Bill Walsh was many things to many people. He was a father, a
husband, and most notably, a coach.
Josh Koehn
Bill Walsh was many things to many people. He was a father, a husband, and most notably, a coach.
For Jeff Garcia, he was a believer.
Ever since 1993, when Garcia came within a dropped catch of beating Walsh’s Stanford Cardinal, the coach kept an eye on the competitive kid that played with a chip on his shoulder.
According to an article in The Dispatch on Sept. 23, 2003, San Jose State coach John Ralston said, “I remember Bill walking straight across the field to shake hands, not with me but with Jeff.” With reporters after the game, Walsh gushed about the kid’s ability to move around in the pocket and make the correct decisions under duress. He saw something special.
While Jeff was unavailable for comment, he did release a statement through the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Jeff’s father, Bobby, was clear that Walsh was in a class by himself.
“Successful, that’s not even the word,” Bobby said. “He’ll go down as one of the greatest coaches ever.”
The creator of what is now called the “West Coast” offense, Walsh was an innovator of the highest degree. He designed a system that allowed any team, even those grossly overmatched physically, a chance to compete through structure, timing and repetition.
Perhaps his greatest attribute, however, was his ability to find gold only a fool would call otherwise.
From Ronnie Lott to Roger Craig to Jerry Rice to Garcia, Walsh knew what it took to be a great player, and how to get the very best out of that player.
“Not just an X’s and O’s guy, he had an eye for talent,” Bobby said. “He could look at a guy and say, ‘You know what? I think this guy could do it.’ ”
With hardly any scouts or talent evaluators bothering to look twice, Walsh saw a future few people imagined possible for the red-headed squirt from Gilroy. Following a practice for the East-West Shrine College All-Star football game, Garcia was told by his father to go thank Walsh for the kind words he had said about him following the two’s matchup earlier that year. Jeff asked if he had to. Bobby let his son know it wasn’t a request.
What was supposed to be a quick hello and a thank you turned into a twenty-minute conversation that may have been the most pivotal in Garcia’s quest to play in the NFL.
“Bill told him, ‘Jeff, you’re a great player, you got a great head on your shoulders. There’s nothing you can’t do if you put your mind to it,’ ” according to Bobby. “He told Jeff, ‘If you play up to your potential, you can be the MVP of the East-West Shrine Game.’ ”
Three touchdowns, 264 yards and a Co-MVP trophy later, Walsh’s wisdom was evident. But when Walsh made calls on Garcia’s behalf to 15 other team executives, no one returned the coach’s calls.
Six years later, the Gilroyan had led Calgary to a championship in the Canadian Football League and Walsh again was doing his best to get Garcia a shot in the NFL.
“Even if it’s not with the 49ers, I’m sure a call from a guy like (Walsh) could sway some other teams in the league to at least give me a look,” Garcia told The Dispatch in the summer of 1999.
Just months later, Garcia had been granted his wish. Walsh made him a 49er to backup Steve Young.
It’s tough to say just how instrumental Bill Walsh was in guiding Jeff Garcia to the NFL. But ask yourself a couple questions: Does he get into the NFL without Bill Walsh? Does he become a three-time pro bowler without Bill Walsh?
If you said ‘yes’ to both of those questions, you can believe whatever you want.
