Football Innovator Bill Walsh succumbs to leukemia
Every generation or so, a man comes along who so revolutionizes his chosen profession that all of posterity is affected in that endeavor. Bill Walsh was such a man.
Nicknamed “the Genius,” Walsh forever revolutionized the way the game is played. His innovative offensive style led to the moniker “West Coast Offense,” a name that Walsh never liked. While the name is over-used in today’s football lingo, the style will always endure. He perfected the short dropback pass mixed in with precision routes, tough fullbacks and excellent running and blocking schemes. Many mistakenly believe that the name refers to a pure passing scheme, but Walsh was so much more intelligent than to be limited to a one dimensional offense. And who can argue with the results? Walsh’s scheme allowed a quarterback with average talent to lead the most prolific offense of the 1980’s. Walsh and Montana won three Super Bowls in the process and spawned a who’s-who of coaching talent. The list of his adherents is remarkable: Mike Shanahan, Mike Holmgren, George Siefert, Tony Dungy, Jon Gruden, Pete Carroll, Andy Reid, Brian Billick, Sam Wyche and Ray Rhodes all owe their careers to Bill Walsh. All who love football owe, in part, that love to the game Bill Walsh helped to create. He was 75.
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It’s a challenge to argue that the man tabbed “The Genius” was underrated on the list of the greatest NFL coaches of all time, but I believe Bill Walsh was. He doesn’t get the recognition of the rugged old guys like Lombardi, Halas, Knoll, or Shula. And it’s a nifty new trend to pump Bill Belichick as the Greatest of All Time. But Bill Walsh was so vastly ahead of his colleagues, for so much of his career, that football historians have taken it for granted.
Earlier this year, when Walsh was battling the disease he would ultimately succumb to, Sports Illustrated had an excellent article on Walsh, revealing the human being behind The Genius football coach.