Bill Walsh ( American football coach ) William Ernest " Bill " Walsh ( November 30 , 1931 – July 30 , 2007 ) was 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 returned as head coach at Stanford and later served as Cardinal athletic director . Walsh went 102 – 63 – 1 with the 49ers , winning ten of his 14 postseason games along with six division titles , three NFC Championship titles , and three Super Bowls . He was named the NFL ' s Coach of the Year in 1981 and 1984 . In 1993 , he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame . Early career . Born in Los Angeles , Walsh played running back in the San Francisco Bay Area for Hayward High School in Hayward . Walsh played quarterback at the College of San Mateo while attending there two years . Both John Madden and Walsh played and coached at the College of San Mateo early in their careers . After playing at the College of San Mateo , Walsh transferred to San José State University , where he played tight end and defensive end . He also participated in intercollegiate boxing . Walsh graduated from San Jose State with a bachelor ' s degree in physical education in 1955 . He served under Bob Bronzan as a graduate assistant coach on the Spartans football coaching staff and graduated with a master ' s degree in physical education from San Jose State in 1959 . His master ' s thesis was entitled " Flank Formation Football - - Stress : : Defense " . Thesis 796 . W228f Following graduation , Walsh coached at Washington High School in Fremont , leading the football and swim teams . Walsh was coaching in Fremont when he interviewed for an assistant coaching position with Marv Levy , who had just been hired as the head coach at the University of California , Berkeley . " I was very impressed , individually , by his knowledge , by his intelligence , by his personality and hired him , " Levy said . After Cal , Walsh did a stint at Stanford as an assistant coach , before beginning his pro coaching career . Professional football career . Walsh began his pro coaching career in 1966 as an assistant with the AFL ' s Oakland Raiders . As a Raider assistant , Walsh was trained in the vertical passing offense favored by Al Davis , putting Walsh in Davis ' s mentor Sid Gillman ' s coaching tree . In 1968 , Walsh moved to the AFL expansion Cincinnati Bengals , joining the staff of legendary coach Paul Brown . It was there that Walsh developed the philosophy now known as the " West Coast Offense " , as a matter of necessity . Cincinnati ' s new quarterback , Virgil Carter , was known for his great mobility and accuracy but lacked a strong arm necessary to throw deep passes . Thus , Walsh modified the vertical passing scheme he had learned during his time with the Raiders , designing a horizontal passing system that relied on quick , short throws - often spreading the ball across the entire width of the field . The new offense was much better suited to Carter ' s physical abilities ; he led the league in pass completion percentage in 1971 . Walsh spent eight seasons as an assistant with the Bengals . Ken Anderson eventually replaced Carter as starting quarterback , and together with star wide receiver Isaac Curtis , produced a consistent , effective offensive attack . Initially , Walsh started out as the wide receivers coach from 1968 - 1970 before also coaching the quarterbacks from 1971 - 1975 . When Brown retired as head coach following the 1975 season and appointed Bill " Tiger " Johnson as his successor , Walsh resigned and served as an assistant coach for Tommy Prothro with the San Diego Chargers in 1976 . In a 2006 interview , Walsh claimed that during his tenure with the Bengals , Brown " worked against my candidacy " to be a head coach anywhere in the league . " All the way through I had opportunities , and I never knew about them , " Walsh said . " And then when I left him , he called whoever he thought was necessary to keep me out of the NFL . " In 1977 , Walsh was hired as the head coach at Stanford where he stayed for two seasons . His two Stanford teams went 9 – 3 in 1977 with a win in the Sun Bowl , and 8 – 4 in 1978 with a win in the Bluebonnet Bowl ; his notable players at Stanford included quarterbacks Guy Benjamin and Steve Dils , wide receivers James Lofton and Ken Margerum , and running back Darrin Nelson . Walsh was the Pac - 8 Conference Coach of the Year in 1977 . In 1979 , Walsh was hired as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers . The long - suffering 49ers went 2 – 14 in 1978 , the season before Walsh ' s arrival and repeated the same dismal record in his first season . Walsh doubted his abilities to turn around such a miserable situation — but earlier in 1979 , Walsh drafted quarterback Joe Montana from Notre Dame in the third round . Walsh turned over the starting job to Montana in 1980 , when the 49ers improved to 6 – 10 . San Francisco won its first championship in 1981 , just two years after winning two games . Under Walsh the 49ers won Super Bowl championships in 1981 , 1984 and 1988 . Walsh served as 49ers head coach for ten years , and during his tenure he and his coaching staff perfected the style of play known popularly as the West Coast offense . Walsh was nicknamed " The Genius " for both his innovative play calling and design . Walsh would regularly script the first 10 - 15 offensive plays before the start of each game . In the ten years during which Walsh was the 49ers ' head coach , San Francisco scored 3 , 714 points ( 24 . 4 per game ) , the most of any team in the league during that span . In addition to drafting Joe Montana , Walsh drafted Ronnie Lott , Charles Haley , and Jerry Rice . He also traded a 2nd and 4th round pick in the 1987 draft for Steve Young . His success with the 49ers was rewarded with his election to the Professional Football Hall of Fame in 1993 . 1981 championship . The 1981 season saw Walsh lead the 49ers to a Super Bowl championship ; the team rose from the cellar to the top of the NFL in just two seasons . Four important wins during the 1981 season were two wins each over the Los Angeles Rams and the Dallas Cowboys . The Rams were only one year removed from a Super Bowl appearance , and had dominated the series with the 49ers since 1967 winning 23 , losing 3 and tying 1 . The 49ers ' two wins over the Rams in 1981 marked the shift of dominance in favor of the 49ers that lasted until 1998 with 30 wins ( including 17 consecutively ) against only 6 defeats . In 1981 , the 49ers blew out the Cowboys in week 6 of the regular season . On " Monday Night Football " that week , the 49ers ' win was not included in the famous halftime highlights . Walsh felt that this was because the Cowboys were scheduled to play the Rams the next week in a rare Sunday night game and that showing the highlights of the 49ers ' win would potentially hurt the game ' s ratings . However , Walsh used this as a motivating factor for his team , who felt they were disrespected . The 49ers faced the Cowboys again that same season in the NFC title game . The game was very close , and in the fourth quarter Walsh called a series of running plays as the 49ers marched down the field against the Cowboys prevent defense , which had been expecting the 49ers to mainly pass . The 49ers came from behind to win the game on Dwight Clark ' s memorable TD reception ( The Catch ) , propelling Walsh to his first Super Bowl . Walsh and the 49ers defeated Cincinnati in the Super Bowl , which was played in Pontiac , Michigan . Walsh would later write that the 49ers ' two wins over the Rams showed a shift of power in their division , while the wins over the Cowboys showed a shift of power in the conference . Prominent assistant coaches . Many of Bill Walsh ' s assistant coaches went on to be head coaches themselves , including George Seifert , Mike Holmgren , Mike Shanahan , Ray Rhodes , and Dennis Green . After Walsh ' s retirement from the 49ers , Seifert succeeded him as 49ers head coach , and guided San Francisco to victories in Super Bowl XXIV and Super Bowl XXIX . Holmgren won a Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers , and made 3 Super Bowl appearances as a head coach : 2 with the Packers , and another with the Seattle Seahawks . Shanahan would win Super Bowl XXXII and Super Bowl XXXIII during his time as head coach of the Denver Broncos . These coaches in turn have their own disciples who have utilized Walsh ' s West Coast system , such as Houston Texans head coach Gary Kubiak . Kubiak was first a quarterback coach with the 49ers , then offensive coordinator for Shanahan with the Denver Broncos . Dennis Green trained Tony Dungy , who won a Super Bowl with the Indianapolis Colts , and Brian Billick with his brother - in law and linebackers coach Mike Smith . Billick won a Super Bowl as head coach of the Baltimore Ravens . Mike Holmgren trained many of his assistants to become head coaches , including Jon Gruden and Andy Reid . Gruden won a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers . Reid served as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1999 - 2012 , and guided the Eagles to multiple winning seasons and numerous playoff appearances . In addition to this , Marc Trestman , current head coach of the Chicago Bears , served as Offensive Coordinator under Seifert in the 90 ' s . Bill Walsh was viewed as a strong advocate for African - American head coaches in the NFL and NCAA . Thus , the impact of Walsh also changed the NFL into a equal opportunity for African - American coaches . Along with Ray Rhodes and Dennis Green , Tyrone Willingham became the head coach at Stanford , then later Notre Dame and Washington . One of Mike Shanahan ' s assistants , Karl Dorrell went on to be the head coach at UCLA . Walsh directly helped propel Dennis Green into the NFL head coaching ranks by offering to take on the head coaching job at Stanford . Bill Walsh coaching tree . Many former and current NFL head coaches trace their lineage back to Bill Walsh on his coaching tree , shown below . Walsh , in turn , belonged to the coaching tree of American Football League great and Hall of Fame coach Sid Gillman of the AFL ' s Los Angeles / San Diego Chargers . Later career . After leaving the coaching ranks immediately following his team ' s victory in Super Bowl XXIII , Walsh went to work as a broadcaster for NBC ( teaming with Dick Enberg to form the lead broadcasting team while replacing Merlin Olsen in the booth ) . Walsh returned to Stanford once again as head coach in 1992 ( Bob Trumpy subsequently replaced him on the NBC telecasts ) , leading the Cardinal to a 10 - 3 record and a Pacific - 10 Conference co - championship . Stanford finished the season with an upset victory over Penn State in the Blockbuster Bowl on January 1 , 1993 and a # 9 ranking in the final AP Poll . In 1994 , after consecutive losing seasons , Walsh left Stanford and retired from coaching . Walsh would also return to the 49ers , serving as Vice President and General Manager from 1999 to 2001 and was a special consultant to the team for three years afterwards . In 2004 , Walsh was appointed as special assistant to the athletic director at Stanford . In 2005 , after then - athletic director Ted Leland stepped down to take a position at the University of the Pacific , Walsh was named interim athletic director . He also acted as a consultant for his alma mater San Jose State University in their search for an Athletic Director and Head Football Coach in 2005 . Bill Walsh was also the author of three books , a motivational speaker , and taught classes at the Stanford Graduate School of Business . Walsh was a Board Member for the Lott IMPACT Trophy , which is named after Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive back Ronnie Lott , and is awarded annually to college football ' s Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year . Walsh served as a keynote speaker at the award ' s banquet . Illness . Walsh was diagnosed with leukemia in 2004 . In November 2006 , he confirmed that he was undergoing treatment for the illness at the Stanford University Medical Center . Death . Bill Walsh died of leukemia at 10 : 45 am on July 30 , 2007 , at his home in Woodside , California . Following Walsh ' s death , the playing field at Candlestick Park was renamed " Bill Walsh Field " . Additionally , the regular San Jose State versus Stanford football game was renamed the " Bill Walsh Legacy Game " . Family . Bill Walsh is survived by his wife Geri , his son Craig and his daughter Elizabeth . Walsh also lost a son , Steve , in 2002 .