RIP Bill Walsh
| 14
|
by JasonComack
It's hard to start writing this. Many athletes recently have come and gone. Some have died of natural causes and some have died tragically. While all of their deaths have been sad and tragic none have hit me quite like this.
Bill Walsh was a legend. He lead my favorite team, the San Francisco 49ers to prominence in the NFL. He made them the face of the league and helped them win 3 super bowls. Though Walsh stopped coaching before I was born his impact on the game will last forever and will be something I will always remeber.
Walsh was the pioneer of my favorite offense the West Coast Offense. While not a flashy offense the West Coast style was so brilliant in its ability to mask a Quarter Backs weaknesses. Without Walsh QB's like Jeff Garcia would have never succeeded in this league.
Walsh also pioneered scripting the first 25 plays of the game. A practice also still used by many teams today.
Also how many coaches today are disciples of Walsh. Holmgren, Reid, Gruden...I could go on and on.
Walsh also was one of the first coaches/GM's to really move up and down the draft board. The way Nolan and company has handled these past few drafts has really reminded me of the vision Walsh had of building a football team.
I will also remember Walsh for being the man who brought my favorite football player of all time to the 49ers, Steve Young. Young then a backup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was traded for by Walsh in 1987 for second- and fourth-round draft choices. Walsh also drafted this guy called Joe Montana in the 3rd round, I'm not sure if you've heard of him.
Walsh was a brilliant coach, GM, scout and a brilliant man. In 1987 he created the Minority Coaching Fellowship program. Designed to help African American coaches improve their job prospects in the NFL and Division I colleges by inviting them to an up-close look at the 49ers' training camps. Among those who took advantage of the program were Tyrone Willingham, former Stanford head coach and current head coach at the University of Washington; Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis and several NFL assistants. The NFL later turned the Fellowship into a league-wide program.
The NFL lost a true legend today.
RIP Bill Walsh.
