Bill Walsh, RIP

Bill Walsh, the great coach of the San Francisco 49’ers, died yesterday. I don’t look up to that many sports figures as being heroes, he was an exception. You can read plenty of eulogies on the web about how he changed the 49’ers, San Francisco, and the NFL. Here’s what he meant to me.

When Walsh became a head coach in 1979, he also became a pivotal figure in the NFL culture wars. Up to that point, the dominant values in football were toughness and strength, by a long shot. Players had to be tough guys, and the coach had to be a tough guy, with all the macho posturing and baggage that brings.

Walsh changed all that. Not that physical toughness ever became unimportant – football will always remain physical – but Walsh showed that intelligence is also critical, and that it’s possible to win with class and respect. His success was a marked signpost in the decline of the old-school coach whose leadership skills consisted of tearing people down.

It’s hard to fathom now, twenty years later, but at the time, Walsh’s teams were despised for winning by being smarter than the other team. They were dogged by the epithet of “finesse team”, as if there was something unfair and unmanly about trying to outwit your opponent in football. Of course, the charge was both true and pointless; they had finesse, but they were also physical; his teams always had a top-notch defense, and it’s hard to play defense without being tough. But even on defense, his teams were always well-prepared, and played with their heads.

There has been much mention of the large coaching tree that Walsh fathered – many of his assistants became successful head coaches in the league, as did many of their assistants. It’s worth looking at other dominant coaches of the time to see how their descendants fared. Mike Ditka, Walsh’s archenemy in the toughness old school, had just one successful assistant. Bill Parcells, a few. Joe Gibbs, not really. Walsh had more successful proteges than all of them put together. The best explanation of this that I’ve heard attributes this to the fact that (i) Walsh placed great value on being a teacher, and (ii) getting back to the culture wars, it’s easier for people to develop in a trustful, respectful environment. If you’re an authoritarian my-way-or-the-highway kind of person, or a control freak who insists on managing every last detail, or you rule through fear and intimidation, you don’t leave your subordinates much room to grow.

I enjoy observing sports as a reflection on society, and here Walsh epitomized some of the promising but contested changes in American society – that you can succeed in a competitive environment by treating people with respect, by looking for and demanding their best, and showing class throughout. I always thought and hoped that was the right way to do things, but it was not clear to me at the time that it would turn out that way. It was comforting, and even inspiring, to see such a public figure succeed with those values, and for that I’m grateful. Bill – thanks. It meant a lot.