If you haven't yet read the piece about Bill Walsh by Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle, I highly recommend you do so. It offers some insight into Walsh's coaching career that you may not have already known. More specifically, the immense pressure placed on the legendary 49ers coach to churn out victories and championships.
It was a pressure that ultimately contributed to Walsh's premature retirement from the game. Branch's story is interesting because the head coach was generally seen as calm and collected as he masterminded one of the greatest dynasties in NFL history.
"His 10 seasons with the team exacted a vicious toll on a man whose brilliance was rivaled by insecurity, sensitivity, and inability to handle failure," wrote Branch.
Former 49ers tight end Brent Jones joined KNBR on Monday and was asked if he knew Super Bowl XXIII would be Walsh's final game.
"I had no idea," Jones said on the "Tolbert and Lund" show. "In fact, I would argue that Bill might not have known. I absolutely believe it was a culmination of a lot of pressure. It could have been some health issues. I don't know specifically."
The pressure portion would support the insightful story by Branch.
"I know he regretted [walking away]," Jones continued. "He told me he did."
The former tight end went on to further discuss the pressure within the organization.
"There was a lot of stress, a lot of pressure, a lot of expectations," Jones said. "That was the greatest of our organization, and it was also the pressure. [It was a] pressure cooker, constantly. That's what made Eddie DeBartolo one of the greatest owners. You did not phone it in, whether you were a player, whether you were the general manager, whether you were in personnel, or whether you were Bill Walsh, the head coach."
There was one point during Walsh's final season as the head coach where the 49ers entered an early-November matchup against the Phoenix Cardinals with a 6-3 record. San Francisco built up a 23-0 lead in the third quarter and ended up losing by one.
"Eddie was not happy after that Cardinals game when we were ahead 23-0, and we lost 24-23 at the end, and it looked like that was the end of our playoff run," Jones said.
Branch wrote that Walsh was so "emotionally fried" from that loss to the Cardinals that he was barely able to board the team plane after the game. The 49ers lost 9-3 to the Los Angeles Raiders the next week.
"We came back the following week, and I think scored three points against the Raiders," Jones continued. "All hell was breaking loose. The pressure to perform and win Super Bowls was the greatest thing about our team, but it was also very taxing on the individual. That's why everyone in that organization, the guys I played with, were so mentally tough [including those in the front office]."
Branch wrote, "Defensive coordinator George Seifert, who replaced Walsh as head coach, recalls a staff meeting around this time in which dinner was served. The assistants referred to it as 'The Last Supper.' No one was feeling great. But Walsh was having trouble functioning."
Jones goes on to explain how the 49ers' mentality back then was different from today's NFL where players will hug opponents after a game and have a comradery with one another.
"We despised our opponent," Jones said. "We wanted to crush them and then maybe just shake their hand after the game. We weren't asking for their jerseys after we just trounced them. It's a different day and age."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Jones below.
