RIP, Bill Walsh

Football lost a legend and one of the greatest minds in the sport's history today with the passing of Bill Walsh. He was 75.

Walsh was a football genius, inventing the West Coast offense most pro (and college) teams run today. Establish the running game, then march down the field with short, dink and dunk passes. The key was passing on the sidelines to open up the middle for more rushes or play-action.

Sound familiar? It's the blueprint for what Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts did to get to the Super Bowl. Rush Joseph Addai and Dominic Rhodes up the gut, then toss it to Dallas Clark, Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne on the wings. Peyton and Co. took it to a new level with the no-huddle, but the basic idea came from Walsh.

As good as he was a coach, Walsh was even better as a mentor and a mind. Aside from perhaps John Wooden, Walsh's coaching tree is the greatest pedigree in sports history.

Of the 32 current NFL head coaches, 11 have ties to Walsh by either playing or coaching under him. Or coaching under someone who coached under him. Or coaching under someone who coached under him. You get the idea.

Walsh won three Super Bowls in the '80s as a coach for the 49ers, but his proteges have won twice that many (one each for Tony Dungy, John Gruden, Brian Billick and Mike Holmgren, and two for Mike Shanahan). And that's just the ones still in the game.

Walsh had the foresight to snatch Joe Montana in the third round of the NFL Draft - not because he was the most talented, but because he was bright enough and could learn his offense quickly enough. Safe to say that that move paid off. Oh, by the way, he also drafted Jerry Rice, the best player since Jim Brown.

His passing is a sad day for the world of sports. My sympathies to his family - his relatives and the football family he built during a lifetime of service.