Biography

George Seifert is a former NFL head coach who won two Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers. Born January 22, 1940, in San Francisco, Seifert attended San Francisco Polytechnic High School and played guard and linebacker at the University of Utah. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Utah before becoming head coach at Westminster College at age 25, then serving as head coach at Cornell University (1975-1976). Seifert joined Bill Walsh's staff at Stanford in 1977, and when Walsh moved to the 49ers in 1979, Seifert followed as defensive backs coach in 1980. Promoted to defensive coordinator in 1983, his defenses finished in the top ten in fewest points allowed in each of his six seasons, helping the 49ers win three Super Bowls as an assistant coach. When Walsh retired in 1989, Seifert succeeded him as head coach. In his remarkable first season, he became the first rookie head coach since Don McCafferty to win the Super Bowl, leading the 49ers to a 14-2 record and a 55-10 victory over Denver in Super Bowl XXIV. Seifert's 49ers won Super Bowl XXIX following the 1994 season, and he compiled an impressive 98-30 record (.766) in eight seasons with San Francisco. He later coached the Carolina Panthers from 1999-2001, finishing with an overall NFL record of 114-62 (.648), the fifth-best winning percentage among coaches with at least 100 wins.