How does a legendary coach move to the college game? Before Bill Belichick, there was Bill Walsh

BILL WALSH WAS a twelvemonth into status from coaching erstwhile the telephone came.

He was moving for NBC successful 1990, caller disconnected a decade-long tally that produced 3 Super Bowl titles for the San Francisco 49ers and cemented his spot arsenic 1 of football's top minds. Then New England Patriots proprietor Victor Kiam reached retired with a proposition: tally the franchise; manager the team.

"I told Victor that I was doing tv and that if I had wanted to enactment successful coaching, I would person remained with the 49ers," Walsh aboriginal told The Boston Globe. "But you tin ne'er accidental ne'er ... my content was that if I wanted the job, it would decidedly person been offered."

He passed. And successful doing so, Walsh redirected shot history. Had helium taken the job, it mightiness person enactment the franchise connected a people that didn't pb to Bill Belichick successful 2000. That means nary Tom Brady. No dynasty.

Walsh was content, until a much idiosyncratic accidental came on -- astatine Stanford successful January 1992.

It was an unconventional determination that placed pro football's sharpest caput successful college. Walsh had coached successful assemblage before, but what followed became a trial of whether brilliance could accommodate and thrive successful a mounting defined by a caller acceptable of variables. And arsenic Walsh would learn, adjacent for the astir celebrated coaches, occurrence is ne'er guaranteed.

More than 3 decades later, Belichick, 73, made the stunning determination to manager North Carolina. His 24-year reign overseeing the New England Patriots NFL dynasty ended astir a twelvemonth earlier, and present his way retraces a way erstwhile taken by Walsh -- a generation-defining manager stepping into the assemblage crippled wherever a caller situation awaits.

UNDER COACH DENNY Green, Stanford went 8-4 successful 1991 and ended the play with a travel to the Aloha Bowl and a No. 22 ranking successful the last AP poll. But Green was hired to manager the Minnesota Vikings soon aft the season.

Five Stanford seniors were appointed to a committee to assistance with the coaching hunt and sat done interviews with the 2 interior candidates: violative coordinator Ron Turner and antiaircraft coordinator Willie Shaw.

Chris Dalman, a starting violative lineman, was connected the committee and erstwhile Stanford diversion manager Ted Leland convened the radical successful his bureau pursuing those interviews, Dalman assumed it was to finalize the decision.

Then Leland deed them with thing unexpected.

"What would you guys deliberation if Bill Walsh was to travel backmost and manager us?" helium asked.

Dalman looked around, stunned.

Leland wasn't joking. The 60-year-old manager was interested.

"What bash 5 assemblage kids deliberation erstwhile Bill Walsh says helium perchance wants to travel backmost to Stanford?" Dalman said. "We were each benignant of successful agreement. Yeah, if Bill Walsh is simply a reality, that's the extremity of the conversation."

The gathering ended with the country buzzing. Less than 36 hours later, it was official: Walsh was in.

Walsh had been the caput manager astatine Stanford successful 1977 and 1978, but by the clip helium returned, helium was a surviving legend. The designer of the West Coast discourtesy and the 49ers dynasty, Walsh coached prima backmost Joe Montana and changed discourtesy forever.

When the squad gathered to conscionable Walsh for the archetypal time, the mounting was casual, but the ambiance was tense.

Sophomore receiver David Shaw, who would go the program's all-time winningest coach, remembers the gathering vividly.

"He walked successful the room, and it was dormant silent, and we were excited, nervous, intimidated," Shaw said. "Whatever the measurement is beyond instant credibility. That's what helium was."

Walsh tried to interruption the hostility with a fewer jokes, but they fell flat.

"Can we laugh? Is it OK to laugh?" Shaw said. "He was truthful galore rungs supra america erstwhile helium walked successful that country and we were successful awe."

IN 1978, LELAND had conscionable arrived astatine Stanford to statesman a PhD programme successful psychology. After 4 years arsenic antiaircraft coordinator astatine the University of the Pacific, helium had grown bushed of the coaching grind and near the profession.

Walsh, past successful his 2nd play arsenic Stanford's caput coach, was looking for a antiaircraft coach. Pacific's occurrence successful 1977 caught Walsh's attraction and done a communal interaction connected the Pacific faculty, helium learned that Pacific's antiaircraft coordinator from that play was already surviving connected the Stanford campus.

One day, Leland's dorm telephone rang.

It was Walsh with a proposition that would alteration everything.

They came to an antithetic arrangement. Leland would walk his days successful the science section and his afternoons connected the field, arsenic the extracurricular linebackers coach. He was a tiny portion of a larger project. Leland could archer Walsh was destined for bigger things, and Walsh sensed Leland would soon determination connected from coaching aft completing his PhD.

That fall, Stanford bushed Cal successful the Big Game. On the thrust backmost to Palo Alto, Walsh sat down adjacent to Leland.

"He had a mates glasses of vino successful him," Leland said. "And helium said, 'Gee, someday I'll beryllium an unemployed coach. If you ever request one, conscionable retrieve I person a bully violative mind.'"

Several weeks later, their paths diverted. Walsh was named the caput manager of the 49ers, and Leland would physique a vocation successful assemblage athletics administration. They remained adjacent implicit the years, and Walsh adjacent tried to prosecute Leland to the 49ers' unit a mates times.

By the clip Leland returned to Stanford successful 1991 arsenic athletics director, Walsh had been retired of coaching for a fewer years. He retired from the 49ers aft winning his 3rd Super Bowl successful the 1988 season, and Walsh had not enjoyed his 3 years successful the broadcast booth since.

The hunt to regenerate Green started aft Christmas successful 1991, and antiaircraft coordinator Willie Shaw -- David Shaw's begetter -- emerged arsenic the favorite. But arsenic that process was nearing the end, Walsh called Leland.

"Just betwixt you and I," helium told Leland, "I mightiness beryllium interested."

The 2 met for coffee. Walsh was intrigued. He wanted to deliberation astir it, which near Leland unconvinced Walsh was serious. So, helium moved guardant with Shaw, who verbally accepted the job. They shook hands.

Then Walsh called again. He was astir acceptable to commit.

"What tin I bash to marque it happen?" Leland asked.

Walsh told Leland helium wanted to beryllium successful the shot coach's chair, successful his aged office, to spot however it felt.

"I picked him up astatine 11 o'clock astatine night, and helium and I precise softly drove implicit to the Stanford shot bureau and went done the backmost door," Leland said. "I fto him successful the caput coach's office, helium closed the doorway and helium sat successful determination for astir a fractional hour. I sat successful the hallway outside, and helium comes retired astir a fractional hr aboriginal and said, 'This is going to enactment for me.'

"And of people then, we person nary choice."

Backing distant from the handshake woody was difficult, but Shaw understood.

"My dada had a nighttime -- little than 24 hours -- wherever helium was Stanford's caput coach," David Shaw said. "And truthful that adjacent greeting to beryllium fixed that quality was rough. But astatine the aforesaid time, Stanford had the accidental to prosecute Bill Walsh. And my dada said that galore times: 'You can't prosecute maine if Bill Walsh is available. That's who you hire.'"

What followed wasn't an announcement that Walsh was returning to Stanford. It was a coronation.

THE STAFF WALSH assembled was a blend of seasoned coaches, erstwhile 49ers players making coaching debuts and a mates holdovers from Green's regime.

Fred vonAppen was 1 of the archetypal calls. Walsh wanted him to tally the defense.

VonAppen had coached with Walsh doubly earlier -- archetypal during his archetypal Stanford stint successful the precocious 1970s, past for six years with the 49ers. At the time, vonAppen had conscionable signed a declaration with the Green Bay Packers. But erstwhile Walsh reached out, vonAppen backed retired of his woody and returned to Stanford for what would beryllium his 4th stint astatine the school.

"It's similar Tony Soprano calling you and saying that you got to travel with, you're portion of the mob," vonAppen said.

Next came Terry Shea, who was the caput manager astatine San José State. Walsh had admired Shea for years and had erstwhile interviewed him to beryllium the 49ers' quarterbacks coach. Shea had guided SJSU to a top-20 decorativeness successful 1990, but the accidental to enactment with Walsh was excessively bully to walk up.

"Bill says, 'Terry, I'd similar you to travel to Stanford. Name your coaching position,'" Shea said. "So I said, 'OK, Coach, I'd emotion to beryllium the backmost coach, the violative coordinator and adjunct caput coach,' and helium gave maine each 3 titles. That's however detached helium was from worrying astir titles and positions and each that."

There was nary different idiosyncratic successful shot Shea said helium would person taken a measurement down for.

"Anybody would've died to manager for Bill Walsh astatine that point," helium said.

With the coordinators successful place, Walsh went astir rounding up immoderate of his erstwhile players to capable retired the staff.

Tom Holmoe had played for Walsh for 7 years successful San Francisco and had conscionable finished a two-year stint arsenic a postgraduate adjunct astatine BYU. (Holmoe would aboriginal instrumentality to BYU arsenic an head successful 2001 and spent 2 decades arsenic the AD earlier retiring this year.) About a period earlier Walsh was hired, Holmoe had reached retired to Walsh astir being a notation successful his occupation search, but it hadn't yet paid off. Then, similar it had for others, the telephone came.

Holmoe had not yet heard Walsh was headed to Stanford erstwhile the telephone rang successful the BYU shot office. The speech was quick. Walsh asked him if helium was inactive looking for a job, and erstwhile Holmoe said helium was, Walsh delivered a career-altering offer: "Come manager with me."

Holmoe agreed to alert retired the adjacent day, but archetypal helium had to telephone his wife.

"I said, 'Honey, Bill conscionable called and he's going backmost to Stanford. And helium offered maine a job.' And she said, 'How overmuch are you getting paid?' 'I didn't ask. I'm taking the job.' She goes, 'What are you going to coach? 'I don't know.' I conscionable assumed I was going to manager the antiaircraft backs. 'Well, you amended inquire him these questions. I said, 'I'm going down to Stanford, to manager for Bill Walsh. This is my archetypal full-time job. I'm taking it nary substance what.'"

Holmoe was 1 of 4 erstwhile 49ers players who joined Walsh's Stanford unit successful full-time roles, on with Keena Turner (outside linebackers), Bill Ring (running backs) and Mike Wilson (receivers). For Walsh, this wasn't astir nostalgia, it was astir trust. These were players who had been molded nether his watch.

Defensive enactment manager Dave Tipton was a holdover from Green's staff. He played astatine Stanford, was portion of the program's 1971 Rose Bowl triumph and spent six years successful the NFL. Walsh had counseled Tipton years earlier to get his teaching credential and commencement coaching precocious schoolhouse shot -- thing Tipton calls "the champion happening helium ever did" -- but helium was 1 of the fewer staffers who didn't person overmuch past with Walsh. And helium was skeptical astir the 4 newbies.

"We're going, 'Oh s---, present we go, guys who had ne'er coached,'" Tipton said. "Well, they were each fabulous, and that's what Bill saw."

JUST AS BELICHICK'S determination has done this offseason, Walsh's instrumentality to Stanford brought a spotlight to the program.

Walsh arrived connected field arsenic a full-fledged celebrity, whose sanction carried value successful each NFL gathering and connected each precocious schoolhouse sideline.

"You could enlistee anyplace successful the country," Holmoe said. "Pick up the telephone and go, 'Hey, my name's Tom Holmoe, I'm the antiaircraft backs coach. I'm calling connected behalf of Coach Walsh astatine Stanford, and he'd similar to person you travel out.' We would automatically beryllium successful the apical two. Didn't substance who other was recruiting the kid: Florida State, Texas, Penn State. You conscionable jumped into the apical two, due to the fact that of Coach Walsh."

One of the wildest recruiting trips Holmoe ever took was to a tiny municipality successful Louisiana, wherever helium convinced Walsh to assistance him prosecute a top-ranked antiaircraft back.

They made the accustomed stops -- a precocious schoolhouse and location sojourn -- but the precocious schoolhouse manager had much successful store. Walsh was escorted astir municipality similar royalty, posing for photos with section concern owners, shaking hands with boosters. Then came dinner. The manager had cleared retired an full restaurant, arranged a azygous agelong array successful the middle, and roped it disconnected similar a VIP gala. A assemblage gathered 5 heavy conscionable to ticker Walsh eat.

Walsh pulled Holmoe aside. "What are we doing?" helium asked. Holmoe shrugged: "I person nary idea. Just spell with it."

Walsh played the portion to perfection, holding babies, telling stories.

"He looked similar a person moving for politician oregon senator," Holmoe said.

Stanford is lone astir a 20-minute thrust from the 49ers' facility, truthful it was communal for galore of Walsh's erstwhile players to halt by to sojourn with their aged coach, including Montana.

"One time Bill brought Joe implicit to the signifier field," Shea said. "He had maine basal disconnected to the broadside with our 3 quarterbacks."

Montana was inactive playing successful the NFL. But determination helium was, going done drills.

"And helium coached Montana with a beardown capable dependable that, arsenic helium coached him connected each the fundamentals -- the footwork, the mechanics -- the different 3 quarterbacks listened," Shea said. "And this was astir an hr and a half. I thought it was truly a changeable of genius the mode helium pulled it off."

Quarterbacks, especially, wanted to beryllium astir Walsh. He drew immoderate of the champion young passers successful the state to sojourn Stanford. One campy included Peyton Manning, Jake Plummer and Brian Griese. And successful Walsh's archetypal afloat recruiting class, helium landed Scott Frost -- the top-ranked backmost successful the state -- retired of Nebraska.

Walsh's power appeared successful different ways.

Long earlier EA Sports College Football became a taste juggernaut, its roots took clasp wrong the Stanford shot offices during Walsh's archetypal twelvemonth back.

At immoderate constituent during that season, Walsh pulled a fewer coaches into his office.

"He said, 'Hey, this tech institution down the thoroughfare is going to bash this caller game,'" Holmoe said. "'It's called Bill Walsh Football. Can you assistance them retired a little? Give them immoderate plays, enactment done immoderate worldly connected defense.'"

The adjunct coaches weren't paid to consult, but Holmoe remembers 1 circumstantial item from those aboriginal improvement sessions with the programmers.

"They were talking astir however players could person antithetic skills, antithetic velocity ratings," helium said. "And I benignant of joked, 'Hey, tin you marque the Stanford DBs the fastest successful the league?' And the feline goes, 'Yeah, we tin bash that.' I didn't cognize if helium was pulling my leg."

And definite enough, successful the archetypal mentation of Bill Walsh College Football successful 1993, the unnamed Stanford antiaircraft backs were unusually fast. Their real-life counterparts surely noticed.

"They thought it was great," Holmoe said. "That's however I archetypal learned astir subordinate ratings."

It was the archetypal variation of the franchise that would go NCAA Football and, now, EA Sports College Football.

FOR THE PLAYERS returning successful 1992, the discourtesy wasn't wholly unfamiliar. Green -- who had 2 stints nether Walsh successful San Francisco -- had implemented principles of the West Coast offense. But the 1991 squad besides relied heavy connected bruising fullback Tommy Vardell and a mammoth violative line.

"We ran the West Coast offense," David Shaw said. "We knew the terminology."

But it wasn't the aforesaid arsenic learning from its inventor.

"When Bill came on," Shaw said, "it was similar going from pre-algebra to trigonometry."

Walsh installed the strategy from scratch, but settled for a scaled-back mentation compared to what the 49ers ran. The discourtesy -- known for its abbreviated passes that incorporated moving backs and choky ends -- had evolved implicit the years, and installing it astatine this signifier was a caller challenge.

Shea was the violative coordinator successful title, but this was Walsh's show, and Shea was blessed to larn from the master, successful fact, helium wasn't the lone established manager successful the room.

Around that aforesaid time, the 49ers had conscionable hired Mike Shanahan from the Denver Broncos arsenic their caller violative coordinator nether George Seifert. Shanahan had ne'er worked nether Walsh, truthful helium went to Stanford to recognize the strategy from its source.

"He would travel implicit to our installation meetings astatine Stanford and beryllium with our violative coaches and Bill Walsh," Shea said. "Bill would thatch america the offense, and Shanahan sat determination similar helium was going to beryllium different backmost oregon different manager connected staff."

Walsh's accomplishment was a hard modulation for the violative line.

"The discourtesy helium wanted to tally was vastly antithetic than what we did the twelvemonth before," Dalman said. "We had this monolithic violative line, but Coach Walsh's strategy was predicated connected smaller guys moving. The instal for america was wholly different."

Walsh demanded much than size and strength. He prioritized footwork and mobility. The learning curve was steep. But Dalman wasn't conscionable struck by the Xs and Os, helium was impressed with Walsh's quality to physique relationships.

"Coach Walsh had an quality to travel up and speech to each azygous idiosyncratic -- wanting to get to cognize you," helium said. "He wasn't an aloof guy. For everything successful his résumé, he'd locomotion up to anybody connected the squad and inquire however things were going, who they were, wherever they were from."

It was a trait that stuck with Dalman. But determination was different side.

"Coach could attraction astir your health, your family, archer you erstwhile you did thing good," Dalman said. "But helium could besides crook astir and springiness you a cutting critique. And it didn't substance who you were. He was going to archer you precisely however it wasn't bully enough.

"You didn't privation to fto him down. He held everyone accountable. Coaches. Players. It didn't matter."

WITH WALSH'S OFFENSIVE pedigree and the nationalist spotlight backmost connected The Farm, expectations were high. Stanford entered the 1992 play ranked No. 17, but it rapidly became evident this would beryllium a squad much defined by its defense.

In the opener against No. 7 Texas A&M successful the Disneyland Pigskin Classic successful Anaheim, Stanford held the Aggies to conscionable 10 points, but managed lone 1 touchdown of its ain successful the loss.

Despite the aboriginal setback, Stanford rebounded quickly.

Led by aboriginal Hall of Famer John Lynch, the defence delivered each season. Months earlier Drew Bledsoe would beryllium the No. 1 prime successful the NFL draft, Stanford suffocated him and Washington State successful a 40-3 win. Neither UCLA nor USC -- some top-20 teams -- reached treble digits against the Cardinal.

"Bill could beryllium a symptom successful the ass connected the sideline," vonAppen said. "But helium was mostly focused connected the offense."

The defining infinitesimal mightiness person travel successful South Bend, wherever Stanford dominated No. 6 Notre Dame 33-16 successful what would beryllium the Irish's lone nonaccomplishment of the season.

"That's a singular acquisition anytime, but peculiarly erstwhile you bust the Irish connected their location turf," vonAppen said. "I retrieve watching blistery canine wrappers stroke astir successful the bare stadium afterward. That's erstwhile I thought, 'This is simply a crowning accomplishment for this outfit.'"

It was besides the time Lynch cemented his estimation arsenic the enforcer of Stanford's defense, though helium got disconnected to a atrocious start.

"[Lynch] screws up his enactment responsibility, and they people arsenic portion of the deal," Tipton said. "Then helium gets deed successful the caput -- astir apt would've been ruled retired contiguous -- but helium comes backmost similar he'd enactment connected a Superman cape.

"Notre Dame had this small moving backmost named Jerome Bettis. He fumbled 3 times -- mostly due to the fact that of John."

Stanford finished tied with Washington atop the Pac-10 standings astatine 6-2 and missed retired connected its archetypal travel to the Rose Bowl since 1972 due to the fact that of a head-to-head nonaccomplishment to the Huskies. The consolation was a travel to Florida to look Penn State successful the Blockbuster Bowl.

The play ended overmuch the mode it had taken signifier -- down a ascendant defence -- arsenic Stanford overwhelmed Penn State 24-3.

Stanford finished 10-3, tied the schoolhouse grounds for wins and closed the twelvemonth ranked No. 9 successful the AP canvass -- its fourth-best last ranking successful schoolhouse history.

WHEN LELAND HIRED Walsh, helium hoped helium would beryllium determination for 5 years. Walsh made it done three.

The archetypal play was everything Stanford had dreamed -- 10 wins, a top-10 ranking and nationalist relevance restored. But the adjacent 2 years were a grind. The roster turned over, Walsh's recruits hadn't rather matured, and the results reflected that: a 4-7 grounds successful 1993, past 3-7-1 successful 1994.

"Those adjacent mates years, we were truthful young connected the antiaircraft broadside and we were tiny -- we conscionable hadn't developed yet," David Shaw said. "But the violative side, we were inactive tearing radical up. We were conscionable getting outscored successful a batch of those games. So we were a small disjointed, but man, we inactive felt truly bully astir what we were doing.

"And I deliberation with the losing, Bill felt bushed astatine the end."

He rejoined the 49ers concisely successful the precocious '90s successful a beforehand bureau role, but his bosom was ne'er acold from The Farm. In 2004, helium returned to Stanford arsenic a peculiar adjunct to Leland.

"He loved Stanford," Leland said. "It gave him a spot wherever helium could travel successful and bash meaningful work. He could locomotion astir field -- cipher asked him for autographs, cipher bugged him. He was conscionable different person. That's the culture."

Walsh taught classes, wrote a publication and was a sounding committee for coaches, including Jim Harbaugh erstwhile hired successful December 2006.

"When radical asked maine what helium did, I'd say: 'Whatever helium wants,'" Leland said. "We gave him a spot to bent his hat. And helium didn't attraction astir the money. I deliberation sometimes guys that are older that inactive person a batch to give, they inactive privation to marque a contribution."

It was a fitting postscript for a antheral whose archetypal large shot enactment -- his 1958 San José State master's thesis connected shot schematics -- came successful an world mounting and reads little similar a postgraduate task and much similar a prototype for the modern game. Even then, decades earlier immoderate of his Super Bowls, Walsh was diagramming space, studying leverage and predicting the aboriginal of the sport.

After his wellness declined pursuing a leukemia diagnosis, Walsh stayed connected to the program. He visited the shot offices, watched movie and offered penetration erstwhile asked. In the outpouring of 2007, conscionable months earlier helium died astatine property 75, helium met with a precocious schoolhouse backmost connected a recruiting sojourn -- a quiescent speech with Andrew Luck that bridged generations.

Now, arsenic Belichick begins his ain improbable section successful assemblage football, he'll locomotion a akin uncertain path. The settings whitethorn differ. But the question remains the same.

What happens erstwhile a fable arrives not to finish, but to commencement over?