Bill Walsh died today at the age of 75 from leukemia, and not only did he obviously revolutionize the game of football at both college and professional levels with his passing offense, now commonly known as the West Coast offense, but also through the number of pro coaches that rose through the ranks in his wake.
I was much too young to appreciate the 49ers dominance other than my dad’s explanations for it while watching TV, but without Bill Walsh, there would definitely be no George Seifert, which means no Mike Shanahan — and for that, Bronco fans owe him a debt alone, because Shanahan brought his own modifications to Walsh’s system (made it more run-heavy while keeping the short passing plays) and it won two championships with John Elway and Terrell Davis taking the primary roles.
Rest in peace, Coach.
Filed under: NFL, college football, death | Tagged: Stanford Cardinal
His only regret was that he retired too early. A lot of other people also regretted that, Bill. God bless you.
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