NFL Coaching Legend Bill Walsh Dies

Former 49ers And Stanford University Football Coach Dies Of Leukemia At 75

(CBS/AP)  Legendary San Francisco 49ers and Stanford University football coach Bill Walsh has died. He was 75.

Walsh, who led the 49ers to three Super Bowl wins in the 1980s, died at home Monday after a battle with leukemia, reports CBS station KPIX-TV in San Francisco.

Walsh didn't become an NFL head coach until age 47, and he spent just 10 seasons on San Francisco's sideline. But he left an indelible mark on the United States' most popular sport, building the once-woebegone 49ers into the most successful team of the 1980s with his ingenious schemes that became known as the West Coast offense.

The soft-spoken native Californian also produced a legion of coaching disciples that's still growing today. Many of his former assistants went on to lead their own teams, handing down Walsh's methods and schemes to dozens more coaches in a tree with innumerable branches.

Walsh went 102-63-1 with the 49ers, winning 10 of his 14 postseason games along with six division titles. He was named the NFL's coach of the year in 1981 and 1984.

Few men did more to shape the look of football into the 21st century. His cerebral nature and often-brilliant stratagems earned him the nickname "The Genius" well before his election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993.

"He was a genius," fellow coaching legend John Madden told CBS radio station KCBS. "When you take offensive football, quarterback play, I don’t think there was anyone that ever knew more about it than Bill Walsh. That's his legacy. He won a lot of games, he won Super Bowls, did all those things. But he could have been the top offensive mind to ever coach football."

Walsh twice served as the 49ers' general manager, and George Seifert led San Francisco to two more Super Bowl titles after Walsh left the sideline. Walsh also coached Stanford during two terms over five seasons.

Even a short list of Walsh's adherents is stunning. Seifert, Mike Holmgren, Dennis Green, Sam Wyche, Ray Rhodes and Bruce Coslet all became NFL head coaches after serving on Walsh's San Francisco staffs, and Tony Dungy played for him. Most of his former assistants passed on Walsh's structures and strategies to a new generation of coaches, including Mike Shanahan, Jon Gruden, Brian Billick, Andy Reid, Pete Carroll, Gary Kubiak, Steve Mariucci and Jeff Fisher.

Walsh created the Minority Coaching Fellowship program in 1987, helping minority coaches to get a foothold in a previously lily-white profession. Marvin Lewis and Tyrone Willingham are among the coaches who went through the program, later adopted as a league-wide initiative.

He also helped to establish the World League of American Football — most recently known as NFL Europa — in 1994, taking the sport around the globe as a development ground for the NFL.

Walsh was diagnosed with leukemia in 2004 and underwent months of treatment and blood transfusions. He publicly disclosed his illness in November 2006, but appeared at a tribute for retired receiver Jerry Rice two weeks later.

While Walsh recuperated from a round of chemotherapy in late 2006, he received visits from former players and assistant coaches, as well as California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

Born William Ernest Walsh on Nov. 30, 1931 in Los Angeles, he was a self-described "average" end and a sometime boxer at San Jose State in 1952-53.

Walsh, whose family moved to the Bay Area when he was a teenager, married his college sweetheart, Geri Nardini, in 1954 and started his coaching career at Washington High School in Fremont, leading the football and swim teams.

[jdubs63]

MoOO5.It is called San Francisco NOT Frisco

[mo005]

I was privileged to attend washington high school when he was coach. I never was in his class but every kid at that school new who he was and how good he was. I moved to tennessee, right when the niners started kicking but. He gave me something to roar about while learning how to be a country boy(verses city boy). I think he was great for any frisco fan, because when the raiders became the oakland traders and moved he gave us a team to be proud of. I still have my montana jerseys. They aren't going anywhere. Thanks bill, rest in piece buddy you will always be here because of your plays.

[frb01]

For the sarcastic that asked is it news, yes it is. When the sports pages become a police blotter, we have to take a moment to remember guys like Coach Walsh, who showed intelligence, class, and grace. It is ironic that another Hall of Fame Coach who has a lot of those characteristics, Marv Levy gave him his first college coaching job way back when. In the craziness of the sports world, we have to look at the Marv Levy's, the Bill Walsh's, the Chuck Nolls, and the Tony Dungy's who had success and did it their way.

[noaanhc]

Bill Walsh was one of the best in the NFL

[menageri]

He truly was one of the greats. He will be missed by many.

[mitywhity]

speechless...one less class-act on earth.

[drummer94]

Not much in pro sports that we can be boastful about anymore. We just lost one. RIP, mr. Walsh, and thanks.

[cdfoxtrot]

This is news????

[jdubs63]

Yes a sad moment for one of the great men of our time and a great neighbor

[texas468]

I'll second that post by Rafterman1! I also am not a fan of the 49ers, but this was one of the greats.........

[barbaraf4]

Bill Walsh & Joe Montana - a winning combo!!

[rafterman1]

I hate the Niners, but I loved Bill Walsh, a class guy.