With NFL history swirling around him, Stanford coach Bill Walsh is preparing for Northwestern.
Monday night, as Jerry Rice set the all-time touchdown record of 127 with three scores against the Los Angeles Raiders a few miles up the road, Walsh was unable to get the game on television in the new Arrillaga sports center, still not hooked up for reception.
“I called home a couple times and asked for the score. I was told this morning what happened,” Walsh said Tuesday of the receiver he drafted for the San Francisco 49ers in 1985.
This Saturday, Walsh will be in Dyche Stadium for his season opener while his former quarterbacks, Joe Montana and Steve Young, prepare for Sunday’s game between the Kansas City Chiefs and 49ers in Kansas City, Mo. When they are playing, Walsh again will be in the dark, reviewing Northwestern and preparing for San Jose State.
“We’ll be checking it as we work around the room,” Walsh said. “Maybe we can get some rabbit ears.”
For the man who drafted Montana, traded for Young and developed them both, it seems like a strange way to spend the day the NFL world has awaited. They are the two highest-rated passers (Montana 1, Young 2) in the 75-year history of the league, thanks in large part to the efficient short-passing system Walsh perfected.
But at 62 and secure as a member of pro football’s Hall of Fame, Walsh has other concerns. One is Northwestern’s running game. He sounds sincere.
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“I think Northwestern will test us with their running game, just like they did Notre Dame,” Walsh said. “I don’t underestimate Northwestern. I think they will win a number of Big 10 games this year.”
Walsh praised Dennis Lundy for the 138 yards he gained against Notre Dame in last week’s 42-15 loss.
“Notre Dame was trying to stop the run and couldn’t,” Walsh said.
In four seasons at Stanford (1977-78, 1992-93), Walsh never has won an opener, but he admits Northwestern is not Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas A & M or Washington.
“The way we would lose is if we misfire offensively with fumbles, interceptions or penalties and they run it down our throats,” Walsh said. “If we don’t misfire, we’ll move the ball against them or anyone else, and if we ever get ahead by a reasonable score, it will be tough for them to catch us because they have not demonstrated a passing game where they can throw downfield down after down.”
Walsh knows quarterbacks and watched Northwestern’s Tim Hughes at Butte (Calif.) Junior College.
“Their quarterbacking is good but not outstanding,” Walsh said. “He’s a fine young player but still learning. I’m hoping he’s not there yet.”
By contrast, Walsh has senior Steve Stenstrom to throw at the Wildcats a week after they were burned by Notre Dame’s Ron Powlus in his college debut.
Walsh said Stenstrom has all the right qualities to play quarterback in the NFL, especially if he is in a system designed by Walsh.
“He’s not as gifted athletically as some of the great NFL quarterbacks. He’s not as gifted as Steve Young or Joe Montana. But he’s up there with anybody who has played our style,” Walsh said.
Walsh, of course, likes his style so much that former 49er scout Tony Razzano insists he wanted his Stanford quarterback Steve Dils instead of Montana in the 1979 draft. In 1988, Walsh tried to trade Montana to San Diego for linebacker Billy Ray Smith but got no support from his assistant coaches and therefore allowed Montana to stick around and win his third Super Bowl.
Walsh’s affection for systems was apparent in his comments about Rice’s accomplishment.
“Not all of his plays were with Joe Montana and Steve Young,” he said. “Jeff Kemp made tremendous plays with Jerry that one year (1986).”
Walsh left no doubts about how he feels about Rice, a player he liked so much coming out of small Mississippi Valley State that he traded up to land him.
“Jerry is so much stronger and has so much more stamina than anyone else who has played the game at that position, he is clearly the best ever,” Walsh said. “And he can stay on top for another five years, so he’ll break every record by a mile.”
Coaching smart, willing players is sometimes a tradeoff for coaching better athletes. It is a challenge Walsh gladly accepts, especially in the wake of NFL free agency and a salary cap that further complicates an already tough business. Walsh winced at the thought of former assistant Mike Holmgren having to deal with last week’s walkout of star receiver Sterling Sharpe in Green Bay.
“It will get tougher,” Walsh said. “You will develop somebody and they can’t wait to leave to take the money.
“As much as I loved the moment I could call a play with Jerry Rice and Joe . . . just electric, the highest level of thrill to be a part of it . . . there are other aspects that are tougher.
“I miss it, and I guess I could reflect and say I could still do it . . . I’m sure I could. Then I think the wear and tear physically and emotionally is really something.”
Asked to compare the football programs at Stanford and Northwestern, Walsh was careful not to speak for Northwestern, although he admitted he knew something about it from his close association with former coach Dennis Green.
“Stanford is really mobilized to do well in sports. Sitting in this facility demonstrates our commitment to sports,” Walsh said.
Walsh said “Ivy League admissions standards” put him at as big of a recruiting disadvantage as any school in the country.
“Last year, we recruited 25 players in the United States,” Walsh said. “That’s all we could locate, and I don’t think we overlooked anyone. Fifteen enrolled at Stanford. Our chief competition is Notre Dame.”
At this stage, Walsh can afford to be philosophical.
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“You like to give back, and you like to think there’s a higher calling for things. It’s proven that way for me,” Walsh said. “I lecture in the business school, the medical school, the school of education, psychology. I was one of three speakers the seniors requested to talk to them on their last day. Those are things you do that are fulfilling.
“But you still have to go out and play USC.”