Bill Walsh
Bill Walsh
William Ernest Walshwas the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers and the Stanford Cardinal football team, during which time he popularized the West Coast offense. After retiring from the 49ers, Walsh worked as a sports broadcaster for several years and then returned as head coach at Stanford for three seasons...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionCoach
Date of Birth30 November 1931
CityLos Angeles, CA
CountryUnited States of America
The Steelers had the best grouping of players in the history of the game. No question about it.
We had an excellent coaching staff, a great attitude among the players and that youthful enthusiasm, It was a team that really shouldn't have been where we were.
I thought it was timely. He wanted to play one more year, and he did everything he could possibly do to make it happen. It didn't work out, but that's OK. I think Mike Shanahan handled it beautifully, and I think Jerry moves on with his health and as probably the greatest player of his era and certainly the greatest player ever at his position.
It's desperation, really, when you see players try to coach a rookie quarterback. It only adds to the confusion.
If I have any talent, it's in the artistic end of football. The variation of movement of 11 players and the orchestration of that facet of football is beautiful to me.
We have a lot of players in their first year. Some of them are also in their last year.
Consistent motivation usually comes from a consuming desire to be able to perform at your best under pressure, namely, the pressure produced by tough competition. If a player needed me to light a fire under him by turning the other team into a demon, he was lacking something I couldn't give him.
If you see players who hate practice, their coach isn't doing a very good job.
Once a Marine, always a Marine. The challenge and the camaraderie with players and coaches, no one experiences anything like that but in team sports, especially football. It's almost like a chemical dependency. Whereas losses used to destroy them, now they have the wisdom to be able to move on easier.
The running game in pro football has gotten so boring. There's just four or five plays they can run. I think the whole thing is headed in the wrong direction, and it's really unfortunate.
Brady is at the top of his game now. He knows what works and what doesn't work. I suspect he'll be more directly involved in what they do, and this will even further stimulate him.
The thing you don't want to do is use him too much against some sturdy run defense,
I've always thought Steve could be mayor of San Francisco without too much of a fight. That's just the kind of man he is, and how highly he's regarded in that town. Everybody knows he didn't have an easy job following Joe Montana. The way he did it says all you need to know about him, and then he made quite a career for himself, too.
Could New England stand up to the Steelers defense of the '70s? No chance. And I don't think they had near the balance the 49ers had during (the Super Bowl) years.