An ode to Bill Walsh

Bill Walsh was just a man off the field, and none of us knew him there. But on the football field he was everything, especially to the San Francisco 49ers. He was a teacher, an inventor, a mentor, and a creator. He was everything they needed, and he gave them everything he had. He lost his long battle with leukemia today, and here is a great epitaph.

He created a new offensive system, the seeds of which were planted by the legendary Paul Brown in Cincinnati, and he won with it. And along the way he set in a new era of football. There's a short list of people who have affected football so immensely, and his is the name that comes up almost instantly when we think about it. Lombardi, because his name is on the trophy. Halas, because he created the league. Paul Brown because he won everything and everywhere. And Bill Walsh, who ushered in a new way of playing and winning.

The NFL has lost a great icon today. He will, however, always live on the football field. With the quick slant to the wide receiver. Or the flare pass they called a running game to the running back, his name has been forever enshrined with the greatest that have ever been involved with professional football.

From the start, Bill Walsh did it his way [Fanhouse]