Many football fans believe Bill Walsh developed the West Coast Offense. It could be argued he didn't, but he sure did run it efficiently and with grace. The offense was a "precision machine."The 49ers had some of the more powerful offenses in the 1980s and 1990s. Bill Walsh played a big role in that success.
Walsh, 75, won three Super Bowls (81, 84, 88), ESPN named him the top NFL coach in the past 25 years and he is in the NFL Hall of Fame. Joe Montana, Jerry Rice and Steve Young all praised Walsh in interviews. Walsh went 102-63-1 with the 49ers, winning 10 of his 14 postseason games along with six division titles. He was named the NFL's coach of the year in 1981 and 1984.
Was there ever a coach as soft spoken as Walsh? What is stunning is the number of assistants he had who ended up becoming NFL coaches: George Seifert, Mike Holmgren, Dennis Green, Sam Wyche, Ray Rhodes and Bruce Coslet all became NFL head coaches after serving on Walsh's San Francisco staffs, and Tony Dungy played for him.
A legend he is. A football martyr. Rest in peace, coach.
Monday, July 30, 2007
RIP Bill Walsh
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
He did have a few branches on his coaching tree. But most were not a success. Seifert rode Walsh's coattails. Denny Green had some good years in Minnesota but his since flamed out. The others you listed are unimpressive.
Mike Holgrem unimpressive? Not sure I can let that go. Sam Wyche had some good coaching years with the Bengals. Like Levy, he couldn't win the big one.
Post a Comment