Editing Bill Walsh (section)

===Early years===
Walsh began his pro coaching career in [[1966 AFL season|1966]] as an assistant with the [[American Football League|AFL]]'s [[Oakland Raiders]]. There he was versed in the downfield-oriented "vertical" passing offense favored by [[Al Davis]], an acolyte of [[Sid Gillman]].

Walsh left the Raiders the next year to become the head coach and general manager of the [[San Jose Apaches]] of the [[Continental Football League]] (CFL). He led the Apaches to second place in the Pacific Division, but the team ceased all football operations prior to the start of the 1968 CFL season.

In [[1968 AFL season|1968]], Walsh joined the staff of head coach [[Paul Brown]] of the AFL expansion [[Cincinnati Bengals]], where he coached wide receivers from 1968 to 1970. It was there that Walsh developed the philosophy now known as the "West Coast offense". Cincinnati's new [[quarterback]], [[Virgil Carter]], was known for his great mobility and accuracy but lacked a strong arm necessary to throw deep passes. To suit his strengths, Walsh suggested a modification of the downfield based "vertical passing scheme" he had learned during his time with the Raiders with one featuring a "horizontal" approach that relied on quick, short throws, often spreading the ball across the entire width of the field.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.milehighreport.com/2009/5/27/886729/bill-walsh-bill-parcells-and-the | title=Bill Walsh, Bill Parcells and the Rise of the Left Tackle | publisher=MileHighReport.com | date=May 27, 2009 | author=Doc Bear}}</ref> In 1971 Walsh was given the additional responsibility of coaching the quarterbacks, and Carter went on to lead the league in pass completion percentage.

[[Ken Anderson (quarterback)|Ken Anderson]] eventually replaced Carter as starting quarterback, and, together with star [[wide receiver]] [[Isaac Curtis]], produced a consistent, effective offensive attack.

When Brown retired as head coach following the [[1975 NFL season|1975 season]] and appointed [[Bill "Tiger" Johnson]] as his successor, Walsh resigned and served as an assistant coach in [[1976 NFL season|1976]] for the [[San Diego Chargers]] under head coach [[Tommy Prothro]]. In a 2006 interview,<ref>{{cite news | author=Sam Farmer | title=Living Legend | work=[[Los Angeles Times]] | date=December 22, 2006 | page=D1}}</ref> Walsh claimed that during his tenure with the Bengals, Brown "worked against my candidacy" to be a head coach anywhere in the league. "All the way through I had opportunities, and I never knew about them", Walsh said. "And then when I left him, he called whoever he thought was necessary to keep me out of the NFL." Walsh also claimed that Brown kept talking him down any time Brown was called by NFL teams considering hiring Walsh as a head coach.

In 1977, Walsh was hired by [[Stanford University]] as the head coach of its [[Stanford Cardinal football|Cardinal]] football team, where he stayed for two seasons. He was quite successful, with his teams posting a 9–3 record in 1977 with a win in the [[1977 Sun Bowl (December)|Sun Bowl]], and going 8–4 in 1978 with a win in the [[1978 Bluebonnet Bowl|Bluebonnet Bowl]]. His notable players at Stanford included quarterbacks [[Guy Benjamin]], [[Steve Dils]], wide receivers [[James Lofton]] and [[Ken Margerum]], linebacker [[Gordy Ceresino]], and running back [[Darrin Nelson]]. Walsh was the [[Pacific-10 Conference|Pac-8 Conference]] Coach of the Year in 1977.