Seifert Forced Out

Ex-coach plays the fool one last time at press conference

January 15, 1997 (NHS) -- A press conference was held Wednesday, January 15, to announce that George Seifert would not return as the 49ers head coach, and it didn't take long before it was getting pretty thick.

Seifert, Carmen Policy, and Eddie DeBartolo, Jr. spoke at the press conference. Their story was that Seifert decided all by his lonesome that he would step down. Carmen and Eddie were "shocked" and "surprised," respectively, and said they had not offered the job to anyone as of Wednesday, but were "talking" to "one individual." Seifert was playful and smiled into the camera.

While no doubt the 49er fans and local media were duped by the act as usual, in a rare show of frankness, Chris Mortensen appeared on ESPNews right after the live coverage of the press conference and told viewers that, in reality, Seifert was forced out due to a disagreement regarding his contract. Even long-time 49er fans, such as columnist Art Spander, admit that Seifert was forced out because DeBartolo and Policy refused to offer Seifert, the all-time leader in win percentage, a contract extension-- in essence forcing Seifert to resign. These reports, which are basically saying the 49er brass is lying through their teeth, comes as a shock to 49er-Haters who are accustomed to the media's usual role of catering to 49er stunts. Finally, this time, it seems the mainstream media has cut through the crap of the press conference. Of course, they will fail to make the connection that lying is part of what the 49ers are all about (see: the lies about Steve Young's rib injury).

Enter Mariucci

While DeBartolo and Policy innocently blinked their eyes and acted shocked, reports were that Steve Mariucci, head football coach at the University of California at Berkeley, had already been named to replace Seifert. While DeBartolo and Policy would like us to believe that they never thought about replacing Seifert, the fact that Mariucci was instantly lined up makes the claim suspect. Circumstantial evidence suggests that DeBartolo and Policy had planned the replacement for some time: in other words, Seifert was the recipient of that familiar 49er knife stuck in his back. But rest assured nobody will be asking how this reconciles with the notion of "49er class."

Best team ever to have 3 head coaches?

Seifert alluded to the possibility of staying around the 49ers organization in a "consultant" role. Such a prospect is pathetic in and of itself given the propensity for ex-49ers to come crawling back after being stripped of their pride and/or dumped (see: Tom Rathman, Bill Walsh). Also, it makes for more interesting trivia. When Walsh was brought back last year, the 49ers became the only team in the NFL with 2 acting head coaches. Now, perhaps they will add a third, and maybe give Joe Montana a call and have him "consult," too. Heck, Ronnie Lott should be out of a job soon, so why not throw him in?

As of now, there's a lot of uncertainty. For instance, what will be the reaction of 49er fans? Remember, in the not-too-distant past, local polls showed most 49er fans wanted to fire Seifert. We'll keep you updated on any new developments.

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