Walsh passes, leaving indelible mark on the NFL

By Hugo Guzman  |   Tuesday, July 31, 2007  |  Comments( 10 )

San Francisco 49ers
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I was just 8 years old when I first became acquainted with Bill Walsh. I was a kid growing up in Miami, learning the ropes of a game that would eventually become one of the cornerstones of my life, both personally and professionally.

My first impression of Walsh was that only he could seem to figure out how to stop Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino.

As I grew up and became more of a student of the game, I learned that Walsh was known for much more than just beating up on the Dolphins in Super Bowl XIX. He was the West Coast offense. He was "The Catch." He was Roger Craig's high-stepping style. He was Joe Montana to John Taylor. He was Ronnie Lott. He was Jerry Rice.

He was the San Francisco 49ers.

Most media pundits will right long-winded articles, naming all of the offensive innovations that Walsh is credited with, or his soft-spoken demeanor, or his contributions to the movement of minority coaches trying to get a foothold in the NFL, or the gargantuan coaching tree that is still spreading its branches throughout the league. That's all great stuff, no doubt. To me, however, Bill Walsh was much more than that.

Names like Halas, Lombardi, Landry, Shula and Noll will undoubtedly come up when discussing the topic of whose mind was the greatest in league history. But Walsh may have trumped them all. His dynastic run from 1981-88 was made during a time when several other franchises also flaunted dominant squads. During those eight seasons, the argument can be made that at least six other teams achieved elite status at one point or another. Three NFC rivals -- the Washington Redskins, Chicago Bears and New York Giants -- won Super Bowls during that time and three AFC squads -- the Cincinnati Bengals, Miami Dolphins and Denver Broncos -- fielded formidable rosters at one point or another. The Eagles, Vikings and Rams weren't exactly pushovers either.

Yet Walsh was able to craft a game plan and roster that somehow appeared to catapult the 49ers head and shoulders above these worthy foes.

Hindsight clearly illustrates that all of these other teams were nothing less than juggernauts in their own respect, further lending credence to the idea that Walsh was the benchmark for football brilliance. It was as if Walsh was able to construct the league's greatest team during the league's most dominant era.

This is no slight on other great dynastic eras, of course, like that of the 1970s, which saw four teams -- the Dolphins, Cowboys, Raiders and Steelers -- ascend to meteoric levels. It's just a tribute to a coach who was able to dominate an entire decade despite challenges from a plethora of opponents.

Perhaps someday we will look back and say that Bill Belichick's run with the New England Patriots was even more impressive, considering the overwhelming sense of parity that free agency and the salary cap have brought to the game. For the time being, however, I will go out on a limb and say that it is Walsh who holds the heavyweight title of all-time NFL minds.

Although I never got a chance to meet Bill Walsh or know him on a personal level, it seems reasonable to assume that he was a great human being. Unfortunately for me, though, I will never know for sure. What I do know, and have known since I was just a kid, is that he was one hell of a football coach.

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About Hugo Guzman

Co-founder of RealFootball365.com. Born in Argentina, of Dominican descent, living in Hoboken, but from Miami through and ...
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