They don’t come any better than Bill Walsh.
Oh, and by the way, he was a pretty good football coach, too.
Walsh, who was laid to rest Thursday, didn’t just bring the West Coast offense to the NFL. And he didn’t just turn the 49ers from a have-not into one of the league’s elite franchises.
He was a Hall of Famer and arguably the greatest coach in NFL history. But above all, Bill Walsh was a good guy. How do I know? The same way every reporter knows.
He returned my phone calls.
Not once in a while. Not almost invariably. Every time, without fail, usually within an hour or two.
I didn’t know him that well. I never covered him and never lived in the same city. I called him maybe four or five times through the years for reasons I don’t remember. But he called me back every time.
Makes you wonder how he treated those close to him, doesn’t it?
