Those issues were largely addressed last season, when Mariucci returned to San Francisco as the Lions' coach. The 49ers won 24-17 _ a result that didn't give Mora, who was San Francisco's defensive coordinator at the time, much pleasure.</p><p>"Usually, no matter who we're playing, I want to bury them," Mora said. "That feeling was not there for that game."</p><p>Taking plenty of shots at his former employer, Mora is still upset about the way Mariucci was treated by the 49ers. He guided one of the league's most storied franchises to four playoff appearances _ sandwiched around a painful rebuilding process caused by salary-cap excesses _ only to get fired after new ownership took over.</p><p>In Mariucci's final season, the 49ers won their division and reached the second round of the playoffs. They slumped to 7-9 last season under Dennis Erickson and are winless this year.</p><p>"It was hard to see what Steve went through in San Francisco," Mora said. "The only guys who really know what happened are the coaches. Those of us who were there for six or seven years know that guy single-handedly held the organization together. I'm sure there are people who will argue that point, but they don't know. They were not in the room, not in that building."</p><p>When Mariucci was hired by the 49ers in 1997, Mora was one of the first guys to join the next staff. They sealed the deal over breakfast and quickly meshed together.</p><p>"We would prefer to have guys on our staff that are optimistic and positive and go at it with a half-full kind of attitude," Mariucci said. "He's certainly one of those kinds of guys."</p><p>When Mariucci was fired, Mora was still under contract to the 49ers and remained for one more season.</p><p>Mariucci wanted to talk with Mora about a job in Detroit, but the 49ers wouldn't grant permission. In a final shot at their departed coach, they did allow Mora to interview for the defensive coordinator's job in Carolina.</p><p>Mariucci is still ticked off about the way that situation was handled.</p><p>"It's that simple," he said. "They gave another team permission, but they didn't give us permission."</p><p>It doesn't matter now. Both coaches landed on their feet.</p><p>Mariucci went back to his native Michigan, endured a tough first season, but now seems to have the Lions (2-1) on the right path.</p><p>Mora has done even better, guiding the Falcons to their first 4-0 start since 1986. Atlanta, which have never won its first five games, comes into Sunday's contest at the Georgia Dome as a touchdown favorite.</p><p>So far, the rookie head coach seems to be keeping his players from patting themselves on the back too much. Practice has the same intensity. The players are saying all the right things.</p><p>"We've only played four games," defensive tackle Rod Coleman said. "You can never be too happy. You can never be satisfied. If you start feeling satisfied, get the big head, that's when other teams beat you up."</p><p>The Falcons haven't trailed in a game this season. They are coming off their most impressive performance yet, a 27-10 road victory over defending NFC champion Carolina.</p><p>Michael Vick has struggled a bit in the new West Coast offense, but Atlanta's defense has made huge strides under Mora and defensive coordinator Ed Donatell. Patrick Kerney leads the league with seven sacks.</p><p>The Lions have shown they can win away from home. In the season opener, they ended an NFL-record 24-game losing streak on the road with a 20-17 victory at Chicago.</p><p>Detroit beat Houston in Week 2 but got a taste of reality in its last game _ a 30-13 rout by the Philadelphia Eagles. The Lions were off last week.</p><p>Now, it's time for two old friends to get together. They'll exchange a few pleasantries _ then try to beat up on each other.</p><p>"I look forward to seeing him," Mora said. "But as far as nostalgic feelings, there's none of that."</p>

http://accesswdun.com/article/2004/10/159118