ESPN NFL

"The essence of Bill Walsh was that he was an extraordinary teacher. 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."

-- NFL commissioner Roger Goodell

---

"Football has lost a great pioneer of the game. I had the privilege of playing for Bill in a Pro Bowl and, of course, against his great teams. It's a shame that someone who meant so much to the game had to pass on, but his legacy will live forever. He was a great man and a great friend. I always appreciated the opportunity to not only compete against his teams while I was in the game, but I also relished the opportunity to learn from him after I left the game. My heartfelt condolences go out to his family."

-- ESPN analyst and former NFL QB Joe Theismann

---

"I was sorry to learn about the passing of Coach Bill Walsh. He was an outstanding coach and was a special friend.

"He was a great competitor and was one of the most innovative coaches in the game. The offensive philosophy that he installed in those great 49er teams more than 25 years ago will remain his legacy and is still very much a part of the NFL to this day.

"My wife, Mary Anne, and I were very saddened when we heard the news and we know we join football fans around the country who feel a deep sense of loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Geri, and their family."

-- Former Miami coach Don Shula

---

"I was saddened by the news of the passing of Bill Walsh. He was one of our fiercest rivals. Bill was an innovative coach and we engaged in several memorable games in the 80's. Bill leaves a great legacy and an impressive coaching tree. He is one of the guys who made the NFL what it is."

-- Former Giants, Patriots and Cowboys coach Bill Parcells

---

"Bill Walsh's legacy with the 49ers is well documented. The 49ers remained his team even after he left the organization. He dedicated his life to football and all 49ers fans, current and past, are forever grateful.

"I will miss my weekly talks with Bill each Monday following our games. He was always so supportive and always offered some thoughts to help me in any way he could.

"He was not only an outstanding coach but a tremendous role model for every one associated with the 49ers and our fans.

"Although I never worked for Bill, I always considered him a mentor during my 21 years in the NFL. He not only made a legendary impact on the game of football, but he was also instrumental in issues such as diversity in the NFL and in developing player assistance programs."

-- 49ers head coach Mike Nolan

---

"There is not a player at the 49ers or a player in the NFL today that was not touched by the contributions of the legendary Bill Walsh. Without a doubt, Bill Walsh is clearly one of the greatest coaches in NFL history. His achievements during his 10 years as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers are virtually unparalleled in professional sports.

While he will go down in history as one of the greatest and most innovative football minds of all time, we also will always cherish the close connection we had between our families that developed over the past three decades of our lives. It is with great sadness that we offer our condolences and prayers to Geri and the Walsh family.

Outside of his family and faith, there was nothing he loved more than the 49ers. Even after he left the organization he still kept up with the team and offered his support.

Bill exemplified class, and all of us in sports should honor him by striving to perpetuate his standard of excellence. "

-- 49ers owners John and Denise York

---

"Bill was blessed with one of the greatest gifts you can have which is the ability to see the future potential of another human being."

-- Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young, who joined Walsh's San Francisco 49ers as a backup to Joe Montana and later became the starter and a Super Bowl MVP

---

"This is just a tremendous loss for all of us, especially to the Bay Area because of what he meant to the 49ers. For me personally, outside of my dad, he was probably the most influential person in my life. I am going to miss him."

-- Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana, the player most closely linked to Walsh's tenure with the 49ers

---

"When you talk about a Hall of Fame coach, a guy who's won Super Bowls, for me just to have the opportunity to speak with him and be around him on an every day basis when I was in San Francisco was definitely an honor."

-- Cowboys and former 49ers receiver Terrell Owens

---

"It's not just how he prepared his teams and his attention to detail and his training camps that all of football is still emulating. As a minority coach, here is a guy who stood on a table and said, 'A door should be opened.' His impact is so far beyond football. He opened a door worldwide that made a better America, not just a better American football."

"... There was a time where minority coaches did not have the opportunity to be exposed and did not have access to the meat and potato aspects of coaching and football executive positions," Willingham said. "What Bill Walsh did was allow all those coaches to learn and then bring that knowlege back to their coaching staffs. He did a great, great service to all of us."

-- University of Washington coach Tyrone Willingham, the first coach to participate in the minority coaches fellowship established by Walsh

---

"What really made Bill special is that he understood that the game was bigger than him. His genius was not centered around Xs and Os; it was centered around his ability to create a platform that made the game inclusive to others. He will forever be cemented with the likes of George Halas, Paul Brown and Vince Lombardi as the best ever."

-- Ronnie Lott, Hall of Fame defensive back who played for 49ers from 1981 to 1990

---

"He and [Al] Davis and Sid Gillman were way ahead of their time when it comes to the passing game. You knew he definitely was well ahead of everyone else."

-- Hall of Fame cornerback Willie Brown, who played and coached against Walsh-led offenses

---

"If you want to look at what embodied Bill Walsh, it was Joe Montana. He didn't make any mistakes. He knew where everything was; he wasted very, very little of anything. He always took what was there and ultimately won."

-- Detroit Lions president & CEO Matt Millen

---

"He was one of the most creative people in the sport. Everywhere he went he was a winner. He was one of those unusual people who could say, 'Here's a play, it's going to work, and here's what's going to happen.' That's one of the hardest things in football."

-- Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs, who coached against Walsh from 1981-88

---

"I played for him for one year, and I learned a lot. But more important was that he was so supportive of me and my career and African-American coaches. It's one of those things that really touches you."

-- Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy

---

"Beyond being a great offensive coach, Bill mastered running an entire pro football organization. He figured out everything from the big picture down to the smallest detail and documented it in his book, 'Finding The Winning Edge,' which was groundbreaking. It remains easily the most comprehensive and best modern-day football book and is required reading for every coach."

-- New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick

---

"Bill Walsh was one of the greatest coaches in the history of this game. I am not sure that anyone has had as much influence on the way the game has been played over the past 25 years as Bill Walsh. His record on the field was matched only by his brilliance in developing other successful NFL and college coaches."

-- New York Giants president John Mara

---

"The thing with coach Walsh that I will take through the rest of my coaching career was his ability to understand talent, the ability to go out and find pieces exactly that he wanted."

-- Minnesota Vikings receivers coach George Stewart, who coached WRs in San Francisco from 1996-2002

---

"When I first came into the league, he was the first guy I worked with. ... He took a kid from Augustana College and made him into an NFL quarterback."

-- Ken Anderson, Pittsburgh Steelers QBs coach, who played under Walsh for five seasons in Cincinnati when Walsh was Bengals QB coach and called all plays

---

"He was a very demanding head coach. His presence put pressure on you. I mean, when he walked out of that locker room, it was all about football, getting your minds right. But that's just the personality he had and the impact he had on a team."

-- Tom Rathman, Oakland Raiders running backs coach and former 49er

---

"Bill was an innovator, a motivator and ultimately one of the most dynamic coaches in NFL history. From my earliest days of involvement in the NFL, he was a friend who always had time to offer his counsel and advice. His leadership defined the 49ers as the team of the 1980s, and his legacy will be as one of the best we have ever seen."

-- Jerry Jones, owner and general manager, Dallas Cowboys

---

"The thing he did, is he really went about putting the game in players' hands, and saying 'you got to make plays. I may throw you a five yard slant, but I expect you to turn it into a 30-40 yard play,' and he knew how to get the ball in his players hands."

-- Houston Texans coach Gary Kubiak

---

"Bill's record speaks for itself. He was the top coach in the NFL during his time in San Francisco. During his eight 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."

-- Cincinnati Bengals president Mike Brown

---

"Everyone who loves football will miss one of the game's great icons. He was an extraordinary mentor to so many coaches who are still in the game today. We all owe him greatly for his kindness and gifts."

-- Southern California coach Pete Carroll

---

"From day one he molded my career and helped me out tremendously. When you talk about the things he would do for his coaches, not only did he show you the on-the-field part of the game but off-the-field part of the game as far as scouting, dealing with player contracts, just all aspects of football."

-- Ray Rhodes, special projects/defense coach for the Seattle Seahawks

---

"Coaches my age, we all studied Bill Walsh as we were coming up in this business. We talked to the people who worked with him to try to find out why he did what he did and how he went about his business. Intellectually, he just seemed to be way ahead of everybody else."

-- New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin

---

"All of us who had the fortune to spend significant time with Bill and sought his willing guidance will surely cherish every moment spent with this very special man."

-- Philadelphia Eagles chairman Jeffrey Lurie

---

"Great coaches are great teachers, people who enjoy teaching. It doesn't matter what level it was on. I don't care if he was teaching high school kids, quarterbacks, three- to five-step drops, college kids, pro kids, he enjoyed it. He was very good at it, very smart. I guess the best way to describe it is he just had passion for everything he did. And that's one of the reasons he was so successful."

-- Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan

---

"He had great vision on what the league was going to become and how to forge opportunities for players. What he did for that organization, the Super Bowls he won, is a testament to what kind of coach he was. But he was also a good man who gave guys an opportunity."

-- Kansas City Chief coach Herm Edwards

---

"Very few of us will leave legacies like he left in this game. He brought professionalism to the sport from ownership all the way down to the security people at the front door of the building. He taught people to treat people with respect. What he wanted people to know is that everybody meant something."

-- Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher

---

"Everywhere around the league, when an individual was seeking credibility or counsel, they would turn to Bill Walsh. His contributions to the NFL are countless, and he will always be admired, revered and missed."

-- Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank