Monday, July 30, 2007

R.I.P. Bill Walsh

Legendary NFL coach Bill Walsh, arguably the most influential (and also arguably the greatest) offensive mind in the history of football, has died. He was 75.

14 comments:

CMFost said...

RIP - Bill Walsh - One of the Greatest Coaches ever - His legacy will live on with all the Coaches in his tree.

TBender said...

It's turning out to be a bad day...

Ingmar Bergman, Tom Snyder, Bill Walsh...

CMFost said...

bender things always come in three's so hopefully that will be all.

Unknown said...

I think you can take the arguably part off of the "most influential offensive mind". It's only arguably when you can make the argument for someone else, which I don't think you can.

RIP Coach Walsh

CMFost said...

A short list of the Walsh Coaching Tree

George Seifert(2 Super Bowls), Mike Holmgren(1), Dennis Green, Sam Wyche, Ray Rhodes and Bruce Coslet, Tony Dungy(1), Mike Shanahan(2), Jon Gruden(1), Brian Billick(1), Andy Reid, Pete Carroll(2 College National Titles), Gary Kubiak, Steve Mariucci and Jeff Fisher.

8 Super Bowl Champion Coaches
1 College National Champion Coach

And I am sure there are a ton more I have missed.

Brian in Oxford said...

I would love to see the actual "tree"....where the branches come off like actual descendants. Was Rhodes a direct descendant, or in a "grandson"-type setup?

Same thing for Parcells....

futurelegendvinceyoung said...

Rhodes was a defensive coordinator for the Niners in 1994. I also remember him being on the staff of the teams that won 4 Super Bowls in the '80s

futurelegendvinceyoung said...

Bill Walsh Coaching Tree

CMFost said...

wow, just going over that tree is pretty impressive.

Dave Jackson said...

If I counted right, there are 16 current head coaches on that tree. More than half of the league. Damn, that's impressive.

RIP to a great coach.

DJ

Joey said...

don't forget that Walsh was under the great Paul Brown as well

Brian in Oxford said...


and similarly for Parcells....

WuzUpG said...

Not only was Bill Walsh was the coach, he was the 49ers GM. He made tremendous deals in getting Fred Dean and "Hacksaw" Reynolds. Moreover, as an offensive-minded coach, he drafted 3 rookies in the secondary, Carlton Williamson, Eric Wright, and the great Ronnie Lott to win Super Bowl XVI!

He had tremendous sense of when to trade players before their peak and acquire skillful veterans to fit into his system, such as Wendell Tyler and Russ Francis. The only mistake that he admitted to making was trading Ronnie Lott too early.

CMFost said...

Patriots coach Bill Belichick commented on the passing of former NFL coach Bill Walsh today:

"One of the greatest challenges of my career was coaching defense against Bill Walsh. He turned San Francisco’s offense into the best in the league. Beyond being a great offensive coach, Bill mastered running an entire pro football organization. He figured out everything from the big picture down to the smallest detail and documented it in his book, Finding The Winning Edge, which was groundbreaking. It remains easily the most comprehensive and best modern day football book and is required reading for every coach. On a personal level, I am very fortunate to have developed a close friendship with Bill and my deepest condolences are with his family on this sad day."