Farewell
to Bill Walsh: Innovator, Legend, Genius
By Jake Bailey,
TheSportsStand.com (7/30/07)
Today, the football world lost one of its greatest.
Bill Walsh passed away today at age 75 after a bout with leukemia. He
gained the nickname: "The Genius." And rightfully so. He was a
revolutionist and is widely accepted as one of the greatest coaches of all
time. He will not only be remembered for his on-field accomplishments
as a coach, but he will be remembered f
or
his legacy and what he left behind for the world of football.
Bill Walsh had much coaching experience. He had stints as an assistant in Oakland, Cincinnati, and San Diego before landing his head coaching job at San Francisco in 1979. He took over a horrible team an ailing team in San Francisco who held a 2-14. Walsh suffered one season of the same record before he made the decision that turned the whole franchise around. He got a steal in the 82nd pick of the 3rd round of the 1979 Draft when Walsh selected future Hall of Famer Joe Montana out of Notre Dame. Just two years later, the 49ers won their first Super Bowl. This is unprecedented and an amazing accomplishment. Other Hall of Fame selections of the Bill Walsh era in San Francisco are Ronnie Lott (Round 1, Pick 8), who is one of the greatest safeties of all time (if not the greatest), and Jerry Rice, easily the greatest WR of all time. He also made a trade to get Steve Young, another Hall of Famer. Walsh also won two more Super Bowl Championships (1984, 1988) in his 10 year career. He was eventually elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993.
Perhaps the biggest accomplishment in Walsh's era is the
development of the modern-day West Coast Offense. Walsh's West Coast
offense was developed with the Bengals under Paul Brown. He modified
it when he became coach of the 49ers. It was highly successful and it
helped him win three Super Bowls and many teams currently use it today.
The offense is based on short routes and timing essentially. Most are
run under fifteen yards and are done with three or five step drops. It
is highly unpredictable and had few boundaries. Another tradition of
Bill Walsh that is still continued through his "students" is scripting the
first 15 plays of the game. This had a few bonuses. First, a
team would know what's going on the whole time, therefore they can get it
done perfect. Secondly, if done correctly this can allow a team to
control the flow of the game. Finally, it could also allow a coach to
play around with and test an opposing defense to help play calling later on
in the game. For optimum performance, a quarterback with good accuracy
was needed. Walsh developed this philosophy from the sport of boxing.
He said that the boxers who hit first usually hit a split second before the
other guy. He theorized that by applying concept to football, he can
create a successful offense. He was right.
Bill Walsh will also be known for his legacy. He had many assistants that eventually became successful head coaches in the NFL. It is dubbed the "Bill Walsh Coaching Tree". Directly under Bill Walsh were: Mike Holmgren (1 Super Bowl), Jim Fassel (A Super Bowl Appearance), Paul Hackett, Sam Wyche (Super Bowl Appearence and Innovator of the "No-Huddle Offense"), George Seifert (2 Super Bowl Victories), and Dennis Green. Mike Holmgren developed Mike Sherman, Andy Reid, Ray Rhodes, and Steve Mariucci. Jim Fassell developed John Fox. Paul Hackett developed Mike McCarthy, and Jon Gruden (who developed Bill Callahan). Sam Wyche developed Mike Murlarkey. George Seifert developed Mike Shanahan (2 Super Bowl victories and a very successful track record and Jeff Fisher. Dennis Green developed Brian Billick (who developed Jack Del Rio), Mike Tice (who developed Scott Linehan), and Tony Dungy (Super Bowl victory and developed Lovie Smith, Mike Tomlin, and Rod Marinelli). All of the people mentioned currently have or had Head Coaching experience. It's even amazing to think that the philosophy stemmed just from one man.
Bill Walsh was truly a legend to football. The world of football will mourn the loss of a great man. Bill Walsh left behind a great legacy. The way modern-day NFL football is played was shaped much by the genius of this man.
Rest in Peace Bill Walsh: Innovator, Legend, Genius.
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