The title is the same for Steve Mariucci. But in his second incarnation as an NFL head coach, the job description is dramatically altered.

Hired by the San Francisco 49ers in 1997 as a caretaker of sorts, Mariucci was charged with maintaining the excellence of a roster that was beginning to show signs of age but was still eminently competitive. Six years later, Mariucci becomes a construction worker. The Detroit Lions team he inherits essentially must be built from the foundation up.

In a very real sense, Mariucci is walking into a "hard hat" area. And even if he mounts a miner's lamp on his head gear, his new franchise isn't apt to quickly locate the route that leads from the basement to the first floor of respectability.

	Joey Harrington is one of the bright spots in Detroit.

For the eager Mariucci, there will be neither the 13 victories that he fashioned in his debut season in San Francisco, nor the NFC championship game appearance that culminated his '97 rookie campaign. The Lions have won five games in two years, none on the road, and even given the failures of a deposed Marty Mornhinweg, that paltry victory total is much more an indictment of the franchise than it is a reflection of its ill-fit head coach.

It took Mariucci but six games in 1997, after succeeding George Seifert, to claim five wins. The cupboard isn't completely bare in Detroit, but there isn't a whole lot more than dubious leftovers on the shelves. If Mariucci can somehow nudge the Lions to five victories in his first season, he will have done well.

Certainly, there was pressure in San Francisco, where management expected to annually field a Super Bowl contender. Expectations are considerably more modest in Detroit, where the closest the Lions figure to come over the next several seasons to the Super Bowl is hosting the title game in 2006. But still, the challenge for Mariucci is far more daunting.

"I'm sure he has studied the (Lions) roster but, still, it's going to be a pretty rude awakening for 'Mooch' there," said one NFC personnel chief. "When he came to the NFL as a head coach, it was almost like he had a silver spoon shoved in his mouth, because of the San Francisco situation. This time, he definitely is slumming."

There is indeed, a wide disparity in the talent level Mariucci inherited in San Francisco and the Lions roster he takes over. Mariucci assumed control of a 49ers team that featured nine players who had made at least one Pro Bowl appearance prior to '97 and two more who earned a spot in the all-star game during his first season. Even the catastrophic knee injury suffered by Jerry Rice in the '97 opener at Tampa Bay couldn't keep the 49ers from ripping off 11 straight wins behind quarterback Steve Young.

That the conference championship game appearance in '97 represented the high-water mark of Mariucci's tenure in San Francisco, that he was fired in part because he never again equaled that performance, is incidental to the fact he consistently won when he had good players.

He won't find a lot of star power on Detroit's current depth chart.

Coach's Son Signs LOI

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- The son of Steve Mariucci signed a national letter of intent to attend Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo on Wednesday -- the same day his father was introduced as the new coach of the Detroit Lions. Tyler Mariucci is a 6-foot, 180-pounder who played quarterback and defensive back at Valley Christian High in San Jose, Calif. He completed 65 of 105 passes for 1,107 yards and 13 touchdowns with just three interceptions and rushed for 350 yards and seven TDs last season. -- The Associated Press

One example: The Lions' top three wide receivers in '02 -- Az-Zahir Hakim, Bill Schroeder and Germane Crowell -- combined for 95 receptions, 1,337 yards and nine touchdowns. By comparison, Terrell Owens himself averaged 97 catches, 1,388 yards and 14 touchdowns the past three seasons.

There is a reason Detroit rated 28th on offense and 31st defensively in 2002. The Lions have had one Pro Bowl player, defensive end Robert Porcher, the past two years. Initially, Mariucci is going to be asked to cobble together a stronger roster. Instead of having his name stenciled on the door to his new office, Mariucci would be better served to mount a "Men At Work" sign.

The stability he enjoyed in San Francisco, a trademark of the franchise until just recently, is being replaced by the stark reality that the Lions just aren't a very good team. Not until the third year of his San Francisco tenure were the 49ers forced to rip apart the team, to gut the roster for salary-cap reasons. Mariucci should drop a bomb on Detroit's roster and start over immediately.

The two best players on defense, Porcher and tackle Luther Elliss, will both be on the wrong side of 30 when the season begins. Tackle Shaun Rogers, a steal in the second round of the 2001 draft, was overweight and undermotivated during a disappointing sophomore season. Middle linebacker Chris Claiborne, a former first-round choice nearly certain to depart as an unrestricted free agent, also carried too much weight and was not a playmaker. The cornerbacks are nondescript.

On offense, Mariucci has an identifiable cornerstone in quarterback Joey Harrington, who enjoyed a solid debut season and will benefit from his new coach's tutelage. There are two very good young linemen in left tackle Jeff Backus and center Dominic Raiola. But the skill positions are lacking and in need of a quick upgrade.

Veteran tailback James Stewart is a lead-by-example player, coming off a 1,000-yard season, but he's hardly an optimum fit for the West Coast offense. By comparison, though, he's a square peg in a square hole when viewed with the incumbent wide receivers. The 49ers' offense placed a premium on size, and of the returning group, only Crowell would appear physically in line with the kind of wideouts Mariucci prefers. Alas, the development of the onetime deep threat has been stunted by injuries.

The good news for Mariucci is that the Lions own the second overall choice in the April draft and that wide receiver Charles Rogers, the Michigan State star whose selection would be well received by fans, should be available. He could provide an immediate big-play component currently missing from the Lions' attack.

Also on the plus side for Mariucci is that Detroit is not burdened by the kind of calamitous salary-cap situation that greeted him in San Francisco and that helped lead to just four victories in 1999-2000. The Lions have about $66.068 million committed to the 2003 cap. Even allowing for carryover bonuses and pending tender offers to the team's restricted free agents, Detroit should be under the $75 million spending limit.

Veteran players such as Porcher (cap value $10.83 million), Ellis ($7.4 million) and Stewart ($5.06 million) will need to have their current deals restructured. All have indicated their willingness to do so. There is about $8.96 million in so-called "dead money" -- salary-cap charges for players no longer with the club -- against the cap for 2003. But most of that is tied up in Charlie Batch and Herman Moore, and those former Lions go off the books in '04.

Now that Ford Field is a reality, Tom Lewand, promoted to executive vice president and chief operating officer Monday in one of team president Matt Millen's best moves, can turn his attention back to managing the cap.

The elements upon which Millen built his sales pitch -- a market-value salary, more control over personnel decisions than Mariucci could have ever had with the 49ers, hands-off ownership with the Ford family, a new state-of-the-art facility, a promising young quarterback and high draft choices -- are things of which the new coach must take advantage.

Mariucci must also have significant input, perhaps even veto power, on a new personnel director. While it is key that Millen be more comfortable with the new chief scout than he was with the recently deposed Bill Tobin, of greater importance is that the personnel director connect with Mariucci so that he can identify the players who will fit into the new system.

But even if that occurs, even if the Lions draft wisely in two months and use free agency to add a few veteran pieces, no one should count on immediate success. Mariucci is a far better coach than he was credited for being in San Francisco, but make no mistake -- he is not a miracle worker.

Three seasons have passed since the Lions last qualified for a playoff spot. It could be another three before Mariucci, who has to first lay a foundation and sink the footers before building skyward, has Detroit back in contention.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com. To send Len a question for possible use on ESPNEWS, click here.