Brown: Walsh was 'top coach'

Former Bengals assistant coach Bill Walsh, who led the San Francisco 49ers to three Super Bowl titles and turned the organization into one of the most dominant in sports, died today in Palo Alto, Calif.

He was 75 and had been diagnosed with leukemia.

Walsh was a Bengals assistant coach for eight seasons, from the team's inception and first season in 1968 through 1975. Paul Brown hired Bill Johnson as his replacement, not Walsh, and Walsh was hurt badly by the snub.

News of Walsh's death reached Bengals training camp this afternoon in Georgetown, Ky.

"Bill’s record speaks for itself. He was the top coach in the NFL during his time in San Francisco," Bengals president Mike Brown said today in a statement released by the team's public relations department. "During his ... years on our coaching staff, he brought imagination and ideas to the game. He was a tremendous part of our staff, and we were lucky to have him. He set a mark on the game that is admired by everyone, and he will be greatly missed."

In addition to his coaching innovations, Walsh also created the Minority Coaching Fellowship program in 1987. It later would become a league-wide initiative. Bengals coach Marvin Lewis was among the program's early participants.

Walsh's 49ers twice defeated the Bengals in the Super Bowl, following the 1981 and 1988 seasons.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell released a statement today about Walsh's death.

"His Hall of Fame coaching accomplishments speak for themselves, but the essence of Bill Walsh was that he was an extraordinary teacher," Goodell said. "If you gave him a blackboard and a piece of chalk, he would become a whirlwind of wisdom. He taught all of us not only about football but also about life and how it takes teamwork for any of us to succeed as individuals. He helped the league on many important initiatives, from improving opportunities for minorities in coaching and the front office to our executive training and international development programs.

"Bill Walsh was a mentor to me and many others. He revolutionized the game with his West Coast Offense and will always be remembered as one of the most influential people in NFL history."

The following passages are from the San Francisco Chronicle's online obituary:

A master of using short, precisely timed passes to control the ball in what became known as the West Coast offense, he guided the team to three Super Bowl championships and six NFC West division titles in his 10 years as head coach.

In 1966 he took his first pro job with the Raiders and made the switch from defense to offense, coaching the backfield. Although John Rauch was the head coach, Walsh later called owner Al Davis one of his mentors. Another was Paul Brown, who was awarded an expansion franchise in Cincinnati and hired Walsh as quarterbacks and receivers coach for the first Bengals team in 1968.

Brown gave Walsh free rein to refine his sophisticated passing game, but when Brown retired in 1976, he named offensive line coach Bill Johnson as his successor. Had Brown named Walsh, it's conceivable that the Bengals, rather than the 49ers, would have been the Team of the '80s.

Walsh, who had turned down several promising jobs because he was sure he was Brown's heir apparent, was devastated. Miffed that "nobody would take me seriously," he considered leaving football. "It was beginning to look as if I would never make it as a head coach," he said.