Former San Francisco 49er’s coach Bill Walsh died earlier this week, so the WSJ’s Allen Barra provides this wonderful tribute to Coach Walsh that, among other things, reminds us of his most special legacy:

It was as a teacher, though, that Mr. Walsh had his greatest and most lasting influence on football. Unlike Lombardi, who left worshippers but no disciples, Mr. Walsh spawned an entire generation of acolytes. His defensive coordinator George Seifert won two Super Bowls with San Francisco; his offensive coordinator Mike Holmgren won one with Green Bay. Mr. Seifert’s pupil Mike Shanahan, schooled in Mr. Walsh’s methods, won two more with Denver.
Mr. Walsh’s influence on football today is so pervasive that nearly 20 years after his final game, the Super Bowl has practically become an annual showcase for his adherents. This past February, Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy, a former player under Mr. Walsh, squared off against the Chicago Bears’ Lovie Smith, who trained as an assistant to Dennis Green, once a Walsh receiver’s coach.
That Messrs. Dungy and Smith were the first African-American coaches to reach the Super Bowl highlights perhaps Mr. Walsh’s greatest legacy: In 1987, he helped create the Minority Coaching Fellowship Program. “I can tell you this,” says Mr. Dungy, “his life was about much more than just X’s and O’s.”

Meanwhile, Jean Bramel reminds long-suffering Cincinnati Bengals fans (including my nephew, Josh) that Walsh was once an up and coming assistant coach with the Bengals, and actually began developing the West Coast offense while with the Bengals. Alas, Walsh was the subject of one of the more egregious “pass-overs” in NFL history:

[While with the Bengals, Coach Walsh] found a way to modify his passing attack with short, precise passes and mulitple wide receiving options putting pressure on the defense with timing routes ó what is now known as the West Coast offense but could rightly be called the Cincinnati offense. Walsh again found a near perfect fit for his new playbook in Ken Anderson, a smart, calm, precise passer. Walshís offense was clicking for the Bengals in the early 1970s. By the end of the 1975 season, Anderson was running the offense to perfection with a 60% plus completion rate and 8 yards plus per passing attempt. Curtis had been to three consecutive Pro Bowls and was a star. The Bengals had made the playoffs in 1973 and 1975. The future was ridiculously bright.
Then Bengal head coach and patriarch Paul Brown retired and handed the reins to long time offensive assistant Tiger Johnson instead of Walsh, who resigned in disappointment. The rest, as they say, is history. Walsh spent a season in San Diego as an assistant and coached Stanford for two seasons before taking the head coaching job in San Francisco where his offense flourished under Joe Montana. Johnsonís Bengal teams steadily declined and he was fired in 1978. Cincinnati made two Super Bowls in the 1980s, only to lose both to the franchise Bill Walsh built.
Rest in peace, Bill Walsh. This Bengal fan still longs for what couldíve been.

Tiger Johnson over Bill Walsh? That sounds almost Oileresque, don’t you think?