RIP Bill Walsh

[forever_town]

During his coaching tenure, I didn't have as much of a chance to appreciate what he brought to the game as I have in the years since he left the 49er sidelines. The fact that he was one of the chief practitioners of an offense that still sets the standard for many NFL teams and he has "fathered" so many head coaches only hints at all he brought to the game, and to life.

RIP Coach Walsh. You're sorely missed.

 

[Simon_Cowbell]

I'll never forget the story about him dressing of as a porter and welcoming his team to Detroit for SB XVI.... the beginning of it all.

Peace, dear great one.

 

[Trouser_Buddah]

I was greatly saddened when I saw this thread title...rest in peace, Bill. :'(

 

[Brooklyn Bridge]

Anyone know how many coaches currently in the league were directly influenced by Walsh? (Shannahah, Reid, ect.) I would say there are are least 15-to-20 head coaches or top assistants that are Walsh disciples.

FWIW, Sam Wyche said in an interview with Chris Russo today that when Walsh became a hc, many teams were run-first, pass second. Walsh took ideas that people forgot, or were en vogue in the 60s and made it work for the 49ers. Sad day for the league.

 

[Songbird]

That AP story was well-crafted.

 

[pseudo]

Anyone know how many coaches currently in the league were directly influenced by Walsh? (Shannahah, Reid, ect.) I would say there are are least 15-to-20 head coaches or top assistants that are Walsh disciples.

FWIW, Sam Wyche said in an interview with Chris Russo today that when Walsh became a hc, many teams were run-first, pass second. Walsh took ideas that people forgot, or were en vogue in the 60s and made it work for the 49ers. Sad day for the league.

Here's a list someone put up on our site:

Here's the list of former and current NFL head coaches who are in his coaching tree:

Primary: Mike Holmgren*, Jim Fassel*, Paul Hackett, Sam Wyche*, George Seifert*, Dennis Green, Ray Rhodes
Secondary: Mike Sherman, Andy Reid*, Steve Mariucci, Mike McCarthy, John Gruden*, John Fox*, Mike Shanahan, Jeff Fisher*, Brian Billick*, Mike Tice, Tony Dungy*

Stars got to a Super Bowl. And there's a whole nother crop coming up behind those guys.

 

[mpcincal]

Sending my RIP as well.

I grew up a Rams fan, but believe or not, I grew to root for the 49ers too because of Walsh and his style of play. And the fact, they kept the Cowboys out of the Super Bowl back in 1982 had something to do with it too.

The L.A. Times ran an article on him on the sports front two or three months ago, and it was after reading that story that I knew he didn't have a lot of time left. So I find this sad but not shocking.

BTW, any Bengals fans reading that Times story had to be killing themselves wondering what might have been: It mentioned about Walsh being passed over for the Cincinnati coaching job in favor of Homer Rice in the late 1970s, and I believe Walsh mentioned that Paul Brown actually tried to blackball him from any head coaching jobs in the NFL.

 

[expendable]

Sending my RIP as well.

I grew up a Rams fan, but believe or not, I grew to root for the 49ers too because of Walsh and his style of play. And the fact, they kept the Cowboys out of the Super Bowl back in 1982 had something to do with it too.

The L.A. Times ran an article on him on the sports front two or three months ago, and it was after reading that story that I knew he didn't have a lot of time left. So I find this sad but not shocking.

BTW, any Bengals fans reading that Times story had to be killing themselves wondering what might have been: It mentioned about Walsh being passed over for the Cincinnati coaching job in favor of Homer Rice in the late 1970s, and I believe Walsh mentioned that Paul Brown actually tried to blackball him from any head coaching jobs in the NFL.

I was a Redskins fan during that time, putting Walsh on my "he'll never have to pay for a drink in my presence list," though I did follow the other team of the 1980s.

 

[Huggy]

Sending my RIP as well.

I grew up a Rams fan, but believe or not, I grew to root for the 49ers too because of Walsh and his style of play. And the fact, they kept the Cowboys out of the Super Bowl back in 1982 had something to do with it too.

The L.A. Times ran an article on him on the sports front two or three months ago, and it was after reading that story that I knew he didn't have a lot of time left. So I find this sad but not shocking.

BTW, any Bengals fans reading that Times story had to be killing themselves wondering what might have been: It mentioned about Walsh being passed over for the Cincinnati coaching job in favor of Homer Rice in the late 1970s, and I believe Walsh mentioned that Paul Brown actually tried to blackball him from any head coaching jobs in the NFL.

As I recall, the recent SI story on Walsh talked about this too.

 

[shockey]

Sending my RIP as well.

I grew up a Rams fan, but believe or not, I grew to root for the 49ers too because of Walsh and his style of play. And the fact, they kept the Cowboys out of the Super Bowl back in 1982 had something to do with it too.

The L.A. Times ran an article on him on the sports front two or three months ago, and it was after reading that story that I knew he didn't have a lot of time left. So I find this sad but not shocking.

BTW, any Bengals fans reading that Times story had to be killing themselves wondering what might have been: It mentioned about Walsh being passed over for the Cincinnati coaching job in favor of Homer Rice in the late 1970s, and I believe Walsh mentioned that Paul Brown actually tried to blackball him from any head coaching jobs in the NFL.

As I recall, the recent SI story on Walsh talked about this too.

i spoke to bruce coslet, another walsh disciple, this afternoon. on the "west-coast offense" stuff, he talked about how walsh hated that moniker, saying, "yeah, the west-coast offense was born on the north bank of the Ohio River." 8) :

sorry, bengals fans. paul brown blew this one.

 

[DanOregon]

Better the West Coast offense than that "finesse" bull****. I hated that crap in the 80s.

 

[Highway 101]

The inscription written by Coach Walsh reads...

For (Highway) —

A fine sports writer.

Be kind to the coaches.

Bill Walsh

The Book Finding the Winning Edge was a Christmas gift from my mother in my freshman year of college and has remained among my coffee table books along with Rice, Silver Knight, and Rare Air.

I thank my Mom for grabbing one of the five autographs I desired since I knew the difference between offsides and a false-start.

To go back even further, I remember watching many 49ers games while sitting in my Dad's lap while he caught a weekend snooze. I remember scaring my cat half-to-death when John Taylor caught the TD. I remember Dad fiddling with the camping Coleman BBQ on his first tailgate for us kids.

There are a lot of memories associated with Coach Walsh.

I will miss him.

Rest in Peace, Coach Genius.

Hwy

 

[etsuwes]

When I was a little kid the 49ers were my team. Even though I grew up in rural Tennessee where we didn't get many SF games due to the Redskins and Cowboys, at that time, I was a big fan of Walsh's system with Joe Montana as quarterback. Walsh's passing has been expected for sometime, but it's still a very sad day as a football fan. RIP Coach.

 

[Cansportschick]

A great loss for the football world. Walsh will always be known for perfecting the West Coast offence and he made Montana, Rice, Young et al the stars that they were in that era.

RIP.