The Zong

The great Bill Walsh has died of leukemia, and the Chronicle has a good piece up today about him. When I was growing up, I was spoiled by some of the greatest teams who ever played professional football, teams built up from nothing by the man himself, and it is as important as ever that I remind myself how good Niners fans had it when he was running the show.

Folks throw around the word “genius” to describe temporarily successful football coaches fairly often, (Mike Martz?) but in the Bay Area we were fortunate enough to have the real deal for more than two generations, and the West Coast Offense that Walsh created continues to exist and evolve in the NFL as a testament to him. Nevertheless, I think an even greater contribution to football that Walsh made was evident in the demeanor of the teams he led. Throughout (and despite) the franchise’s dominance in the 80s and 90s, the 49ers wore their success without showboating, developing a reputation for class and excellence that will forever be associated with Bill Walsh and the players he coached.

Thanks for all the great football, Bill. You are missed.

EXTRA CREDIT: For all my beloved Pats-fan cronies, Charles Robinson over at Yahoo! Sports has a great article about Walsh’s influence on Bill Belichick during his formative years. It’s a fitting tribute to the man and some great insight into the mind of Belichick, possibly the greatest coach since the implementation of the salary cap.

- M.G.