Personal information | |
---|---|
Born: | San Francisco, California, U.S. | January 22, 1940
Career information | |
High school: | San Francisco (CA) Polytechnic |
College: | Utah |
Career history | |
As a coach: | |
| |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Head coaching record | |
Regular season: | 114–62 (.648) |
Postseason: | 10–5 (.667) |
Career: | 124–67 (.649) |
Coaching stats at PFR |
George Gerald Seifert (born January 22, 1940) is an American former football coach and player. He served as the head coach for the San Francisco 49ers [1] and the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). [2] Seifert owned the second-greatest winning percentage in NFL history by a head coach at the time of his resignation as the 49ers head coach, second to Guy Chamberlin. [3]
Seifert was raised in San Francisco and ushered at 49ers home games at Kezar Stadium while he attended San Francisco Polytechnic High School across the street. [4] He attended the University of Utah, playing guard and linebacker for the Utes. He served as graduate assistant at his alma mater for a year before being hired as head coach of Westminster College in Salt Lake City at age 25, [5] where he led the Parsons to a 3–3 record.
After working as an assistant at the University of Iowa, the University of Oregon, and Stanford University, [6] Seifert was hired as head coach at Cornell University. He was fired after going 3–15 in two seasons. [7] He then returned to Stanford in 1977, where he met Bill Walsh. When Walsh moved to the 49ers in 1979, Seifert joined his coaching staff the following year as the team's defensive backs coach. Seifert was promoted to defensive coordinator in 1983.
As a 49er assistant, Seifert defenses finished in the top ten in fewest points allowed in each of his six seasons in that capacity: fourth in 1983, first in 1984, second in 1985, third in 1986 and 1987, and eighth in 1988. His final two defenses, 1987 and 1988, finished first and third in fewest yards allowed, respectively.
On Seifert's 49th birthday, the 49ers won Super Bowl XXIII. Seifert was promoted to succeed Walsh as 49ers head coach the following season. He is one of only 13 NFL head coaches with more than one Super Bowl victory, winning in both the 1989 and 1994 seasons with the San Francisco 49ers. In Super Bowl XXIV he became the first rookie head coach to win the Super Bowl since Don McCafferty coached the Baltimore Colts to victory in Super Bowl V. In all, Seifert coached on five Super Bowl champion teams with the 49ers.
Despite owning the best winning percentage of any NFL head coach in the league's history, 49ers management did not offer an extension on Seifert's contract. 49ers team president Carmen Policy desired to hire Cal Bears head coach Steve Mariucci to the same position in the 49ers organization. Policy offered Seifert the opportunity to remain head coach for the final year of his contract, with Mariucci serving as offensive coordinator and head coach-in-waiting. Seifert then resigned. [3] [8] His 98 wins are still the most in franchise history.
After two years out of the game, Seifert was hired by the Carolina Panthers as head coach. He was also de facto general manager as well; the Panthers hadn't had a general manager since Bill Polian's departure in 1997. [9] During his first training camp with the Panthers, he told his players that they shouldn't act like wildebeests. He explained that wildebeests usually give up when caught by a lion. "Don't be that wildebeest," he said. "Don't give up." [10]
In his first season, Seifert led the Panthers to an 8–8 record, a four-game improvement from 1998. The most notable play of that year came when quarterback Steve Beuerlein scored a game-winning touchdown on a fourth-and-five quarterback draw with five seconds left in the fourth quarter to defeat the Green Bay Packers. [11] The Panthers went into the final day of the regular season in contention for a playoff berth; however, their victory margin over the New Orleans Saints needed to be 18 points greater than the Packers' margin over the Arizona Cardinals in order to make the playoffs. While the Panthers routed the Saints 45–13, the Packers beat the Cardinals 49–24, leaving the Packers ahead on point differential and eliminating the Panthers.
The Panthers were competitive for most of 2000 as well but needed to win their season finale against the Oakland Raiders to finish at .500. Instead, the Raiders won in a 52–9 rout, still one of the most lopsided losses in Carolina history. Seifert presided over the 2001 NFL Draft, which netted the Panthers Steve Smith and Kris Jenkins, two cornerstones of the franchise. Behind rookie quarterback Chris Weinke, they defeated the Minnesota Vikings, 24–13, in the 2001 season opener; however, they did not win another game all season and finished at 1–15, the worst record in franchise history. [12] The 15 consecutive losses was an NFL record for futility until the 2008 Detroit Lions went 0–16. The Panthers' final two games were played before what are still the two smallest crowds in franchise history (in terms of turnstile count), including a 38–6 loss to the New England Patriots that drew only 21,000 people. Following the game, Seifert announced that he was planning to return for the 2002 season, but was fired the next morning. [13]
Seifert is the first head coach since the implementation of the 16-game schedule in place from 1978 to 2020 to guide a team to 15 consecutive losses following a Week 1 victory. Seifert's dubious distinction would be matched by Doug Marrone of the 2020 Jacksonville Jaguars. [14]
To date, Seifert and Matt Rhule (2020–2022) are the only Panthers coaches to have never had a winning season or coached a playoff game.
Team | Year | Regular Season | Post Season | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
SF | 1989 | 14 | 2 | 0 | .875 | 1st in NFC West | 3 | 0 | 1.000 | Super Bowl XXIV champions |
SF | 1990 | 14 | 2 | 0 | .875 | 1st in NFC West | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost to New York Giants in NFC Championship Game |
SF | 1991 | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 3rd in NFC West | — | — | — | — |
SF | 1992 | 14 | 2 | 0 | .875 | 1st in NFC West | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost to Dallas Cowboys in NFC Championship Game |
SF | 1993 | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 1st in NFC West | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost to Dallas Cowboys in NFC Championship Game |
SF | 1994 | 13 | 3 | 0 | .813 | 1st in NFC West | 3 | 0 | 1.000 | Super Bowl XXIX champions |
SF | 1995 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 1st in NFC West | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost to Green Bay Packers in NFC Divisional Game |
SF | 1996 | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 2nd in NFC West | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost to Green Bay Packers in NFC Divisional Game |
SF Total | 98 | 30 | 0 | .766 | 10 | 5 | .667 | |||
CAR | 1999 | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 2nd in NFC West | — | — | — | — |
CAR | 2000 | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3rd in NFC West | — | — | — | — |
CAR | 2001 | 1 | 15 | 0 | .062 | 5th in NFC West | — | — | — | — |
CAR Total | 16 | 32 | 0 | .333 | — | — | — | |||
Total [15] | 114 | 62 | 0 | .648 | 10 | 5 | .667 | |||
Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Westminster Parsons (Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference)(1965) | |||||||||
1965 | Westminster | 3–3 | |||||||
Westminster: | 3–3 | ||||||||
Cornell Big Red (Ivy League)(1975–1976) | |||||||||
1975 | Cornell | 1–8 | 0–7 | 8th | |||||
1976 | Cornell | 2–7 | 2–5 | T–5th | |||||
Cornell: | 3–15 | 2–12 | |||||||
Total: | 6–18 |
CBS Sports hired Seifert to serve as a panelist for The NFL Today in its first season after CBS regained NFL broadcast rights (for the AFC) in 1998. His performance was not well received, however, and the network removed him before the end of the regular season. [16]
Seifert currently resides in Bodega Bay, California, with his wife Linda. They have two children, Eve and Jason. [17]
William Ernest Walsh was an American professional and college football coach. He served as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers and the Stanford Cardinal, during which time he popularized the West Coast offense. After retiring from the 49ers, Walsh worked as a sports broadcaster for several years and then returned as head coach at Stanford for three seasons.
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The team is headquartered in Bank of America Stadium in Uptown Charlotte; the stadium also serves as the team's home field. The Panthers are supported throughout the Carolinas; although the team has played its home games in Charlotte since 1996, they played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina during its first season. The team hosts its annual training camp at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Along with the New England Patriots, it is one of only two teams representing multiple states.
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play their home games at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, located 38 miles (61 km) southeast of San Francisco. The team is named after the prospectors who arrived in Northern California in the 1849 Gold Rush.
Stephen Ray Mariucci, nicknamed "Mooch", is an American sportscaster and former football coach who was the head coach of two National Football League teams, the San Francisco 49ers (1997–2002) and the Detroit Lions (2003–2005), and for a year at the University of California, Berkeley.
In American football, the West Coast offense is an offense that places a greater emphasis on passing than on running.
Michael Edward Shanahan is a former American football coach, best known as the head coach of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL) from 1995 to 2008. During his fourteen seasons with the Broncos, he led the team to two consecutive Super Bowl victories in XXXII and XXXIII, including the franchise's first NFL title in the former. His head coaching career spanned a total of twenty seasons and also included stints with the Los Angeles Raiders and Washington Redskins. He is the father of San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan.
Michael George Holmgren is a former American football coach and executive. He began his NFL career as a quarterbacks' coach and later as an offensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers, where they won Super Bowls XXIII and XXIV. He served as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers from 1992 to 1998, where he won Super Bowl XXXI, and of the Seattle Seahawks from 1999 to 2008. His last role in the NFL was as team president of the Cleveland Browns from 2010 to 2012. Prior to his career in the NFL, Holmgren coached football at the high school and collegiate levels.
Raymond Earl Rhodes is a former American football player and coach. Rhodes played wide receiver and cornerback for the New York Giants and the San Francisco 49ers. He served as the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL), as well as the former assistant defensive backs coach of the Houston Texans. He earned five Super Bowl rings as an assistant coach with the San Francisco 49ers, and was named Coach of the Year by The Associated Press in 1995, his first season as Eagles head coach. He last served as the senior defensive assistant for the Cleveland Browns.
The 1989 NFL season was the 70th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle announced his retirement. Paul Tagliabue was eventually chosen to succeed him, taking over on November 5.
James Caldwell is an American football coach in the National Football League (NFL). He served as the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts from 2009 to 2011 and Detroit Lions from 2014 to 2017. Caldwell has been a part of two Super Bowl-winning teams in his career; as the assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach of the Colts team that won Super Bowl XLI and as offensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens team that won Super Bowl XLVII.
The Carolina Panthers' history formally dates back to 1993, when the NFL awarded the franchise to Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, began play in the 1995 NFL season as expansion teams. They have played in Charlotte since 1996, winning six division titles and two NFC Championships. The Panthers were the first NFL franchise based in the Carolinas and the second professional sports team based in Charlotte, the first being the NBA's Charlotte Hornets.
The San Francisco 49ers are the first major league professional sports franchise to be based in San Francisco, and one of the first professional sports teams based on the West Coast of the United States.
The 2001 Carolina Panthers season was the franchise's 7th season in the National Football League (NFL) and the 3rd and final under head coach George Seifert. They tried to improve upon their 7–9 record in 2000, and make it to the playoffs for the second time in franchise history; however, the season was a wreck. Not only were the Panthers unable to improve over their previous season, but they deteriorated even further, dropping to 1–15.
The 2000 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 51st season in the National Football League and their 55th overall. Jerry Rice entered the 2000 season as the oldest player in the league at the wide receiver position. At the end of the year, however, with the emergence of Terrell Owens, Rice decided to leave the team after sixteen seasons to join the Raiders. Running back Charlie Garner would join Rice in Oakland.
The 1997 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 48th season in the National Football League and their 52nd overall. The franchise appeared in the NFC Championship Game for the fifth time in the 1990s. This season marked their last appearance in the NFC title game until the 2011 season as well as the last time that they clinched the number 1 seed until the 2019 season. The team's playoff run was ended by the Green Bay Packers for the third straight season.
The 1996 San Francisco 49ers season was the club's 51st since its inception. In commemoration, the 49ers wore a special 50th anniversary patch. They also wore a new uniform reminiscent of the 1994 throwback uniforms with white pants and shadowed numbers, but with a darker shade of red and an updated logo. The franchise tied for first place in the NFC West with a 12–4 record, but lost the division title to the Carolina Panthers on the division-record tiebreaker. The 49ers ranked 3rd in the league in points scored and 4th in fewest points allowed.
Daniel Patrick Quinn is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He came to prominence as the defensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks from 2013 to 2014, where he was the playcaller for the team's Legion of Boom secondary. Under Quinn, Seattle led the league in defense and made two consecutive Super Bowl appearances, winning the franchise's first in Super Bowl XLVIII. This success led to Quinn being named head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, where he served for six seasons.
The 49ers–Packers rivalry is an American football rivalry between the San Francisco 49ers and the Green Bay Packers. The two teams do not play every year; instead, they play once every three years due to the NFL's rotating division schedules, or if the two teams finish in the same place in their respective divisions, they would play the ensuing season. The rivalry became prominent during the 1990s, as the Brett Favre-led Packers defeated the Steve Young-led 49ers in three of four playoff meetings. In the 2005 NFL Draft, the 49ers selected Alex Smith with the first overall selection, passing on northern California native Aaron Rodgers; Green Bay later selected Rodgers with the 24th pick. Since Rodgers became the Packers' starter in 2008, the Packers and 49ers met in the playoffs four times, though the 49ers won all four of these meetings.