Originally posted by jays9ers:
Looking at all of the offensive threads I thought I'd make another one 
.. No but in all seriousness when did lose our offensive idenditity?? It was our staple for dang near 20 years then....yea it was gone.. Was it Erickson who changed the philosophy? I really don't even remember what the hell he ran?? I just think, the day we turned our back on the WCO, our offense died that day...... It has yet to be seen since.
My question is, why not go back to it? I think it would fit Sing's scheme very well. It's still a ball controlling offense, that relys heavily on timing, shorter routes, and the qb getting the ball out of his hands... So why didn't we go that route instead of Raye's god afful offensive scheme?
To answer this question, you need to
review the history of the West Coast Offense run by Bill Walsh and George Seifert between 1988 and 1996. Since then, the 49ers haven't run the true Walsh West Coast offense as designed by Bill Walsh himself. Offensive Coordinators came and went, but Walsh designed and ran the original West Coast schemes that George Seifert implemented through various assistants until the end of the 1996 season.
I've provided a slightly brief history of the progression of Walsh's West Coast Offense to Jimmy Raye's Offense.
The Mariucci Years (1997 - 2002) - The decline of the West Coast Offense begun with the (partially forced) retirement of George Seifert. Marty Mornhinweg, who had been taught Mike Holmgren's offense in Green Bay, was asked to take over for Marc Trestman by Steve Mariucci without any direct coaching from both Walsh or Marc Trestman, who had aided in the transition between Walsh and Seifert.
Mariucci wanted to run the ball more, as he did so with success at Cal Berkeley in 1996. 1997 would mark the first time a running back (Garrison Hearst) would rush for over 1,000 yards in five seasons. This shift in philosophies was gradual; Steve Young would retire in 1999 while Rice was released following the 2000 season. Both of these events led to a change in philosophies based on personnel. Jeff Garcia wasn't Steve Young and Terrell Owens wasn't Jerry Rice. Both played at high levels while with the 49ers, but neither had the abilities of the former to run Walsh's West Coast Offense effectively.
Marty Mornhinweg's offense was (and still is) less about throwing early and more about establishing deep passing opportunities early to set up sweeps and slants. Quick slants and screens are just about the only thing West Coast about Mornhinweg's offense.
Greg Knapp followed Mornhinweg's offense with even more running. His departure following the 2003 season would signify the final link between the 49ers and any sibilance of the West Coast Offense.
The Erickson Years (2003 - 2004) - Erickson was handed the keys to a sinking ship in 2003, though his lack of coaching abilities ultimately sped up not only his own demise, but the demise of a playoff team with salary cap issues ahead.
Ted Tollner, then the 49ers Quarterbacks coached, was asked to call plays for the first time in 13 years (San Diego Chargers, 1991). He was asked to install Erickson's Oregon State offense in addition to parts of the West Coast offense, which led to a league worst finish of 2-14.
The Nolan Years (2005 - 2008) - Following the firing of Erickson and the removal of just about every coach on staff, Nolan hired Mike McCarthy to coach the offense. McCarthy brought a West Coast derivative offense to San Francisco, leaving Erickson's hybrid model from 2004 in the past. Following McCarthy's hiring in Green Bay, Norv Turner was brought in. Part of the draw for Nolan was how closely Turner's offense resembled McCarthy's, though his style was distinctly more Coryell than Walsh.
Turner found a Head Coaching job following the 2007 season, which brought Mike Martz to San Francisco. Martz's offense had it's foundations in the Coryell Offense, but was much more complex and wasn't functional for the talent available on the roster.
The Singletary Years (2009 - )This brings us up to speed. Jimmy Raye is the current offensive coordinator for Mike Singletary. Raye's offensive roots have always been deeply planted in Coryell's model. Raye believes in establishing the run to set up the passing attack, which pushes the ball vertically down the field. Much of Raye's failure in 2009 has been attributed to poor offensive line play, which hasn't allowed both Shaun Hill and Alex Smith to get the ball down the field with enough time.
So to completely answer your post, I'll re-ask your question:
Why doesn't the current team go back to the West Coast Offense (presumably in 2010)?
Based on current the NFL rules and player abilities, Walsh's version of the West Coast Offense isn't a functional offensive model. It's why no current NFL offensive coordinator still runs Walsh's offense, though many offenses take Walsh's model as a base.
The closest offenses to Walsh's West Cost model would be Bill Belichick's offense in New England and Ken Whisenhunt's offense in Arizona. Both heavily rely on quick passing patterns on first down.
Changing offenses isn't as easy as flicking a switch. In many cases, personnel dictates the style of offense a team should run.
Ultimately, Mike Singletary has indicated he wants a team that can run successfully on both running and passing downs. He's opened his approach up some within the last few weeks, so it should be interesting to see if Raye continues to modify his game plans to meet Singletary's wishes.
[ Edited by redrathman on Nov 16, 2009 at 4:22 PM ]
