The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced on Wednesday a list of 60 semifinalists for enshrinement in the 2024 class, and two 49ers greats are in the mix for a place in Canton.

George Seifert, who succeeded Bill Walsh as head coach in 1989 and led the 49ers to two Super Bowl titles, is among the 29 semifinalists in the coach/contributor category.

Meanwhile, legendary running back Roger Craig is one of 31 'senior' semifinalists. That group is made up of players who played their last game no later than the 1998 campaign.

Seifert was on the 49ers' coaching staff for much of Craig's storied career, serving as the defensive backs coach and then defensive coordinator for Walsh during the Niners' dominant run in the 1980s. Craig was drafted in 1983, just over a year after the 49ers had ended the 1981 season with their first Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl XIV.

Seifert and Craig each played key roles in the two further Super Bowl rings the 49ers won under Walsh's leadership. In the 1989 season, Craig put together his final 1,000-yard rushing campaign as Seifert won his first Super Bowl as 49ers head coach.

Craig left after the 1990 season, one in which the 49ers' three-peat dreams were dashed as he lost a critical fumble in the NFC Championship Game loss to the Giants. He retired after the 1993 season, and the subsequent campaign saw Seifert win his second Lombardi as 49ers head coach with a Super Bowl XXIX rout of the Chargers.

Despite Seifert's five rings and his coaching record of 124-67 from his time as coach of the Niners and later the Panthers, it is Craig who probably has the stronger case for enshrinement.

Craig was the first player in NFL history to record 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards in the same season, doing so in 1985. He also led the NFL in receptions that year.

On top of that, Craig was the Offensive Player of the Year in 1988, racking up 1,502 rushing yards in Walsh's final Super Bowl season. He was a four-time Pro Bowler and a member of the 1980s All-Decade Team.

That kind of resume would normally get a player into Canton, but by this point Craig is used to being frustrated.

The selection committees for both categories will whittle the field down to 12 seniors and 12 coach/contributors, with those progressing to the next stage announced on July 27.

Mike Shanahan, offensive coordinator for Seifert's 1994 Super Bowl team and father of current 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is also in the running in the coach/contributor category having won three Lombardis in a stellar career.

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