View previous topic :: View next topic |
Author |
Message |
Tullaryx
Custodiae Corvi
Joined: 19 Sep 2006
Post Count: 5577
Location: Apacheta
4092785 Potch
200 Soldiers
20 Nation Points
|
Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2007 4:06 pm Post subject: Bill Walsh passes away at the age of 75 |
|
|
One of the greatest and most innovative coaches in the history of the National Football League passed away today at the age of 75 after years of battling leukemia. It was a battle he had kept private and one that only became public last year. This is indeed a sad day for Bay Area sports fans and just football fans in general.
I first came to love watching football when Bill Walsh became the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. They had been one of the worst teams when he joined them in 1979. I was still very young then and wasn't truly invested in my local team. But after a couple year of building the team he wanted the 49ers finally had their breakout season in the 1981 and won their first of five Super Bowls in January 1982.
Bill Walsh epitomized what it meant to be perfect. He had made the San Francisco 49ers a dynasty of the 1980's leading them to three Super Bowl wins in 1982, 1984 and 1989. Even after he had retired after third third Super Bowl, Bill Walsh's influence on the NFL could be felt in the growing use of his "West Coast Offense" and the hiring of his assistant coaches by other teams to get their own franchises out from the doldrums into contention.
He had a great eye for talent as he drafted players many didn't see as having the skills to be in the NFL and succeed and turn them into All-Pro's and Hall of Famers (Joe Montana being the biggest one). He was prescient enough to steal Steve Young from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and began grooming him to ultimately replace Joe Montana. He also orchestrated what many believe as being the greatest draft class by any team in the history of the NFL. The 1986 draft is still seen by many as Walsh at his best at evaluating talent and deftly manuevering through the draft rounds as he traded down and down for more picks. He had singlehandedly drafted half of the year's starting defensive line with that draft and landed Charles Haley and several defensive backs who would end up starting the following year.
His greatest legacy will be his coaching philosophy and the coaches who learned directly under his tutelage or under the system he established with the 49ers. Holmgren, Green, Rhodes, Shanahan, Dungy, and Fisher are just some of the names whose own coaching style has been influenced by Walsh's system.
The greatest NFL football coach not named Lombardi has now passed away and the NFL is a sadder place for it. _________________
Last edited by Tullaryx on Mon Jul 30, 2007 5:46 pm; edited 1 time in total |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Ezekiel
Mediocre Archer
Joined: 28 Jun 2007
Post Count: 1430
Location: North Gouran
119921 Potch
0 Soldiers
0 Nation Points
|
Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2007 4:40 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Wow, a very sad day. I'd say he could've even rivaled Lombardi. He was an amazing coach, and it's a shame he had to leave us. As you said, he struggled with leukemia, and now he can finally be at peace. RIP Walsh, football fans everywhere will miss you dearly. _________________
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
Calvin
Legions of Zontar-Killers
Joined: 19 Jun 2004
Post Count: 2445
Location: Blight's Bay
817540 Potch
25 Soldiers
0 Nation Points
|
Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2007 11:12 pm Post subject: |
|
|
This is certainly a sad day, as Bill Walsh was one of the most amazing people to ever to coach the game of football. Even after factoring in his contributions to the game itself, such as the West Coast Offense, scripting plays, and his eye for talent, I think one of his most important contributions is the fact that he is the father of the NFL's minority coaches program. He is responsible for bringing in many black coaches into the NFL in what was previously thought of as a white man's job.
Lombardi was a great coach, but in terms of what Bill Walsh brought to the game, he is rivaled only by people like Pop Warner and George Halas. He changed the way the game is played forever. _________________
I changed the number on my phone so you can't call me up at home, and you can't say those
things to me, that make me fall down on my knees.
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
glen
Drunking soldiers are us!!
Joined: 21 Aug 2006
Post Count: 1296
Location: My backyard by the pool and bar.
6390 Potch
428 Soldiers
0 Nation Points
|
Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2007 6:42 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Wow i am going to miss Bill Walsh he was a great football coach. _________________ I fought the law and got my a** kick big time. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
|
|