[Rally]

Bill Walsh ran the best known version of the west coast offense, but as I understand it, the concepts behind the west coast offense go back to Sid Gillman. There are other versions of the west coast offense, such as the Don Coryell version, which Coryell based on Gillman's principles.

Steve Young has said that the distinguishing characteristic of the west coast offense is that the receivers' routes are tied to the quarterback's feet so that there is a sense of timing. The pass routes and the QB's drop are timed so that each receiver comes open in succession, and the QB must deliver the ball precisely on time. This puts a premium on precise pass routes, sharp breaks, the QB's footwork, and the QB's ability to make the right reads on time. The west coast offense also incorporates multiple looks, option routes, and route trees.

The Walsh version of the west coast offense stretches the field horizontally, using lots of quick slants, swing passes, flooded zones, etc. The Sid Gillman version employed the same timing principles, but was more of a vertical passing offense. Walsh learned the Gillman offense from Al Davis, who coached under Gillman. Walsh ran a version of the Gillman offense when he had Greg Cook as his QB at Cincinnati. Then Cook was injured, and his replacement, Virgil Carter, didn't have the same arm strength as Cook. So Walsh adjusted the offense to rely more on short passes and to stretch the field horizontally. That worked for Walsh with Carter and later Ken Anderson, and became the basis for Walsh's Stanford and 49ers offenses.

To me, the Stanford version of the west coast offense seems somewhat similar to the Joe Gibbs version, which Gibbs developed after working under Coryell. But I'm sure Stanford incorporates a lot of Bill Walsh principles, given that Shaw played for Walsh and worked for Jon Gruden, who learned from a Walsh disciple, Mike Holmgren.

And Holmgren babysat Harbaugh, who taught it all to Shaw.  This coaching gig is more closed than the steveadores' Union.

[Rally]

Bill Walsh ran the best known version of the west coast offense, but as I understand it, the concepts behind the west coast offense go back to Sid Gillman. There are other versions of the west coast offense, such as the Don Coryell version, which Coryell based on Gillman's principles.

Steve Young has said that the distinguishing characteristic of the west coast offense is that the receivers' routes are tied to the quarterback's feet so that there is a sense of timing. The pass routes and the QB's drop are timed so that each receiver comes open in succession, and the QB must deliver the ball precisely on time. This puts a premium on precise pass routes, sharp breaks, the QB's footwork, and the QB's ability to make the right reads on time. The west coast offense also incorporates multiple looks, option routes, and route trees.

The Walsh version of the west coast offense stretches the field horizontally, using lots of quick slants, swing passes, flooded zones, etc. The Sid Gillman version employed the same timing principles, but was more of a vertical passing offense. Walsh learned the Gillman offense from Al Davis, who coached under Gillman. Walsh ran a version of the Gillman offense when he had Greg Cook as his QB at Cincinnati. Then Cook was injured, and his replacement, Virgil Carter, didn't have the same arm strength as Cook. So Walsh adjusted the offense to rely more on short passes and to stretch the field horizontally. That worked for Walsh with Carter and later Ken Anderson, and became the basis for Walsh's Stanford and 49ers offenses.

To me, the Stanford version of the west coast offense seems somewhat similar to the Joe Gibbs version, which Gibbs developed after working under Coryell. But I'm sure Stanford incorporates a lot of Bill Walsh principles, given that Shaw played for Walsh and worked for Jon Gruden, who learned from a Walsh disciple, Mike Holmgren.

And Holmgren babysat Harbaugh, who taught it all to Shaw.  This coaching gig is more closed than the steveadores' Union.