Bill Walsh (American football coach)
William Ernest Walsh (November 30, 1931 – July 30, 2007) was an American professional and college football coach. He served as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers and the Stanford Cardinal, during which time he popularized the West Coast offense. After retiring from the 49ers, Walsh worked as a sports broadcaster for several years and then returned as head coach at Stanford for three seasons.
Not to be confused with Pittsburgh Steelers player Bill Walsh.Personal information
November 30, 1931
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
July 30, 2007 (aged 75)
Woodside, California, U.S.
92–59–1 (.609)
10–4 (.714)
NFL: 102–63–1 (.617)
NCAA: 34–24–1 (.585)
Walsh went 102–63–1 (wins-losses-ties) with the 49ers, winning 10 of his 14 postseason games along with six division titles, three NFC Championship titles, and three Super Bowls. He was named NFL Coach of the Year in 1981 and 1984. In 1993, he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He is widely considered amongst the greatest coaches in NFL history.
Early life[edit]
Walsh was born in Los Angeles. He attended Hayward High School in Hayward in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he played running back.[1]
Walsh played quarterback at the College of San Mateo for two seasons. (Both John Madden and Walsh played and coached at the College of San Mateo early in their careers.) After playing at the College of San Mateo, Walsh transferred to San José State University, where he played tight end and defensive end. He also participated in intercollegiate boxing, winning the golden glove.
Walsh graduated from San Jose State with a bachelor's degree in physical education in 1955. After two years in the U.S. Army participating on their boxing team,[2] Walsh built a championship team at Washington High School in Fremont before becoming an assistant coach at Cal, Stanford and then the Oakland Raiders in 1966.[3]
College coaching career[edit]
He served under Bob Bronzan as a graduate assistant coach on the Spartans football coaching staff and graduated with a master's degree in physical education from San Jose State in 1959.[4] His master's thesis was entitled Flank Formation Football -- Stress: Defense. Thesis 796.W228f.[5]
Following graduation, Walsh coached the football and swim teams at Washington High School in Fremont, California. While there he interviewed for an assistant coaching position with the new head coach of the University of California, Berkeley California Golden Bears football team, Marv Levy.
"I was very impressed, individually, by his knowledge, by his intelligence, by his personality, and hired him," Levy said. Levy and Walsh, two future NFL Hall of Famers, would never produce a winning season for the Golden Bears.
Leaving Berkeley, Walsh did a stint at Stanford University as an assistant coach of its Cardinal football team before beginning his pro coaching career.
Professional coaching career[edit]
Early years[edit]
Walsh began his pro coaching career in 1966 as an assistant with the AFL's Oakland Raiders. There he was versed in the downfield-oriented "vertical" passing offense favored by Al Davis, an acolyte of Sid Gillman.
Walsh left the Raiders the next year to become the head coach and general manager of the San Jose Apaches of the Continental Football League (CFL). He led the Apaches to second place in the Pacific Division, but the team ceased all football operations prior to the start of the 1968 CFL season.
In 1968, Walsh joined the staff of head coach Paul Brown of the AFL expansion Cincinnati Bengals, where he coached wide receivers from 1968 to 1970. It was there that Walsh developed the philosophy now known as the "West Coast offense". Cincinnati's new quarterback, Virgil Carter, was known for his great mobility and accuracy but lacked a strong arm necessary to throw deep passes. To suit his strengths, Walsh suggested a modification of the downfield based "vertical passing scheme" he had learned during his time with the Raiders with one featuring a "horizontal" approach that relied on quick, short throws, often spreading the ball across the entire width of the field.[6] In 1971 Walsh was given the additional responsibility of coaching the quarterbacks, and Carter went on to lead the league in pass completion percentage.
Ken Anderson eventually replaced Carter as starting quarterback, and, together with star wide receiver Isaac Curtis, produced a consistent, effective offensive attack.
When Brown retired as head coach following the 1975 season and appointed Bill "Tiger" Johnson as his successor, Walsh resigned and served as an assistant coach in 1976 for the San Diego Chargers under head coach Tommy Prothro. In a 2006 interview,[7] Walsh claimed that during his tenure with the Bengals, Brown "worked against my candidacy" to be a head coach anywhere in the league. "All the way through I had opportunities, and I never knew about them", Walsh said. "And then when I left him, he called whoever he thought was necessary to keep me out of the NFL." Walsh also claimed that Brown kept talking him down any time Brown was called by NFL teams considering hiring Walsh as a head coach.
In 1977, Walsh was hired by Stanford University as the head coach of its Cardinal football team, where he stayed for two seasons. He was quite successful, with his teams posting a 9–3 record in 1977 with a win in the Sun Bowl, and going 8–4 in 1978 with a win in the Bluebonnet Bowl. His notable players at Stanford included quarterbacks Guy Benjamin, Steve Dils, wide receivers James Lofton and Ken Margerum, linebacker Gordy Ceresino, and running back Darrin Nelson. Walsh was the Pac-8 Conference Coach of the Year in 1977.
49ers head coach[edit]
On January 9, 1979, Walsh resigned as head coach at Stanford, and San Francisco 49ers team owner Edward J. DeBartolo, Jr. fired head coach Fred O'Connor and general manager Joe Thomas following a 2–14 in 1978 season.[8] Walsh was appointed head coach of the 49ers the next day.
The 49ers went 2-14 again in 1979. Hidden behind that record were organizational changes made by Walsh that set the team on a better course, including selecting Notre Dame quarterback Joe Montana in the third round of the 1979 NFL Draft.
In 1980, starting quarterback Steve DeBerg got the 49ers off to a 3–0 start, but after a week 6 blowout loss to the Dallas Cowboys by a score of 59–14, Walsh gave Montana a chance to start. On December 7 vs. the New Orleans Saints, the second-year player brought the 49ers back from a 35–7 halftime deficit to a 38–35 overtime win. In spite of this switch, the team struggled to a 6–10 finish – a record that belied a championship team in the making.
Death[edit]
Bill Walsh died of leukemia on July 30, 2007, at his home in Woodside, California.[1]
Following Walsh's death, the playing field at the former Candlestick Park was renamed "Bill Walsh Field".[24] Additionally, the regular San Jose State versus Stanford football game was renamed the "Bill Walsh Legacy Game".[25]