The WORST BROADCAST DISASTER in NFL on CBS HISTORY | George Seifert

You never hear of analysts and announcers being fired in the middle of the season just because they're that bad at their jobs. However, in 1998, that's exactly what happened with former San Francisco 49ers head coach and eventual Carolina Panthers head coach George Seifert. When CBS brought back The NFL Today, and brought along Jim Nantz, Marcus Allen, and Brent Jones to pair with Seifert, Seifert did such a bad job that in an unprecedented move that had never happened before and has never happened since, he was let go in the middle of the 1998 NFL season. This is the story behind that
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[@bobheyotue9850]

4 broadcasting errors in 8 minutes? That’s a 1 on-air mess up for every two minutes to put that in prospective if you were a starting QB and spiked the ball on every drive you would have a better Time explaining yourself then Seifert had explaining the top matchups for Sunday football

[@charlesvinson5528]

😂😂😂

[@NillyNilly546]

🤣

[@sparkypikachu7776]

Lmaooo

[@rjg7112]

What makes Siefert's stint at Carolina look even worse is that only two season after replacing him the team wins its division and makes it to its first Super Bowl. Obviously, CBS was not doing any screen testing of prospective new hires for the show. It is live television and not everybody can do this type of public speaking as well the people who the job down for many years.

[@ericrakestraw664]

Seifert's broadcasting career was so insignificant that it's not even mentioned on his Wikipedia page.

[@andrewmartinez9992]

It’s on there 😂

[@crispinroy9839]

It's on there now lol

[@Bigchet1223]

NBC hired Jerome Bettis fresh off of his super bowl XL championship and retirement. He didn't get fired midseason. But only lasted one season. He offered very little as an analyst.

[@fromthehaven94]

Except one pregame thing, which naturally was a Bengals/Steelers game, where The Bus is surrounded by fans, but Cris Collinsworth is not.

[@vpking77]

The Bus wasn't great as analyst but had a successful post game career doing commercials.

[@ericjackson7632]

The thing with Seifert (49ers fan here), he was a great coach, but he was terrible at personnel. The team lost talent gradually as we got deeper into the 90s, which is what allowed the Cowboys and then the Packers to surpass us. The 1994 draft was a bright spot, but overall, we were horrendous at drafting from 1989 to 1996. And this is in spite of picking up talent like Ricky Watters, Dana Stubblefield, and Terrell Owens in other drafts outside of 1994. Had they had someone in that org making personnel decisions, the Carolina stint might have gone better.

[@michaellee8816]

"No that's....that's for sure...and this often happens where a team that's....that's heavily favored go into a stadium, especially early in the season.....Chicagos fired up, everybodys ready to go, they put forth a great performance, and all of a sudden here comes Jaguars right back taking control of the ball game" - O......K......that's quite the analysis.....

[@jimclark6493]

Seifert did a good job in that 1995 commercial of bossanova.

[@kyle1910]

Brent Jones moved to the broadcast booth, joining GUS JOHNSON!! in '99 through the very early part of the '05 season, leaving to start a business venture

[@craigmergenthal9291]

I never felt like it was actually Brent Jones talking but instead was just this oddly over-cheerful caricature of Brent Jones. It'd be interesting if his friends/teammates noticed this, or if this is how he was all the time, because it got old fast and seemed really inauthentic.

[@thecawdsquad875]

Seifert wasn't nearly as bad as this guy was making out. I mean, he was rough around the edges but not horrible by any means. This guy made it sound like Seifert was like Chevy Chase hosting that talk show.

[@cloughie1981]

Exactly, I was expecting a huge calamity, it was hyped up to be some travesty yet all I saw was someone new to TV finding their feet.

[@Cyclops4415]

I concur. There are far worse commentators and analysts all over today.

[@shanestanton8]

Don’t forget that Seifert picked up a ring as an assistant coach for the ‘88 Niners

[@bertmustin]

He was with the 49ers in both '81 and '84.

[@tg8078]

5 rings total

[@andrewmartinez9992]

Defensive coordinator

[@chrisconsorte7893]

And the 84 and 81 49ers!

[@thomasboner8218]

He didn’t seem to be that bad. Some flubs, but nothing terrible.

[@deputay]

I totally remember being underwhelmed just seeing the promos over the Summer when it was promoted that the NFL Today would return. And then week 1 happened...thank you for including the clips. Words don't do it justice!

[@nasetvideos]

This was an incredible job reporting what happened. I remember this so well. Seifert may have been a good coach, but as a broadcaster, it was just an awful experience as a listener. He talked to no one to get prepared for this type of job. And it showed. Your clips of him showed just how poorly suited he was for this job. You articulated how things went down so well. Nice job!

[@jry3270]

His last season in the NFL proved he wasn’t that great of a coach either . Just handed an all time great franchise

[@ShadySportsNetwork]

He’s like the opposite of Rex Ryan who was a terrible head coach, great broadcaster

[@williefaulker]

@@jry3270 to be fair tht panthers team was trash lol

[@williamfata3732]

Rex Ryan took the Jets to the AFC championship in his first two seasons as the Jets HC, with a rookie QB. The definition of a terrible HC.

[@ShadySportsNetwork]

@@williamfata3732 go ahead and name any other winning season he had as a head coach other than his first two years with the Jets...don't worry I'll wait.

[@CTubeMan]

I always wondered why Seifert was replaced in mid season with Michael Lombardi. I blame it on the Bossanova. In fairness to Seifert, the clips you showed of him were from the first week of the season, when you’d expect a new announcer would have serious nerves.

[@RalphReagan]

Lol

[@pronkb000]

Great Bossanova reference. That commercial had been an Internet white whale of mine and I totally forgot about it until you mentioned it. Maybe Seifert wasn't so colorless after all.

[@adambartel8037]

Ahh, that commercial was fantastic.

[@prairiehawker]

George was the NFL equivalent of Cindy Brady staring at the red light on the TV camera.

[@d0nKsTaH]

That stare tho..... It has to be a meme.. I can see it my head even now

[@brianoneill7186]

When it was all over, George couldn't even get a job in BATON ROUGE!

[@battlestarmarc]

1989 Siefert got a great 49ers team.

[@diaz5292]

8:45 Well in fairness to Seifert, Joey Galloway was at this time requesting to be known as 'The Artist Bobby Galloway formerly known as Joey Galloway'...lol

[@hezamachine]

George Seifert was really bad. CBS also pulled the plug on Brent Jones, Marcus Allen and Michael Lombardi after the 1998 season.

[@JesusTapdancingChristOnaCross]

@@matthewdaley746 some CLOWN named Mike Lombardi - Jason Kelce

[@TimmyTickle]

Actually, Jones moved into the broadcast booth, where he proved to be much better.

[@raiderrodavis6357]

Jones & Allen we’re just as bad as Seifert

[@PaulGaither]

On a somewhat similar note, Joe Montana was brought on TV a few times in the 90's, and despite being a huge fan of his, I recall him adding nothing to every episode he was a part of.

[@richardadams4928]

OMG, he would start a sentence, evidently lose his train of thought partway through, then finish with a second half completely unrelated to the first half of the sentence. Literally the most incoherent, incomprehensible person I ever heard in my LIFE. He sounded like he was having a STROKE every minute or two.

[@RichV20]

@@richardadams4928 Probably due to all the concussions he had. His doctor told him he was at high-risk for a heart attack after he retired, so a STROKE during that time was plausible. You still see Joe these days promoting healthy heart awareness and drugs.

[@ryanjacobson2508]

@@richardadams4928 Joe might've also had stage fright. Some people don't lack physical courage but are uniquely put off by the pressure of public speaking.

[@pabloseykata6930]

Being a Great QB and being a Great On Air commentator are two different jobs. Not every ex-athlete--even a great one--can do live TV. Being a good on air TV personality is not a difficult job for certain types of guys, but it's harder than it looks.

[@beaverdalehawk]

I remember feeling the exact same way watching Montana.

[@animemaster4861]

I'm not even a 49ers fan but I've studied all of it and I don't think there's a finer overall season ever certainly maybe not a better playoff run than the 1989 49ers.

[@NashvilleLouLive]

This happened during my semester abroad in England. I had no idea that Seifert worked for CBS until now. By the time I got back from the UK, he was already gone. Thanks for posting this.

[@majorprogramdotcom]

Man this guy loves to hear himself talk. What you want to see is at 8:00 ... and it's not as horrible as listening to this video for 15 minutes

[@Wannaknowmyname1]

Would be better if he at least had a voice better than the seifert who he was trashing on.

[@JWex-jy7sk]

That 2001 season was just a terrible ending to Seifert’s coaching career! This is the guy who cut Steve Beuerlein after 2000 who was recently a pro bowler for them, because Seifert wanted an upgrade in a more “younger and agile quarterback” And then all he did that offseason in upgrading the QB position was drafting Chris Weinke in the 4th round and sticking with little known backup QB Jeff Lewis (who got at the end of training camp) The Panthers went 1-15 that season...

[@flyinelvis69]

Jr lost half as mamy games that season as he did in 7 at San Francisco

[@pronkb000]

That run cost Seifert the HOF, I believe.

[@JWex-jy7sk]

@@pronkb000 Had he just never coached again instead of taking that Panthers job, I believe he would’ve been. 1999-2000 he was average, but that 2001 season was one of the worst QB situations any head coach had ever planned out heading into a season with the expectation to actually try and compete!

[@jaydav6521]

@@JWex-jy7sk they weren't expecting to compete. Seifert told the local media on the first day of camp that his goal was to leave the program in good shape for the next staff. He did exactly that. 2001 was the most successful tank job of the modern era in the NFL.

[@jaydav6521]

@Fries I'm not blaming anyone. I know who we drafted. I said it was the most successful tank job of the modern era.

[@paulcarterdesign]

Oh man. I had forgotten this chapter of NFL Today. Thanks for bringing it up. On a related note, in 1998 it was weird to me seeing AFC games broadcast on CBS. Decades later, it still seems weird.

[@americangiant1003]

Being fair, there are younger NFL fans ie Millennials and Generation Z (Young adults born between around 1999-2010ish) who only know of watching most NFC games on Fox. And only majority of AFC games on CBS. Just being honest.

[@paulcarterdesign]

@@americangiant1003 That's why I said it's weird "to me." That hasn't changed.

[@americangiant1003]

@@paulcarterdesign Ok Boomer 😆 FYI I am GenXer myself. I remember the 80s/early ‘90s (right before Fox TV joined) when only the NFC was on CBS and the AFC on NBC. Not counting inter conference games. Plus MNF on ABC. And finally by 1988, a limited 8-10 game slate of Sunday Night Football on ESPN.

[@fromthehaven94]

I hate what happens now, thanks to the Thursday night game, a game expected to be on Fox will be on CBS and vice versa.

[@paulcarterdesign]

@@fromthehaven94 TV rights are an absolute mess now, evolving so since then.

[@jry3270]

Siefert was the first coach to win his first game of the season and lose the next fifteen straight. So 2020 Jags arent the only team to do that. I remember that Carolina season because they were the only team worse than my Bills that year, and we actually came back to beat them in what was dubbed the 'futility bowl' that year.

[@toddbiesel4288]

Texans can do that one better this year.

[@SamnissArandeen]

"Futility Bowl" = *TANK BOWL!!!* Cue the Roundball Rock.

[@jaydav6521]

In an interview on the first day of training camp that year, Seifert was asked about his goals for the season. He said that he just wanted to leave the program in good shape for the next staff. He literally admitted that the tank was going to happen. Panthers had just cut all of the starting defensive lineman from the previous year, and the starting QB Steve Buerlien who had led the league in passing yards and second in TD's in 1999. The Panthers had a lot of young talent ( Steve Smith, Dan Morgan, and Kris Jenkins were all rookies) and could have easily won 6 or more games, but set a league record at the time for blown fourth quarter leads and losses by 8 points or less. The local media would joke about how they kept "finding" ways to lose. The tank job paid off. We drafted future Hall of Famer Julius Peppers along with Deshuan Foster and went to the Superbowl two years later. It was definitely worth it to let the Bills win that day.

[@aarondersnah863]

My Detroit Lions, in the first year of the disaster that was Matt Millen as GM, finished that season at 2-14, one game worse than the 3-13 Bills. I remember that even though Carolina ended up losing 15 straight games that year, late night talk show host Jay Leno spent more time trashing the Lions and their 12 game losing streak, probably because the Lions lost their 12 straight before getting their first win. I also remember how it seemed like such a "Lions thing" where they could have such a bad season, but only end up with the 3rd overall pick in the 2002 draft. This was because in addition to Carolina having a worse record, the expansion Houston Texans were granted the number 1 pick. Knowing the Lions, they probably still would have taken Joey Harrington with their first round pick regardless of whether the pick was at No. 1, No 2, or No. 3.

[@jaydav6521]

@@aarondersnah863 I was at the Panthers Lions game in week two 2002. Saw Julius Peppers get the first three sacks of his career and Joey Harrington came off the bench to throw his first NFL interception. Former Lion Rodney Peete threw for over 300 yards and 3 TD'S in a 31-7 Panthers win. It was a great day to be a Panthers fan. I can't imagine how it would have felt to be a Lions fan that day. I really thought Joey was going to be a good pro. Lol

[@ericdunbar6230]

The Bengals where horrible at that time I remember wishing the Bengals would hire him as a HC. I was disappointed when he went into broadcasting. When the Panthers hired him I thought it was a great move. I guess that's why I'm not a GM.

[@GhettoPat95]

Thanks for the link in the stream JG9 as this was so well done and hilarious too because I remember Seifert being so bad and awkward on there. 🤣

[@charismatic9904]

What makes hires like these even worse is that you dont just get hired. You have to actually AUDITION for the job. Meaning they saw how bad you were before you even got the job and then still decided fuck it give em the job.

[@humanbeing2420]

He just wasn't that bad. He was not good - he added nothing. But he wasn't terrible. These clips were not embarrassing or anything.

[@TheMt45]

Terry Bradshaw does this kind of thing every show and he's been kept on for years.

[@vincesmith2499]

He has personality, though.

[@jimroland7542]

Dear Sir JaguarGator9, I am year late seeing this and regret not seeing it when you first regurgitated it. You are a real piece of work for throwing shade at a dead man. A man who loved this country more than he loved his own life. He was an inspiration to millions upon millions of patriots in this country.

[@Bigchet1223]

Yet Cris Collinsworth still has a job?

[@mickeylynch8982]

Still amazed by that fact. He'll be on for awhile since he's a part of the lame PFF stats they use on his broadcasts. 🤬

[@MKISports]

Thom Brenneman was one of my favorite NFL commentators for FOX until that explicit comment ruined his career, as Castellanos hits into the left field, and that'll be a 4-0 ballgame.

[@Bigchet1223]

Couldn't stand him as a baseball or football announcer.

[@pronkb000]

@@Bigchet1223 I thought he was pretty good on football--his call of the Boise State-Oklahoma Fiesta Bowl in particular is fantastic. "James...THE LATERAL!!!" still gives me chills. But as a baseball announcer he was a pompous windbag obsessed with "playing the right way" and worshipping at the altar of the '75 Reds.

[@patricklee4316]

“I consider myself a man of faith.”

[@drewzuhosky6826]

He's been working as a high school football announcer in Cincinnati this season. Probably all he can get as a broadcaster at this point-- and yet, Matt Underwood somehow still has a job calling Cleveland Guardians games on TV.

[@elifield7149]

Could you take any longer to get to the point?

[@bubbafug00gle51]

As for Seifert not asking any broadcasters for advice, it reminds me of the old saying "Failing to plan is planning to fail"

[@CTubeMan]

Bill Walton quoting the “Great Coach John Robert Wooden.”

[@LL3Jay]

I like that wide receiver from Arizona, Rick Hopkins

[@heinekenswordfish]

He doesn't seem any worse than Terry Bradshaw, who's been butchering highlights for close to 30 years on Fox!

[@petercook7586]

None of this seemed too bad

[@MichaelMartin-qe5ye]

That 1-15 final season in 2001 put the Panthers in position to draft Julius Peppers. To be fair, Bobby and Joey are derivatives of Bob and Joe in the same way. Sometimes people have brain cramps and remember the type of name instead of the actual name.

[@brianoneill7186]

And that's when Bobby Joe McGallowstir jumped the Seifertatchee Bridge...

[@nickkaning7616]

I thought JAGBRUH was going to do a video: How the Atlanta Falcons threw 3 interceptions in 4 minutes with 3 different quarterbacks. Has that ever happened before????

[@d0nKsTaH]

Scary thing is... it has happened before .. with Atlanta! Jeff George, Bobby Hebert, and either it was Favre (first year) or John Fourcade

[@TheWillisShow]

2000 Chargers Moreno, Leaf and Harbaugh

[@blakfloyd]

@@d0nKsTaH John Fourcade only played for the Saints.

[@d0nKsTaH]

@@blakfloyd guess I was thinking someone else...

[@blakfloyd]

@@d0nKsTaH Chris Miller maybe?

[@cameleyez]

It was his first show. So I cut him some slack but this didn't really need to be a video. Those clips aren't good but they weren't disastrous. Meh.

[@truthfighter2663]

I don’t understand how you can be a head coach in the NFL and not be nervous and yet be nervous when you’re on television 📺 analyzing the game you know like the back of your hand 🤔.

[@davanmani556]

I remember something like that with Bobby Knight occurred.

[@ryanstrnad1852]

I liked George, great coach, good man and all. But yes, he struggled in the studio. He could've maybe passed as some sort of "guest" studio analyst during a playoff game or something (where some tend to talk slow or be timid with the understanding that their "real" job is barking orders from the sidelines). But not in a permanent setting like this. If I recall, The NFL Today summoned Craig James in from their College Football show in which he would do permanently the following season.

[@humanbeing2420]

I had forgotten all about Rush Limbaugh being on ESPN. I had also forgotten that he's dead, so thank you for the reminding me of that - it always puts a big smile on my face.

[@samuelrosenbalm]

Disgusting.

[@MickeyMorandini1]

when your time comes... and it will, would you want someone talking that way about you ?

[@swishdipper4362]

He will be buried and it won’t be of any concern to him.

[@gluserty]

This was a rough beginning for the new CBS pregame show; sure, there's Seifert, but I don't think ANY of it worked. Duller than dishwater, no energy in the studio, just nothing for an audience to hang its hat on. But yeah, next season was MUCH better. As Seifert's Panthers stint goes, I see it as a mixed bag: the franchise tried the patchwork system early on, which lead to competitive mediocrity (15-17), then Seifert blew it up and kind of fell on his sword in 2001 (losing those final 15 games). But players who weren't ready or were just getting going that Seifert drafted (Steve Smith, Kris Jenkins, Mike Rucker, Dan Morgan, to name a few) formed the backbone of a Panthers team that was in a Super Bowl just 2 seasons later (Seifert's biggest problem is that in 2001 29-year-old Chris Weinke was not any good at all, although he seems to be a fine QB teacher). I admire Seifert sacrificing himself to actually improve a franchise, and I consider him Hall of Fame worthy (he had some great defenses in San Francisco, and he can also do The Dance of Love, so I also like that).

[@bubbafug00gle51]

Nantz was "the equivalent of an MVP baseball player on a team that finished it's season with 100 losses" He was more like the guy on a 100 loss team who goes to the all star game because MLB rules dictate somebody has to represent every team. He's a decent professional but by no means the reason people would watch or enjoy a broadcast. He is better in a studio than on PBP imo, but still not spectacular

[@RichV20]

Jim Nantz was hired to evoke memories of Brent Musburger.

[@bmasters1981]

@@RichV20 And no wonder-- after all, Brent was who Jim Nantz saw practically every NFL Sunday as a boy, and Brent, et al. on the NFC NFL Today were instrumental in helping Jim Nantz's dreams along to where he started on CBS in 1985 as the college football studio man on Saturdays (w/The Prudential College Football Report), and then eventually became a game announcer in the late-80s and early-mid-90s (he would make his mark on practically everything that CBS had [college football, college hoops, NFL, golf, you name it]).

[@dash_r_media]

I don't like Nantz on PBP, but he's a pitch-perfect announcer for The Masters. His brand of hyper-sentimentality fits Augusta like a glove. When he moves on, CBS better hire the schmaltziest, warmest, white-breadiest guy they can find. I don't need Gus Johnson calling golf, great as he is otherwise.

[@MrUnsolvedMystery]

Seifert had that look like what the hell am I doing here and how do I get out of this?I miss the old NFL today team of Brent Musberger, Irv Cross and Jimmy the Greek! Lol

[@americangiant1003]

You talking a hall of fame broadcasting team of Brent, Irv, “”Greek” and Phyllis & Jayne that pioneered the modern 30-60 minute Pre game Sports Show on American TV. That era will sadly never come back.

[@thespspazz]

None of those clips seem that bad. A lot of former coaches are boring. Bill Parcells was too.

[@petermontoya1796]

The job is harder than it looks. I'm sure most sports fans "THINK" that they can be an analyst somehow. Try it out. When your team is playing on TV, record yourself giving play by play. It ain't easy.

[@kurtoelmann1714]

This is really a reach.......Siefert wasn't bad, just inexperienced for the job.

[@pronkb000]

I mean, those pre-season interviews are pretty telling. He was worried and anxious to the point of concern and he didn't even consult with any other broadcasters or coaches. He may have been acceptable if he'd put in any effort. And as JG9 points out...it's not like Seifert was exactly a quote machine as a head coach. He definitely wasn't a character like his replacement, Jerry Glanville. As a personality he was like a way-more-successful Jeff Fisher.

[@TMC1982Part2]

@@pronkb000 CBS was trying as the video states, emulate Fox by having two ex-players (I guess Marcus Allen was the Howie Long of their show, being that he's an ex-Raider too with Brent Jones being the Ronnie Lott, being that he's also an ex-49ers) and a coach, with George Seifert in the Jimmy Johnson role to Jim Nantz's James Brown. The problem from the start is that Seifert isn't exactly an entertaining "character" or somebody who you would immediately think as being super-charismatic like Jimmy Johnson or other ex-coaches turned analysts like John Madden, Jerry Glanville, Bill Parcells, Joe Gibbs, Hank Stram, or Mike Ditka. I'm not necessarily saying that being soft-spoken or having a decidedly milquetoast personality is necessarily a negative thing (Tony Dungy on NBC today, you can argue, fits this type of description) as long as you're able to say something truly substantial to make up for it.

[@yusefinc1096]

“CAN-TON” JG9! 😆 Love your channel though. Watch every morning.

[@PoliticallyIncorrect90]

Announcers make mistakes with names all the time. In 1990 an inexperienced Todd Blackledge called Hayden Fry Hayden Fox on the PPV telecast of the Iowa at Miami game.

[@bmasters1981]

Must have had ABC's Coach sitcom on his mind.

[@PoliticallyIncorrect90]

@@bmasters1981 Yep. It was funny and no big deal. Todd was a rookie announcer in quite possibly his first or second game. Today he remains one of my absolute favorite announcers.

[@drewzuhosky6826]

@@bmasters1981 The character of Hayden Fox was named _for_ Hayden Fry. Look it up.

[@marlonnicholson8410]

AFC should have stayed with NBC

[@grinningchicken]

I think he was a good coach. He had a stellar run with the 49ers and The Panthers were competitive until Seifert got rid of the QB

[@MilsurpMikeChannel]

My problem with this crew is with another member... Marcus Allen. He was going back and forth on whether to return to the Chiefs, but the CBS deal is what sealed him retiring. The Chiefs 1998 meltdown doesn't happen if Marcus' leadership is still in that locker room.

[@miketemple7686]

Aaahhh, I don’t know if I totally agree with this segment. Want someone who totally messes up names during rapid fire highlights listen to Terry Bradshaw. The king of confused about what they are saying, that honor goes to Booger McFarland.

[@richardadams4928]

God, Bradshaw is EPICALLY awful. HATE listening to him, and he's SPECTACULARLY ill-suited to do rapid-fire highlights. Maybe it's supposed to be funny???

[@pronkb000]

He isn't my favorite either but Bradshaw is a character, and a charismatic one. Seifert was very whitebread even as a coach. When people lament the demise of great coaching characters like Bum Phillips and Buddy Ryan and Mike Ditka, Seifert is not a name who's brought up.

[@RichV20]

Bradshaw is paid to ham up his doofus persona, and he keeps cashing the checks. Seifert always looked like he had a stick up his ass, even on the 49ers sideline.

[@davidking4838]

Whose fault is it when things like this happen. The network says "Hey Coach, want to make a butt-ton of money running your mouth pre-game". Coach say "Sure, why the hell not". And then he just shows up, runs his mouth and gets paid un-Godly sums of money. Guess I really can't blame George, hey, it was a gig. No one got hurt. As for me, I stopped watching pre-game over 20 years ago. I just want to see the games, I have no interest in listening to these guys drone on and on about what may or may not occur in a game that is about to be played.

[@bmasters1981]

"As for me, I stopped watching pre-game over 20 years ago. I just want to see the games, I have no interest in listening to these guys drone on and on about what may or may not occur in a game that is about to be played." This is why the first NFL Today (NFC version, w/Musburger, George, Cross, Greek, et al.) was legendary in sports broadcasting, and NFL broadcasting-- because it was just a half-hour at 12:30 Sundays, and then on with the show; no droning whatsoever.

[@drlazlo76]

Seifert was always overrated. He was the hot young coach of the future for a few years. 49ers made a terrible mistake pushing Walsh to retire.

[@ryanjacobson2508]

NFL Films did a documentary on Bill Walsh. Walsh was seriously burnt out from the years of long hours and extremely high expectations he placed on himself. I think eventually it took a toll on him, made him less effective. For his own well being it's a good thing he retired when he did (Walsh was also getting up there in age when his career finished, and I don't think he took full time job again).

[@dash_r_media]

It was kind of fitting. Walsh ran his team kind of coldly, cutting guys the minute they showed a little bit of decline.

[@mickeylynch8982]

He became the Head Coach @ Stanford for a short time after leaving the Niners.

[@dr.roberts4508]

He inherited Bill Walsh team and coaching staff and style

[@gregcrane4953]

You criticizing someone for messing up a players name. 🤣🤣 Pot, meet Kettle.

[@crittoneida958]

Ur amazing bro. I am so curious how you find these stories. I’m 53 and many of these games I watched live and I already knew some of the info. I was an active fan and always had my face in a sports page. But Jesus I somehow missed so much of the stories you post here.

[@eugenedenbrook322]

I'm with you. Crazy, the research this young man does

[@crittoneida958]

@@eugenedenbrook322 yep. But how soes he even find the story to research? So many of these stories are behind the scenes stuff that were not even sports page stories.

[@pronkb000]

@@crittoneida958 I regularly read a board devoted entirely to Sports Broadcasting and sports broadcasting history (506sports)--guys there who can break down the Alex Hawkins incident, tell you why Keith Jackson was an improvement over Chris Schenkel on college football, how NFL blackout rules worked in specific years, who has first pick of every conference's college football game, etc. etc. And I've never, ever heard of this one. I even went through their 1998 NFL Commentators list and there's no discussion of Seifert at all. Granted, that thread is about in-game broadcasters but the discussions would touch on studio crews as well. And I was watching the NFL pretty closely at this time, too. When I think of studio talking head disasters, I think of Joe Montana with NBC a few years before this. Not as bad as Seifert but a guy who for a legendary QB had very little to offer or to say. He at least lasted a full year or two, though.

[@Bigchet1223]

Brent Jones was terrible. He blatantly hated on the Pittsburgh Steelers. Im like what's this dudes problem? Turns out the Steelers cut him in 1986. Im like get over it dude. Things worked out ok for you in San Francisco.

[@timothyflanigan1777]

it does not matter what sport, being a great coach or player does not mean you will be an excellent broadcaster or analyst. i remember the year after dean smith retired, he worked for cbs as a studio analyst on the ncaa tournament. one of the greatest coaches does not equal being a great analyst.

[@drygnfyre]

So basically, just like great players don't always make great executives who know how to build a team, great coaches don't always make great broadcasters who know how to talk about a game.

[@MountainDewComacho494]

I remember just watching him ONCE.

[@rickshafer6688]

He'll bent, he'll bent for leather.

[@d0nKsTaH]

Damn right! Judas Priest! Judas Priest!

[@bobma6342]

If it was a choice between listening to George Seifert or Lou Holtz I would prefer Seifert. Listening to Seifert was like listening to Albert Einstein discuss science. Listening to Holtz is like listening to Daffy Duck or Sylvester the Cat.

[@carolnelson4433]

😄👌

[@lmswentzeljr]

I hold George Seifert in high regard he was a terrific DC and HC not withstanding his 01 season in Carolina. His Personality wasnt built for talking he was very reserved.

[@stevenbauer4799]

gs did a switzer won a s b with walsh's team. Then became the first coach to lose 15 straight in one season in '01. And those niner teams may have been great but they made bad network analysts. Not just seifert but remember ronnie lott on cbs looked like he took too many shots to the head. Montana could barely complete a sentence without bumbling thru it. Even worse was non niner LT who was on tnt studio show when they shared snf package. He sounded like his mind was long blown from coke just stuttering along foaming at the mouth. And the worst is michael 'mumbles' irvin. Can't understand a #kn thing coming from his mouth. It sounds like it is still racing from coke. other niners on the nets besides jones-randy cross for years did color on cbs, steve young on nfl ten. I guess outside of the occasional work on nfl ten rice was smart to stay out of the booth. Even tho he does a good copper back brace commericial with farve.

[@RichV20]

@Fries The first was Walsh's team. The 1994 win was the 49ers buying the Super Bowl with their salary that year.

[@RichV20]

@Fries Seifert was lucky Jimmy Johnson quit and Barry Switzer was coaching that year. A JJ coached Dallas would've been the only team to beat the 49ers in 1994.

[@d0nKsTaH]

George Siefert did nothing wrong! They should bring him back! Replace Cris Collinsworthless with him!

[@greghh2223]

"The chemistry between he and Jones and Alan never got any better." Does anything strike you as illiterate in this sentence? It doesn't occur to our proud commentator, of course. It's "...between him and Jones and Alan," of course. We don't say "with he" because "him" is the object of the preposition. It still is if we add "Jones and Alan": "with him and Jones and Alan." I don't normally sneer at petty illiteracy, but this man is so snide about Coach Seifert's perfectly harmless failure to be a colorful announcer, I can't resist. I wonder what this man's parents were like. Only in America.

[@christianwootton100]

Seifert pulled up on me as I was crossing the street, many years ago, lol.

[@rdogg222]

You didn't have to hear Seifert speak to tell that a) he was just working for a paycheck and that b) he had zero passion and/or enthusiasm for his studio gig. He was probably hoping to be fired at the end of his stint.

[@deusfilius7]

He wasn’t that bad. Lacked a little luster but who takes commentators seriously?

[@samuelrosenbalm]

George Seifert is all class. And I like his personality. I don't need a face contorting loud mouth to be entertained, and I find it easy to overlook little errors if I like the person. There was nothing wrong with Seifert, in my opinion.

[@russellferrel4732]

Instead of showing the clip...some people just like to hear themselves talk.

[@robertbluestein7800]

Gees....I generally love your videos! But this one....its not notable for anything. In fact, this video gets a 2 out of 10, which is worse than if you did nothing but spike your own drink out every opportunity. I expected something scandalous when I saw this title. I expected a Jimmy the Greek or Al Campanis moment that I didn't know about. So what did we get? The guy was fired for being a 'Bore." C'mon Mannnn!

[@jeremypr]

HAHAHHAHAHAHAH this is hilarious, i love this analysis. you roasted this poor guy HAHAHAHAHA for good reason.

[@NillyNilly546]

His stay in Carolina is most likely the thing that is weighing him down from getting the Hall Of Fame when it shouldn't, terrible way to close off a fantastic career but sometimes a bad taste in the end can effect the whole thing for others.

[@LordZontar]

Here's a radical idea: why not hire sportswriters who've covered the NFL for a decade or longer as analysts and commentators? You know, people who actually have a wealth of information at the tips of their minds instead of just personalities. Or does that idea make too much sense?

[@dash_r_media]

The only sportswriters worth a damn already make more money, with greater freedom to do what they love, than they would being a talking head. And most sportwriters do NOT have information ready to go, and it usually shows in their terrible analysis.

[@velvetdogg7375]

CBS. Is to blame the most. They talked to him they gave him a screen test right? They gave him the job, they could have gotten him a acting class or all of them some support. I guess you blame George for taking the job. I get what your saying as far as his personal preparation for the job goes. But come on CBS is a entertainment company.

[@bmasters1981]

Indeed-- they did far better with a woman by the last name of George (Phyllis) than they did with this man by the first name of George (Seifert).

[@felonious_monk1972]

Which is worse than if he did nothing but spike the ball in to the ground on every single play

[@chriswahl4139]

Bill Walsh wasn't very good at broadcasting either but NBC had him on their top crew with Endberg for three years, pushing out Merlin Olsen. Also, Reggie White was going to retire and be on the pre game show but their offer was pulled after his speech before the Wisconsin Legislature and he decided to play another year

[@TMC1982Part2]

When ABC did their first Super Bowl in 1985 (49ers/Dolphins from Stanford Stadium) they had Joe Theismann sit in the booth with Frank Gifford and Don Meredith, instead of O.J. Simpson, who was the actual secondary analyst for Monday Night Football in 1984. Keep in mind that Joe Theismann was still an active player at the time (he was the second active player to serve as an announcer for a Super Bowl telecast after Jack Kemp did it with the second ever Super Bowl). I wonder if much of it had to do with concerns about O.J.'s on-air performance (especially considering that ABC had a lot riding on this being their first ever Super Bowl), so much that their official reasoning that Theismann could contribute more having played both teams during the regular season and in two of the most recent Super Bowls.

[@dash_r_media]

Bill Walsh may have sucked from a broadcasting standpoint, but his analysis was freaking awesome.

[@johncronin9540]

Do these programs rehearse at all before the season starts? I would think that would be necessary, to see how a group works together, and get used to try talking normally while having someone speaking into your earpiece. It’s not easy to follow such instructions while maintaining one’s concentration, and speak in a conversational tone, but without the pauses and space-fillers (uhm’s, uh’s, and other pauses while trying to think and speak intelligently at the same time as trying to listen to a director). The best broadcasters make it look much easier than it is. Anchors and trained announcers (play-by-play) usually have an education with years of training and practice. It’s a bit different for the analysts, who are usually retired players and coaches. They have to learn on the fly, and it’s not a skill everyone has. The best former coaches are those who are effective at bantering with the press in their press conferences. Seifert was a much quieter coach than Bill Walsh. That didn’t make him a bad coach, but it should have been a sign about the necessary skills of being a broadcaster. I will say this. Seifert SHOULD be in the Hall of Fame, not just because of his record with the 49er’s, but because he had the extremely difficult task of succeeding one of the greatest Head Coaches ever, in Bill Walsh. Those are extremely difficult shoes to fill, and to give you an idea of what can go wrong, just look at the coaches who followed Bill Parcells when he left a team. None of them sustained the excellence of their team that George Seifert did in San Francisco. It reminds me of something Bill Belichick once said, “Coaches can’t win games, players do that, but coaches can certainly lose games.” So yes, Seifert had very good players, but he did his job as a Head Coach, and didn’t screw things up.

[@bmasters1981]

"The best broadcasters make it look much easier than it is." Brent Musburger certainly did on The NFL Today on Sundays when he was there, but so did Jim Nantz on Saturdays, when he was doing The Prudential College Football Report-- on one 1985 broadcast, after Nantz asked Pat Haden about Gerry Faust's firing from Notre Dame, giving way to a new coach, when Pat Haden finished his answer, Nantz apparently got a cue from studio director Duke Struck (could have also been producer Ed Goren) about updates to games he had reported on earlier, and carried forward seamlessly and smoothly with those updates. "Do these programs rehearse at all before the season starts?" As I understand it, Jim Nantz was part of a rehearsal/audition in '85 for what would then be the new Prudential College Football Report-- he was there with four other candidates, and each one had to do a mock report of the scores of several games (and talk about any pertinent highlights of those games [touchdowns, interceptions, and other big plays]); not only did they have to do that, but they were tested on whether they could take direction from the studio director and producer (the on-air cue after opening titles and music, throwing to commercial, interviewing someone about a major college football topic, and so on and so forth). Jim Nantz was the one who got the nod to be the anchor, but one of the candidates (Pat Haden) would be Jim's co-host for '85 (Haden wasn't just an analyst; he also read scores from time to time).

[@johncronin9540]

@@bmasters1981 Thanks for the comment. They really do an amazing job in terms of speaking without pauses or hesitations, and while they have a partial script, a lot of it has to be ad libbed, on the fly, while also listening to the producers and directors, while not looking or sounding as if they were listening to producers and directors. Those that cannot do this aren’t stupid, or generally incompetent, it’s a natural talent, or comes with lots of practice and experience. It helps to be gifted at multi-tasking. George Seifert is by no means a simpleton. He was obviously highly intelligent, but he just couldn’t do the tv job. It would have been interesting to see if he could have improved over time, given more of a chance. Live television is always facing unexpected problems. I’m guessing that the decision to leave midway through the season may have been a mutual agreement with the network. And lest we forget, the only person from that program to return the following year was Jim Nance. So obviously, the other two analysts were dropped after the season was over. So the problem wasn’t solely George Seifert’s. At least he wasn’t let go because of making offensive remarks, which would have been more disappointing, in my opinion. He’s also hardly the only performer who had stage fright.

[@TimmyTickle]

@@johncronin9540 Brent Jones wasn’t dropped from CBS altogether, he moved to a game analyst role

[@anthony0358]

Great job on video, the best part of the NFL today was the occasional visit from Bonnie Bernstein. Is it fair to say that Jimmy The Greek was fired before the season ended since he was not on the air for the last game that year in January 1988. I feel George was fired with 6 weeks to go in the season rather than in the middle of the season

[@brianoneill7186]

Jimmy the Greek was fired during the playoffs for racist comments during a newspaper interview. I think he'd also had a fight with Musburger at some point, and got suspended.

[@ajk]

@@brianoneill7186 He did have a famous fight in a bar with him in the 70's.

[@davanmani556]

@@brianoneill7186 his issue was Phyllis George.

[@MalEvansUSA]

Seifert enjoys cross dressing as Marilyn Monroe

[@d0nKsTaH]

Is that a bad thing?

[@MountainDewComacho494]

You should really do one on Harry Carey. He had some real "moments" as well.

[@chrisconsorte7893]

Blame it on the Bosa Nova!! 🤪🤪

[@theRealBrandonRoberts1990]

Resigned under bizarre circumstances? Please elaborate

[@frasiercraine1776]

5 nfc championships. 89, 90, 92, 93, 94. Seriously.

[@michaelfogarty9806]

Great coach but I don't know what they were thinking here hiring him on as a commentator. His demeanor on the sidelines was always serious you could never tell if he was winning or losing. I think he was just too intense. I am not being critical i could not have done any better.

[@TimmyTickle]

He was probably hired on the sheer strength of his coaching record (at the time)

[@davidkendrick4453]

The worst broadcaster disaster, period, was Limbaugh. Tom Jackson, ex Broncos linebacker, almost murdered Limbaugh on the air.

[@eugenedenbrook322]

I don't remember that, I'll have to check it out! I was no fan of ol' Rush, I tend to be wary of all bombastic politicos. But I loved TJ, growing up a Broncos fan. Even read his autobiography, which I found in a library when I was much younger! I don't watch espn, but I did when Boomer and TJ were there.

[@davidkendrick4453]

@@eugenedenbrook322 Let there be no doubt; TJ was a great studio analyst. He was affable, insightful, incisive, a great comic foil to Chris Berman, good interviewer, very quotable, and always cool and composed. Except for when Rush Limbaugh made the Donovan McNabb draft issue about race. After Limbaugh was fired from ESPN they gave TJ air time to say his piece. If you ever want to see dignified, focused, targeted rage personified... watch that clip.

[@bmasters1981]

@@davidkendrick4453 Where is that clip?

[@davidkendrick4453]

@@bmasters1981 dyofdw

[@mjwatts1983]

I think Michael Irvin was in the studio too

[@Bigchet1223]

Bill Walsh was a terrible analyst. He came across as pompous and arrogant.

[@jrb9191]

Rush was technically correct though. Just caused a lot of butthurt

[@CTubeMan]

To your point about Seifert coaching himself out of the Hall of Fame, there was another coach who replaced a Super Bowl-winning coach at the end of a decade. This coach posted a record in his first stop of 83-53 in the equivalent of 8 1/2 seasons of coaching. In his second coaching stop he posted a record of 14-34. In his first year with the new team they set a record for offensive futility by scoring only 140 points. I’ll see who can figure out who this other coach is, but I’ll just say he is Forever Enshrined in Canton.

[@pronkb000]

I would guess this particular coach was helped by a.) not quite going 1-15 (and in fact having a season twice as good--2 wins instead of 1), and b.) even for his worst team, having a top-3 defense and the NFL Defensive Player of the Year--i.e., something tangibly good to point to.

[@CTubeMan]

@@pronkb000 I’d say you’re on the right track, but don’t be afraid to guess the name.

[@jeromemaida4933]

Hank Stram?

[@coreylevine3856]

Tom Flores

[@pennyandwoody]

It wasn't that bad.

[@bertmustin]

Honestly the curret AFC era NFL Today's always seemed kind of there.

[@bmasters1981]

What specifically does that mean?

[@chadadams6112]

Man, suddenly Booger McFarland doesn’t sound so bad

[@philb.1502]

Some people don't have the personality for it . Seifert was stiff and uncomfortable on air just like Joe Montana was. Montana was awful on the air.