Michael Yermus is a lawyer, couch potato and sports enthusiast, who enjoys writing down his observations, frustrations and passions regarding almost any issue in the sports world. The head coaches of the New York Jets, Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos, Philadelphia Eagles, Atlanta Falcons and Minnesota Vikings, all have links to the 49ers great coach, Bill Walsh, however, the current 49ers head coach, Dennis Erickson, does not.
While more and more franchises are clamoring for coaches who have been under the tutelage or have been influenced by "The Genius," the 49ers, a team that was the league's premier franchise while using that offense for 25 years, have instead abandoned its tenants and paid the price for their ignorance.
To properly understand the 49ers folly of dropping the west coast offense, one must first learn appreciate the grandiose achievements of Bill Walsh.
Since Walsh became the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers in 1979, 25 Super Bowls have been played. Of those 25 Super Bowls, Walsh and his disciples have won 10, while 11of the 29 coaches who have participated in that game over that same time span are also linked to him.
The first Walsh disciple to participate in a Super Bowl was Sam Wyche with the Cincinnati Bengals, who coached under Walsh from 1979 to 1982.
Next came George Seifert, who coached under Walsh from 1980-88 and proceeded to win two Super Bowls as the head coach of the 49ers after Walsh departed.
Mike Holmgren (Green Bay Packers), who coached under both Walsh and Seifert won one championship, but lost a second one winning to fellow 49er alumni Mike Shanahan (Denver Broncos). Shanahan, who spent 1992-94 under George Seifert, would go on to win a second Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos.
In 1999, Jeff Fisher took the Tennessee Titans to the Super Bowl. His brief stint with the 49ers under George Seifert from 1992-93 led him to the coaching position in Houston where he became the head coach in 1994. Houston then moved to Tennessee.
Brian Billick (Baltimore Ravens) and Jim Fassel (New York Giants) followed the next season in the Super Bowl. Billick had spent his entire pro-coaching career in Minnesota under Dennis Green, who spent 1979 and 1986-88 under Bill Walsh, while Fassel was some what of a nomad, spending 1995 under Mike White in Oakland. White, meanwhile, was a coach under Walsh in 1979. In addition, Fassel also coached under Walsh at Stanford.
In 2002, John Gruden (Tampa Bay) and Bill Callahan (Oakland Raiders) were added to the Walsh Super Bowl parade. Gruden coached under Seifert in 1990, Holmgren 1992-94 and Ray Rhodes (1981-88 with Walsh, 1989-91, 1994 with Seifert, 1992-93 with Holmgren) from 1995-97, while Callahan spent the same time with Gruden under Rhodes in Philadelphia and was an assistant under Gruden in Oakland from 1998-2001 until ascending to the head coach position in 2002 when Gruden left for Tampa Bay.
Finally, last year, John Fox (Carolina Panthers) added his name to this list, having served under Mike White in Oakland in 1995 and under Jim Fassel in New York from 1997-2001.
Now as we all know to anoint one as great or as a genius, means that comparisons must be made to other coaches or these terms will have no meaning.
Therefore, to fully appreciate Walsh?s achievement, lets compare him to his most successful contemporaries in terms of Super Bowl wins and appearances
Super Bowl | B.Walsh | B.Parcells | J.Johnson | J.Gibbs | D. Reeves | B.Levy |
WINS | 10 (3) | 4 (2) | 3 (3) | 3 (3) | 2 (0) | 0 |
APPEAR-ANCES | 14 (3) | 5 (3) | 3 (3) | 3 (3) | 8 (4) | 4 (4) |
* parentheses indicate the number of wins and appearances achieved by the coach at the top of each column
It should also be noted that in the above columns, the Super Bowl wins credited to Dan Reeves are those he shares with Walsh with respect to Shanahan who spent 1984-87, 1989-91with Reeves in Denver.
Jimmy Johnson, Joe Gibbs and Marv Levy were unable to produce any coaches who even reached, let alone, won the Super Bowl.
On the other hand, Parcells and Reeves were only able to produce two combined, compared to the 10 produced by Bill Walsh.
To show that Walsh?s influence has not waned, a connection back to the him can be made for 17 of the leagues current 32 head coaches, where as Gibbs and Levy lay claim to zero, Parcells to two, and Reeves and Johnson to three each.
Even if we eliminate what may be considered tenuous connections with regards to Fassel, Fisher and Fox, it would serve only to diminish the number of appearances, but still leave Walsh with a sizeable lead over his Hall of Fame caliber contemporaries.
The reason that Walsh?s legacy has flourished, while those of his contemporaries has not, is because Walsh developed a system, where as the other coaches listed lean on a style and/or persona. Therefore, short of cloning themselves, Johnson, Levy, Gibbs, Reeves and Parcells are unable to create an enduring tribute to their greatness.
In contrast, Walsh?s disciples are able to succeed because they successfully employ the West Coast offense, perhaps the most important innovation in pro football since the forward pass.
Walsh?s greatness supersedes those of his contemporaries because his creation, like a fully mature child, is able to survive without his care and guidance, and the plethora of Super Bowls won by his disciples is proof enough.
The West Coast offense transcends the word strategy and has become a system, a blueprint to success, which such formerly down trodden teams (NY Jets, Atlanta Falcons, Detroit Lions) are currently using to their advantage.
Perhaps someday the 49ers will look to their roots so that they can reap the benefits from their greatest coach and ascend to the top of league once more.
As an aside, although outside of the scope of this article, one more point regarding Bill Walsh?s legacy that merits attention is his connection with many of the too few African-American head coaches in NFL history.
Of the seven African-Americans that have coached in the NFL, six have links to Bill Walsh.
Dennis Green, as previously mentioned, and Ray Rhodes served as an assistant coach under Walsh. In addition, Tony Dungy was an assistant coach under Dennis Green before becoming a head coach, Herm Edwards and Lovie Smith were both assistants under Tony Dungy and Marv Lewis was an assistant with the Ravens under Brian Billick.
Yet another feather in Walsh's cap.