Coaches of his caliber are a rare commodity, and it thus saddens me to offer my condolences to his family; Bill Walsh passed away yesterday. I also extend my condolences to 49ers fans who lost a great coach as well as a great representative of their team, the NFL.
The Redskins issued a statement which can be found at the Official Site:
"He was truly a pioneer for the game. He was a tremendous competitor and innovator and he leaves a legacy through all those who had the opportunity to learn from him. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Walsh family."...
"He was a great innovator of football," Cerrato said of Walsh. "What he did for the San Francisco 49ers was spectacular. He had a tough battle with leukemia, and knowing Bill, he fought, and fought, and fought."
Asked about Walsh's legacy, Cerrato replied: "It's the West Coast offense, and developing Joe Montana and Steve Young, among others. He won a lot of games and took a program in the 49ers that was down in the dumps and turned them into a Super Bowl team."