Growing up in the SF bay Area, I followed the San Francisco 49ers. It wasn't until Bill Walsh became the head coach that the team started to win with some consistency. I remember before those years the great wide receiver was Gene Washington who came to my High School and I was lucky enough as a child to procure his autograph. However, when the 49ers picked up Joe Montana and Dwight Clark and then Jerry Rice, the team became what a sports fan would call 'magical'.
The book studies the life of a complex personality. Walsh was well read and even poetic but he was not afraid when challenged 'to go the distance' as Mr. Harris describes a scene when Bill was cut off on the road and followed his opponent off the highway. Despite the size difference, Walsh challenged his opponent and quickly settled the score by a quick combination of punches that he had learned from boxing in College. From that scene, what was clear was that Walsh could be provoked and his anger could be explosive but decisive.
He was never afraid of making decisions. And those decisions are what made the 49ers successful. As a consummate coach knowing not to scream at his players but rather scream at his coaches resulted in the correct effect of getting players to own up to their mistakes and not blame their coaches! He understood people and enjoyed relationships. He was not afraid to say "I love you!"
Walsh had to deal with an immature owner who lost his temper whenever the team lost. Walsh needed complete control over football operations to insure that his system of play would be unimpeded.
Early in his coaching career, Walsh was the assistant coach and offensive coordinator to the famous Paul Brown of the Cincinnati Bengels. With Walsh the Bengels seemed unstoppable. Much of the Brown's success was due to Walsh. And when is was clear that Paul Brown was to retire, Bill assumed that he was the natural choice to become Head Coach. Paul Brown had reservations about Walsh's emotional make-up and did not appoint Walsh as his successor! There was no conversation, no explanation and as a result Walsh seemed to be out of football until he was asked to coach College ball.
Walsh was somewhat steeled by the Brown episode and continued to show that his teams could score points. When the 49ers were bought by the Debartolo family the job was offered to Walsh even with the 'Brown cloud' hovering over him. But the 'West Coast offense' consisting of unstoppable short passes and surprise sweeps or disguised off tackle runs, was given a vehicle in the NFL...
Walsh never liked his team being called a 'finesse' team! Football is physical and even violent so he made sure that his defensive coordinators understood that he expected that his team would not be out hit.
Players like Montana were in awe of Walsh's demand for precision. As a matter of fact Walsh first noticed Joe Montana's footwork and chose him for his nimbleness with his legs and not necessarily because he had a good arm. Walsh emphasized the precise number of quarterback drop back steps to insure that the wide receivers would be in the proper places to receive the pass!
Because he was so sensitive the pressure of losses weighed very heavy on him, he was really an absentee father and husband resulting for a time living with another women. When his son became terminally ill, Walsh was shaken so much that he understood his true responsibilities and reconciled with his wife. Then he himself became sick with a type of rare leukemia and started to get his affairs in order and chose the Stanford U. church to be his final pause before being passing on. Although raised a Baptist, he converted to his wife's Catholicism.
Any one who witnessed the 49er super bowl wins can appreciate why the book was titled Genius.
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