Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh, who won three Super Bowls with the 49ers, dead at 75

[hadrons]

Source: Yahoo!

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Bill Walsh, the groundbreaking football coach who won three Super Bowls and perfected the ingenious schemes that became known as the West Coast offense during a Hall of Fame career with the San Francisco 49ers, has died. He was 75.

Walsh died at his Bay Area home early Monday following a long battle with leukemia, according to Stanford University, where he served as coach and athletic director.

Walsh didn't become an NFL head coach until 47, and he spent just 10 seasons on the San Francisco sideline. But he left an indelible mark on the United States' most popular sport, building the once-woebegone 49ers into the most successful team of the 1980s with his innovative offensive strategies and teaching techniques.

The soft-spoken native Californian also produced a legion of coaching disciples that's still growing today. Many of his former assistants went on to lead their own teams, handing down Walsh's methods and schemes to dozens more coaches in a tree with innumerable branches.

Walsh went 102-63-1 with the 49ers, winning 10 of his 14 postseason games along with six division titles. He was named the NFL's coach of the year in 1981 and 1984.

Few men did more to shape the look of football into the 21st century. His cerebral nature and often-brilliant stratagems earned him the nickname "The Genius" well before his election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993.

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Read more: http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-obit-walsh&prov=ap&type=lgns

[Mz Pip]

1. He was always such a class act

RIP Bill and thanks for all the terrific 49er memories.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[TomInTib]

2. Leukemia took out a couple of the Bay Area's finest today.

Bill Walsh, a true gentleman, and my dear friend Tom Snyder, a true character.

Lives well lived.

[Wetzelbill]

8. Tom Snyder too?

wow, that's too bad. Been a rough day. Walsh, Snyder, Ingmar Bergman. All legends.

[dubyaD40web]

3. He was a great coach.

R.I.P.

[pinerow]

4. The entire NFL will

miss the influence of this great human being...:toast:

[BootinUp]

5. I hated his brilliance

when he was kickin the LA rams asses, certainly he belongs in the top category of all time coaches.

[AzDar]

6. A lovely man...even if he did engineer 2 Super Bowl defeats of my beloved

Bengals.
R.I.P.

[MikeNearMcChord]

10. He was once the Bengals assistant coach

but got passed over so he went to Stanford, had a couple of great years got hired by Eddie DeBartolo Jr, teamed up with John McVay and the rest is history. Classic drafts, Joe Montana 3rd round, Jerry Rice 1st round from Mississppi Valley State among others.

[Mrs. Overall]

7. For those of us who grew up in the Bay Area in the 70's and remember

when the 49ers were the worst team in the NFL, it was amazing how Bill Walsh came along and worked an absolute miracle with style and class.

[Karenina]

9. He was my favorite coach...

RIP, Bill. :cry:

[Bread and Circus]

11. He was an awesome coach.

[Guaranteed]

12. Holy shit. Oh no.

I don't know what to say.

This was a great, great man in football. RIP Bill.