When Bill Walsh left

Was listening to NFL SiriusXM radio and they were interviewing some beat writer for the Patriots who were talking about Bill Bilicheck's legacy and the guy said when Bill Walsh retired he was hoping tie 49ers would fall apart immediately but obviously they didn't as they went 14-2 the year after he left. He went on to Say Belicheck wants to leave the Pats in a good position to succeed without him.

I don't remember Walsh leaving all to well but I know he was kinda forced out by Eddie D. Is that true, he didn't want the 49ers to succeed?

For the most part, Walsh felt a little burnt out and I'm sure a large part was due to DeBartolo pressuring him. I think it came to a head after the 1987 playoff loss to the Vikings, which IMO is the worst loss in 49er history. After he resigned, he regretted the decision afterwards. I'm sure there was a part of him that wanted the 49ers to fail after his tenure, just the given competitive nature of sports and ego and whatnot. Just as I know there were players who were somewhat outspoken in that they wanted to prove it was more than just 'the system' that was the backbone to their success.

The system stayed the same when Walsh left. DeBartolo promoted internally. The offense didn't change.

The big loss turned out to be in personnel evaluation. The team never replaced Walsh's keen eye for talent which is why things started heading downhill in the late 90s when the stars got old.

How would anyone know that?

Originally posted by miked1978:
Was listening to NFL SiriusXM radio and they were interviewing some beat writer for the Patriots who were talking about Bill Bilicheck's legacy and the guy said when Bill Walsh retired he was hoping tie 49ers would fall apart immediately but obviously they didn't as they went 14-2 the year after he left. He went on to Say Belicheck wants to leave the Pats in a good position to succeed without him.

I don't remember Walsh leaving all to well but I know he was kinda forced out by Eddie D. Is that true, he didn't want the 49ers to succeed?

The guy was telling half truths.

Walsh was emotional and said and thought many things in the heat of the moment.

His retirement was one example where he regretted it after the fact.

Walsh was also honest when asked about things in retrospect and shared those internal thoughts.

It is natural to want things to fall apart when you leave so people acknowledge you and what you did before you left.

The best example that Walsh didn't permanently hate the 49ers after he left is the fact he later returned to the 49ers and did what he could to help them succeed

The 1987 season really passed off debartolo after that horrible upset against the Vikings. He was basically putting so much pressure on Walsh after that. It was too much on him.

Originally posted by JoseCortez:
The 1987 season really passed off debartolo after that horrible upset against the Vikings. He was basically putting so much pressure on Walsh after that. It was too much on him.

That loss to the Vikings in 87 playoffs took a toll and shook the entire franchise. I remember how shocked everyone was after that game. The '87 team was way up there with '84 and '89 as far as dominance. I think they were first in total offense and defense.

Walsh was simply burnt out by the expectations that he helped create. Where the 49ers really screwed the pooch is not hiring M.Shanahan to replace Seifert instead of Mooch who was/is EXTREMELY overrated imo. I know the years didn't quite line up and a lot can heppen in 2 years to change minds, but still it seems like a missed opp.

Originally posted by WINiner:
Walsh was simply burnt out by the expectations that he helped create. Where the 49ers really screwed the pooch is not hiring M.Shanahan to replace Seifert instead of Mooch who was/is EXTREMELY overrated imo. I know the years didn't quite line up and a lot can heppen in 2 years to change minds, but still it seems like a missed opp.

The catch 2 was actually the demise of the franchise. If Owens doesn't make that catch, the niners lose that game, Mooch gets fired and holmgren comes back and Hearst doesn't destroy his ankle.

Walsh worked with the 49ers after his return to college football ended. Whatever disconnection was there it was brief and minor compared to the second falling our, by 1996 Walsh was back with the 49ers and by 1999 was the GM for 1999 to 2001 and a draft consultant for 2002-2004.

That was a real mixed bag of draft picks some all time worst picks came from that era guys like Reggie McGrew Kwame Harris…. Rashuan Woods to name a few. His GM/ Draft consulting years led to Mike Nolan.

I don't fault Walsh for those drafts, i think the 49ers had already mentally started the purge Eddie's legacy (the Nolan years) There was a real public campaign to get away from Eddie D and Walsh.

it was bad enough Walsh, while on the payroll of the 49ers was very vocal with the Media regarding what QBs to take.

Walsh was not shouting from the roof tops, but had no endorsement of Jim Druckenmiller. I suspect he was keeping his mouth shut to not ruffle feathers, but that did not last.
by Pre- Draft 2000 Walsh was very vocal about taking Chad Pennington. He again was very vocal with the national media that the 49ers should take Drew Brees in 2001. He even weighed in on Smith versus Rodgers pre 2004 draft with a Rodgers endorsement.

walsh had his misses at QB, but his last 3 big endorsements are titanic, and not the super obvious choices. Pennington, Brees and Rodgers were not the clear cut consensus franchise QBs and 2 of them are HOF and the other was very…. Very good.

what's most sad is at the end of his life, Bill Walsh sat around waiting to talk to people about football. It was his life and his passion, he granted interviews to regular Joes like you or I, craving that opportunity to teach and share. He was a national treasure, and i have personally never actually forgiven the 49ers for whitewashing him out of the brand at the end of his life.

Was Walsh behind the Carmazzi and Rattay picks in the 2000 draft? If so, that might be why the franchise ignored him later on. Carmazzi was a huge failure; never played a regular season snap. Of course that draft bus now known as the Tim Brady draft.

Originally posted by CardinalGold:
The system stayed the same when Walsh left. DeBartolo promoted internally. The offense didn't change.

The big loss turned out to be in personnel evaluation. The team never replaced Walsh's keen eye for talent which is why things started heading downhill in the late 90s when the stars got old.

WHEN Walsh left, Eddie wanted to bring in JIMMY JOHNSON.... on the way to the Browns interview, Seifert got the call from Walsh and was told that he will be the next HC of the 49ers...

Had Bill Walsh allowed EDDIE to hire Jimmy Johnson, we would have won 5 more Super Bowls at the very least..

Originally posted by CardinalGold:
The system stayed the same when Walsh left. DeBartolo promoted internally. The offense didn't change.

The big loss turned out to be in personnel evaluation. The team never replaced Walsh's keen eye for talent which is why things started heading downhill in the late 90s when the stars got old.

True, personnel evaluation for the players, coaches, and the front office declined after Walsh's departure. All of these things slowly eroded at different stages until the last bit of glue that held it all together (Steve Young) was sent into early retirement by Lawrence Phillips. Even though we had great defenses I feel like our identity was offense and we lost a lot when both Mike Holmgen and then Mike Shanahan were allowed to leave the organization.

SEIFERT was the mistake... he was the ROOT of all downfall !!

I have nothing but respect for Seifert, but the fact is we would have repeated even w/o a coach the year he took over...

Originally posted by WINiner:
Walsh was simply burnt out by the expectations that he helped create. Where the 49ers really screwed the pooch is not hiring M.Shanahan to replace Seifert instead of Mooch who was/is EXTREMELY overrated imo. I know the years didn't quite line up and a lot can heppen in 2 years to change minds, but still it seems like a missed opp.

It would have taken Siefert resigning or the team firing him after winning SB29, since that is the offseason that M. Shanahan was hired by Denver. It just wasn't in the cards to line up like that.