Bill Walsh: Remembered

February is Black History Month. We honor great African-Americans both past and present hero's. There is also another pioneer for African-Americans, Bill Walsh.

The Former 49ers coach was huge in helping African-Americans getting into the head coaching ranks in the NFL. One of his assistant coaches with the 49ers was Dennis Green.

Dennis Green became the second African-American coach ever in the NFL. His coaching tree is connected to Walsh's. From Green's tree alone coaches such as; Tony Dungy, Lovie Smith, Mike Tomlin, Raheem Morris, and Jim Cauldwell have become head coaches.

Bill Walsh recognized the importance of opening the door for African-Americans to become coaches. The NFL recognized Walsh recently by re-naming the Minority Coaching Fellowship Program the Bill Walsh NFL Minority Coaches Internship Program.

This program has helped a lot of African-American coaches get into the coaching ranks of the NFL. It is like the Graduate program in college. Prospective coaches can join the program and can learn about leadership qualities and gain coaching experience.

Both Mike Tomlin and Lovie Smith were both once in the program. And they have both now coached in the Super Bowl.

Just like how Branch Rickey opened the door for Jackie Robinson, Bill Walsh opened the door for Dennis Green. By opening that door Walsh opened the door to all African-American coaches in the NFL.

Bill Walsh: MAN

Here is an video of Dr. Harry Edwards talking about Bill Walsh's legacy.