George Seifert

George Seifert
Personal information
Born: (1940-01-22) January 22, 1940
San Francisco, California
Career information
High school: San Francisco (CA) Polytechnic
College: Utah
Career history
As 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 joined the 49ers' coaching staff under Bill Walsh in 1980 as defensive backs coach and served as the team's defensive coordinator from 1983 to 1988.

Career

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.[3] 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,[4] 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,[5] Seifert was hired as head coach at Cornell University. He was fired after going 3–15 in two seasons.[6] He then returned to Stanford in 1977, where he met Walsh. When Walsh moved to the 49ers in 1979, Seifert remained at Stanford for one more year before joining him.

As a 49er assistant, his 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 his 49th birthday, the 49ers won the Super Bowl in 1989.

Head coaching

In 1989, he was elevated to head coach. 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. Seifert was forced to resign after the 1996 season.

After two years out of the game, he 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.

In his first season, Seifert led the Panthers to an 8–8 record, a four-game improvement from 1998. 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, The Raiders defeated the Panthers by a score of 52–9, 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. 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. Seifert was fired the next morning.

Head coaching record

National Football League

TeamYearRegular SeasonPost Season
WonLostTiesWin %FinishWonLostWin %Result
SF1989 1420.8751st in NFC West301.000Super Bowl XXIV Champions.
SF1990 1420.8751st in NFC West11.500Lost to New York Giants in NFC Championship Game.
SF1991 1060.6253rd in NFC West————
SF1992 1420.8751st in NFC West11.500Lost to Dallas Cowboys in NFC Championship Game.
SF1993 1060.6251st in NFC West11.500Lost to Dallas Cowboys in NFC Championship Game.
SF1994 1330.8131st in NFC West301.000Super Bowl XXIX Champions.
SF1995 1150.6881st in NFC West01.000Lost to Green Bay Packers in NFC Divisional Game.
SF1996 1240.7502nd in NFC West11.500Lost to Green Bay Packers in NFC Divisional Game.
SF Total98300.766105.667
CAR1999 880.5002nd in NFC West————
CAR2000 790.4383rd in NFC West————
CAR2001 1150.0625th in NFC West————
CAR Total16320.333———
Total [7]114620.648105.667

College

Year Team Overall ConferenceStanding 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 1–80–78th
1976 Cornell 2–72–5T–5th
Cornell: 3–152–12
Total:6–18

See also

References

  1. ↑ "49ers Select Mariucci As Seifert's Successor". New York Times. 17 January 1997. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
  2. ↑ Associated Press (4 January 1999). "FOOTBALL: N.F.L. NOTEBOOK". New York Times. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
  3. ↑ Seifert has no hard Feelings
  4. ↑ Sports Illustrated (29 January 1990). "Bumpy Road To Success". Times Daily. Retrieved 14 December 2013.
  5. ↑ Associated Press (21 January 1990). "Seifert builds own image". Times Daily. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
  6. ↑ Nissenson, Herschel (7 December 1976). "Blackman Is Returning To Ivy League (Cornell)". The Argus-Press. Retrieved 23 October 2010.
  7. ↑ George Seifert Career Record @ Pro Football Reference
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