The 2003 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 57th season in the National Football League. The team entered their 2003 season attempting to improve upon their 10–6 output from the previous year.This was the first season under head coach Dennis Erickson, whose hiring was highly controversial due to the way the coaching change was handled. The 49ers failed to surpass their 2002 record and finished the season 7–9 by losing six close games. It was the final season that noted 49ers Terrell Owens, Garrison Hearst, Tai Streets, Ron Stone, and Jeff Garcia spent with the team.