Why Jim Caldwell Has the Opportunity to Be the New George Seifert!

Bill Walsh and the San Francisco 49ers were the most dominant team in the 1980s, as they dominated their way to three Super Bowl Titles in eight years. With the arm of Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana, and on occasion Steve Young, the 49ers were the team to beat back in the day.

Then after the 1988 season and his third title, Bill Walsh suddenly announced his retirement from the NFL. His successor was named almost immediately as George Seifert took over one of the best teams in NFL history.

Tony Dungy, who was voted by the players in the NFL as the coach they would most like to play for, had 13 amazing seasons as an NFL head coach. He spent his first five years in Tampa Bay, where he made them a defensive juggernaut, then was unexpectedly fired and went to the Indianapolis Colts.

There he got lucky to have future Hall of Fame, three-time League MVP quarterback Peyton Manning under his wing. For the next seven years he continued his league-record playoff streak, which hit 10 this past season, and took the Colts to a Super Bowl victory over his good friend Lovie Smith and the Chicago Bears.

After being eliminated from the playoffs for the second straight year by the Chargers, he announced his retirement, and immediately Jim Caldwell was named his successor.

So why do I think Jim Caldwell is going to be the next George Seifert? Well, both of them are highly respected by the players on the team that they took over, and both of them had to fight to get themselves out of the shadow of their predecessor.

George Seifert, in his career with the San Francisco 49ers, went 108-35 with two Super Bowl victories to add to his predecessors. He took over a team with amazing players, and he took advantage of that.

Jim Caldwell's predecessor may not have gotten three Super Bowls, but he did start a very long tradition of winning. On his team he has six Hall of Famers that I can think of off the top of my head, and a team that hasn't missed the playoffs since 2002. He has the arm of the new iron man Peyton Manning, as he has consistently been one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.

I have a strong believe in the fact that Caldwell's future will end up just like George Seifert's, but hopefully he doesn't mess his career up with a horrific 1-15 season.

This is coming from a Bears fan who is still bitter from two years ago, but I think that the 2010s will belong to the Indianapolis Colts and the Steelers, not the beloved New England Patriots.