On Monday morning, Bill Walsh passed away at his Woodside, California home just outside San Francisco. He had been dubbed “The Genius” for his creative scheme that became known as the West Coast offense. Walsh succumbing to leukemia marks the end of a life that was surrounded by football glory, and with him goes the football knowledge that sparked two decades of great NFL and NCAA head coaches.
Walsh was a pioneer because he worked under the best and brightest until he was ready to take the reigns of his own NFL team. He coached under Sid Gillman in Oakland, Paul Brown in Cincinnati and Tommy Prothro (yes, that Tommy Prothro) in San Diego. Then decided to take his shot and surrounded himself with the best and brightest.
He was one of the smartest coaches in NFL history and the extent of Walsh’s genius and his grasp over the game football is unfathomable. Walsh’s West Coast offense has roots in nearly every football game that will be played this season at every level everywhere in the world at any point in time. Guaranteed.
From professional football to college and all the way down to pee-wee and backyard pick up games of three-on-three at the nearest park, field, or grassy knoll, all games will have some play derived from the West Coast offense.
What Walsh did for the game of football is unparalleled to any coach before him. While he didn’t become an NFL head coach until 47 and only spent 10 seasons on the San Francisco sideline, he managed to notch a 102-63-1 record with six division titles and three Super Bowls, and all the while he changed the game forever.
He had an eye for talent in the smallest places like Jerry Rice from Mississippi Valley State and Charles Haley from James Madison, and the ability to pass on his knowledge to the assistant coaches under his command, which started a cascade of brilliant minds in the NFL and NCAA.
The West Coast offense was simple by many NFL standards. It was based on the idea of multiple plays from the same formation, it was simple for the offense to understand but undefendable because defenses couldn’t be biased to run or pass during specific formations. The combination of short pass plays to set up the run held linebackers and froze safeties. Once the defense brought in an extra defensive back, a run play would be called.
So simple it was genius, and that genius led to countless postseason runs not only for Walsh but also a laundry list of his assistants when they ventured out on their own careers.
Walsh’s coaching tree looks more like a road map of downtown New York than any leaf-bearing vascular plant. His teachings, schemes and coaching methods are responsible for nearly 30 head coaches in the NFL and countless more in the NCAA. To know what Bill Walsh did is to know what football has become since 1980.
Just think, where would football be without the West Coast offense? It would still be running up the gut and leaning on defense and scores would still be 14-7, like in Super Bowl VII.
Walsh opened the door for scoring in the NFL. Since he began as offensive coordinator in 1976, football hasn’t been the same, the Super Bowl especially. Since 1976, teams that fail to score 20 points are 0-21, while teams that score over 32 are undefeated. This is a direct response to the implementation of the West Coast offense.
Sure, football would still be played all over America and would still capture the imagination of children and cause half of the working-class to miss a day of work in late January and early February.
But many pieces of the NFL would be missing. Pieces that every football fan takes for granted. Pieces like the short succinct pass patterns. Pieces like former wide receiver Jerry Rice or former quarterback Steve Young. Pieces like Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren and former coach-turned analyst Sam Wyche. Pieces that most people wouldn’t think to connect Bill Walsh to, like former BYU coach Lavell Edwards and USC coach Pete Carroll.
That’s just the frosting off the cake that is Bill Walsh’s effect on football’s head coaches. On that same list coaches include heavy hitters: George Seifert, Dennis Green, Ray Rhodes, Bruce Coslet, Mike Shanahan, Jon Gruden, Brian Billick, Andy Reid, Gary Kubiak, Steve Mariucci and Jeff Fisher.
Yes, he won three Super Bowls, had a 61-percent winning percentage and coached countless Hall of Famer’s, but his legacy will be remembered as a pioneer of play-calling and a man who triggered the onslaught of premier head coaches at every level in football today.
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