Bill Walsh  

Sad news today, that legendary NCAA and NFL coach Bill Walsh has lost his long battle with Leukemia. Walsh, a winner of three Super Bowls with the 49ers and two bowl games with Stanford, is generally credited with being amongst the greatest and most innovative offensive minds ever. Though better known for his mastery of NFL defenses during his time in San Fran, perhaps Walsh's greatest contributions to the game came during his time at Palo Alto. It was as head man for the Cardinal where Walsh developed his famed West Coast offense, eschewing the vertical passing game in lieu of shorter, more precise timing patterns. While this innovative offensive philosophy was initially met with much skepticism, Walsh's success spoke for itself, and the rest is, as they say, history.

Since retiring from football, Walsh has spent his days as a motivational speaker and part time professor at the Stanford Business school, all while battling cancer.

Bill Walsh will be missed by all those who knew him, the Stanford community, the 49ers family, but more importantly by football fans everywhere. Walsh lives on in our memories, but also on the field where more than 20 former Walsh assistants are head coaches at the college and professional levels.

You will be missed Coach Walsh.