You may know him as the legend who led the San Francisco 49ers to three Super Bowl titles in the '80s.
You may know him as being 'The Genius' who revolutionized football and made it a thinking man's game.
But above all, you should remember Bill Walsh, who lost his battle with leukemia on Monday, as a man whose greatness wasn't limited to the X's and O's on the field. He was a pioneer off the field as well.
The man created one of the strongest coaching trees in NFL history: George Seifert, Dennis Green, Mike Holmgren, Ray Rhodes, Sam Wyche, and Bruce Coslet all became NFL head coaches after working under Walsh at San Francisco. These coaches in turn passed on Walsh's strategies to a new generation of coaches, including Mike Shanahan, Jon Gruden, Brian Billick, Andy Reid, Pete Carroll, Gary Kubiak, Steve Mariucci and Jeff Fisher.
And did I mention, Tony Dungy played for him?
But as the branches on his coaching tree expanded, he was also busy planting the seeds of diversity in the NFL. Walsh embraced promoting the careers of minority coaches during a time when the phrase "minority hiring" seemed to be a foreign term to the NFL's majority.
He created the Minority Coaching Fellowship program in 1987, the first of its kind for the league. Participants in the program were giving a change to experience the full scope of NFL coaching, including administrative duties, watching film and player evaluations.
The program was eventually picked up league-wide and can be credited for producing talented coaches like Tyrone Willingham, Marvin Lewis, Herm Edwards, Lovie Smith and yes, Tony Dungy.
So sure, go ahead and remember Bill Walsh as the man whose West Coast offense switched up the game. But don't forget he changed the face of the game as well. He put a lil' more color in it.
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By: Cecil Jones on 8/01/2007 6:09AM
All men are not created equal! Some are given a little something extra by God that makes us honor them and Him just a bit more. We need more men like Bill Walsh to help us rise above the flaws of our political leaders. Bill Walsh wouldn't tolerate "Affirmative Access." With an equal opportunity we can achieve higher standards and more. The Supergame was a direct tribute to Walsh's thinking and greatness. We call him a genius because it's so rare in this world.
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By: Bob Hart on 8/04/2007 6:31AM
Bill Walsh was a great coach in every sense. While he is given credit for creating the West Coast offense, he learned this system from Glenn "Tiger" Ellison in the '60 while he was quarterbacks coach for the Cincinnati Bengals and Tiger was the coach at Middletown High School, 30 miles north of Cincinnati. The two new each other well, and Tiger (author of Run & Shoot Football) had created his wide-open schemes in the fall of 1958. The details are documented in a new book by Tiger's daughter, Carolyn: Coach the Kid, Build the Boy, Mold the Man (Xlibris, Publisher). For a key excerpt, please contact me. Thank you.
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By: Bob Hart on 8/04/2007 6:32AM
Bill Walsh was a great coach in every sense. While he is given credit for creating the West Coast offense, he learned this system from Glenn "Tiger" Ellison in the '60 while he was quarterbacks coach for the Cincinnati Bengals and Tiger was the coach at Middletown High School, 30 miles north of Cincinnati. The two new each other well, and Tiger (author of Run & Shoot Football) had created his wide-open schemes in the fall of 1958. The details are documented in a new book by Tiger's daughter, Carolyn: Coach the Kid, Build the Boy, Mold the Man (Xlibris, Publisher). For a key excerpt, please contact me. Thank you.
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By: Angel in Tn on 8/04/2007 3:48PM
Bill Walsh was a man among many, He will be truly missed. It was him who started me watching the game. God bless his family but God was ready for him to come home and coach his team in Heaven. Rest In Peace Coach
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By: Carol on 8/04/2007 6:34PM
I loved the 49ers in the 80's because of Walsh's offense. Joe Montana and Jerry Rice ruled behind Walsn's West Coast offense.
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By: HA on 8/09/2007 8:46AM
Bill Walsh and Red Auerbach were Caucasion men who were giants when it came to selecting men of color as assistant coaches or coaches... God Bless Them!!!!
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