Seifert Joins CBS' NFL Team

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

April 16, 1998 / 10:08 PM EDT / CBS Sportsline

It sure didn't take George Seifert long to get analytical Thursday.

"I enjoyed my visits with (Dallas Cowboys owner) Jerry JonesÂ… but, in all honesty, I don't believe I was that close to (getting) that job," the former San Francisco 49ers coach-turned-CBS TV analyst said Thursday.

Seifert, who hasn't worked since leaving the 49ers 15 months ago, was officially introduced by CBS president Sean McManus as the network's fourth member of the NFL pre-game show this fall. He joins studio host Jim Nantz, Marcus Allen and Brent Jones.

In a teleconference with national media, Seifert described his "interview" with Jones as possibly the Cowboys' successor to Barry Switzer as mostly media-driven.

"I think Jerry felt compelled to sit down and visit with me," Seifert, 58, admitted Thursday."Jerry and I even talked about that."

Head-coaching jobs with total personnel control are scarce in the NFL, which made Seifert available when CBS called.

"I go into this with the mind that (TV broadcasting) will be my profession, and that I will be good in this business," said Seifert, whose .755 winning percentage (108-35) in eight seasons with the 49ers is the best in NFL history among coaches with 100 or more career games.

When asked if he can be critical of members of the coaching fraternity to which he once belonged, Seifert added,"We all have opinions. Mine will be heart-felt and honest . . . not just off the wall to create some kind of image about myself."

McManus said that CBS' return to the NFL after a four-year absence will be a difficult task, requiring some break-in time, but that the network will produce it's own identity and not try to copy the already-popular Fox and ESPN formats."

"We're not going to out-Hollywood Fox . . . (and) we're not going to try and out-number ESPN," McManus said."We want to provide football fans with an alternative to those two shows."

"(But) everybody has to be a little bit patient with us. We're developing from scratch."

CBS is paying $500 million per year as part of the NFL's eight-year, $4-billion TV deal.

McManus recognizes the possibility that Seifert remains a viable candidate for future NFL head-coaching jobs, but added -- although it's not in writing -- Seifert will have the network's blessing to leave if he chooses.

"You don't need an 'out' clause -- at least, you don't at CBS," McManus said."Although I hope that doesn't happen."