Bill Walsh, an integral part of the Stanford Athletic community, and who guided the San Francisco 49ers to three Super Bowl championships and six NFC West division titles in his 10 years as head coach, died Monday morning at his Woodside home with his family at his side. He was 75.
Mr. Walsh, who disclosed last year that he was suffering from leukemia, was as gracious with his time as he was genius at his work. His first head coaching position was on The Farm in 1977. His final coaching position was also at Stanford, in 1993-94.
Mr. Walsh never stopped working. When he stepped aside from a successful NFL career, he returned once again to familiar surroundings on Stanford’s campus. He never left again.
Most of the world knows Bill Walsh because of what he accomplished with the San Francisco 49ers. There are countless others in the Stanford community who were touched by him and his dedication to football and life.
He served many roles at Stanford, including head football coach, athletic director, special adviser to the athletic director, and general consultant. Mostly, though, he was just a friend.
His office doors at Stanford remained mostly open to anyone interested in gaining his perspective. He selflessly shared his time and knowledge, carefully designing a message of success and achievement.
While known as an offensive genius, Mr. Walsh began his college career as a defensive assistant at California under Marv Levy and Stanford under John Ralston. He switched to offensive when Al Davis hired him as an Oakland Raiders assistant. He began perfecting his system with the Cincinnati Bengals under Paul Brown.
At Stanford, he finally received his opportunity to put his system into operation. Quarterback Guy Benjamin, receiver James Lofton and running back Darrin Nelson were perfectly suited to Mr. Walsh’s system, which grew into the “West Coast Offense.”
In 1978 Mr. Walsh did it all over again with new faces: quarterback Steve Dils, wide receiver Ken Margerum joining Nelson and Ceresino and kicker Ken Naber.
He was hired by the 49ers for the 1979 season and the rest of his professional career is well documented. He coached the 49ers to the Super Bowl XIX title at Stanford on Jan. 20, 1985.
After retiring from the NFL he returned for a second stint at Stanford, guiding the 1992 team to a 10-3 mark, a No. 9 ranking in the final poll, and a victory in the 1993 Blockbuster Bowl.
Mr. Walsh sustained two consecutive losing seasons in 1993-94, although he did recruit the players who were the foundation of the 1995 Liberty Bowl and 1996 Sun Bowl teams.
Mr. Walsh returned to the 49ers in a front office position but after an ownership change, he came back to Stanford to stay.
Mr. Walsh is survived by his wife, Geri, son Craig, daughter Elizabeth, sister Maureen, daughter-in-law Kim, grandchildren Samantha and Nathan and brother-in-law Ed. His son Steve died of leukemia at age 46 in 2002.
Funeral services for Bill Walsh are pending.
