Bill Walsh's attention to detail impressed Demeo
By Jack Bogacyzk, Charleston Daily Mail Sports Editor
Tony DeMeo doesn't really think Bill Walsh was a football genius.
"I've always said the essence of genius is to know there's no such thing," said DeMeo, who begins his 22nd year as a college head coach when the University of Charleston opens preseason practice Saturday.
That said, it's obvious DeMeo considers Walsh the Pro Football Hall of Fame coach who died of leukemia Monday as a guy who is hanging around a corner of Vince Lombardi's neighborhood in Hashmark Heaven.
"What Bill used to say is this: 'The essence of coaching is reducing the luck factor,' " DeMeo said.
DeMeo, 59, and Walsh, 75 at his death, were acquaintances. While DeMeo is from the Bronx and Walsh from Los Angeles, turns out their thoughts on offensive football were from a similar zip code.
They met through a magazine publishing friend, and on two occasions in Texas they talked football.
At the first meeting, DeMeo didn't dare take notes during dinner. The next time, DeMeo scribbled furiously, as Walsh talked with him and two other regarded offensive coaching minds, Sam Rutigliano and Brian Billick.
It's apparent how splendidly DeMeo regarded the late San Francisco 49ers and Stanford coach. About 30 percent of the plays in the UC offensive playbook rooted in DeMeo's shotgun triple option are Walsh plays.
Walsh and DeMeo first met during the American Football Coaches Association convention in January 1998 in Dallas. DeMeo had just arrived from the road, having been out recruiting as head coach at Washburn.
He wanted to simply get a bite to eat and go to bed. No lobby hobnobbing on this night. Then Barry Terranova, publisher of American Football Monthly, called DeMeo's room and said he wanted the Division II head coach from Topeka, Kan., to come to dinner.
"I told Barry I had no interest in coming out; I was worn out," DeMeo said. "He said, 'There's someone I want you to talk football with.' I said, 'Who?' Barry says, 'It's Bill Walsh.
"I said, 'I'll be right down.' "
The diners ended up at a high-end restaurant. "I opened the menu," DeMeo said, "and the cheapest entrée was 80 bucks. I looked over at Bill, and he was being very quiet, and I said, 'I guess the meatball sub is out.'
"He laughed, and talked about how his wife (Geri) is Italian ... Then, we talked football for a little over four hours. We talked about the triple option and Bill says, 'You know, the triple option quarterback really fits the West Coast offense.'"
DeMeo recalls that Walsh talked about the two hot NFL QB prospects at the time, Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf. Walsh turned out to be right. Many others were wrong.
"Bill said, 'Manning will be a big star, and Leaf will be a bust,' " the third-year UC coach recalled. "He knew; he knew those things."
Walsh told DeMeo that as the 49ers' West coast offense was evolving, a "running quarterback wasn't necessary, but the guy had to have good feet, be mobile," DeMeo said. "Bill really understood the modern quarterback, the kind of rhythm needed in the passing game.
"I'd been in coaching a long time and had been running the triple option but that night at dinner, realized I was just a neophyte ... That dinner was certainly an epiphany for me."
The gabfest among Walsh, DeMeo, Rutigliano and Billick came at a clinic in Fort Worth.
Walsh told DeMeo that the evolution of the NFL defense to a speed unit meant, "a quarterback couldn't take big drops. When he was asked about hot routes, Bill shook his head and said, 'Joe Montana (getting hit) isn't worth a 6-yard gain.' "
DeMeo said Walsh's "attention to detail" made him the great coach he was, in the veteran UC coach's opinion.
"He knew the passing game in detail," DeMeo said. "Anybody can draw patterns; the difference is in the details. He knew the nuances. Bill fit the pattern with the protection, with the routes.
"He knew the timing of the short passing game and using it to control the ball. He understood how to get the routes open not all at once, but in sequence. You can say, 'Run a curl,' but if three guys are running it to get open at the same time, it may be open, but it's not the same."
The Washburn season after DeMeo met Walsh and soaked in the teachings of three-time Super Bowl champion former coach (Walsh left the 49er sideline in 1997), DeMeo's team went from sixth in the conference in passing to second. DeMeo added the shotgun to his triple option in '99.
"We were always a passing team," DeMeo said, "but we weren't nearly as good at it until I met Walsh."
So, what else does he remember from that dinner he really didn't want to attend?
"I ordered the veal chops," DeMeo said. "$80."
It sounds like the coffee was good until the last three-step drop, too.
Tony DeMeo doesn't really think Bill Walsh was a football genius.
"I've always said the essence of genius is to know there's no such thing," said DeMeo, who begins his 22nd year as a college head coach when the University of Charleston opens preseason practice Saturday.
That said, it's obvious DeMeo considers Walsh the Pro Football Hall of Fame coach who died of leukemia Monday as a guy who is hanging around a corner of Vince Lombardi's neighborhood in Hashmark Heaven.
"What Bill used to say is this: 'The essence of coaching is reducing the luck factor,' " DeMeo said.
DeMeo, 59, and Walsh, 75 at his death, were acquaintances. While DeMeo is from the Bronx and Walsh from Los Angeles, turns out their thoughts on offensive football were from a similar zip code.
They met through a magazine publishing friend, and on two occasions in Texas they talked football.
At the first meeting, DeMeo didn't dare take notes during dinner. The next time, DeMeo scribbled furiously, as Walsh talked with him and two other regarded offensive coaching minds, Sam Rutigliano and Brian Billick.
It's apparent how splendidly DeMeo regarded the late San Francisco 49ers and Stanford coach. About 30 percent of the plays in the UC offensive playbook rooted in DeMeo's shotgun triple option are Walsh plays.
Walsh and DeMeo first met during the American Football Coaches Association convention in January 1998 in Dallas. DeMeo had just arrived from the road, having been out recruiting as head coach at Washburn.
He wanted to simply get a bite to eat and go to bed. No lobby hobnobbing on this night. Then Barry Terranova, publisher of American Football Monthly, called DeMeo's room and said he wanted the Division II head coach from Topeka, Kan., to come to dinner.
"I told Barry I had no interest in coming out; I was worn out," DeMeo said. "He said, 'There's someone I want you to talk football with.' I said, 'Who?' Barry says, 'It's Bill Walsh.
"I said, 'I'll be right down.' "
The diners ended up at a high-end restaurant. "I opened the menu," DeMeo said, "and the cheapest entrée was 80 bucks. I looked over at Bill, and he was being very quiet, and I said, 'I guess the meatball sub is out.'
"He laughed, and talked about how his wife (Geri) is Italian ... Then, we talked football for a little over four hours. We talked about the triple option and Bill says, 'You know, the triple option quarterback really fits the West Coast offense.'"
DeMeo recalls that Walsh talked about the two hot NFL QB prospects at the time, Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf. Walsh turned out to be right. Many others were wrong.
"Bill said, 'Manning will be a big star, and Leaf will be a bust,' " the third-year UC coach recalled. "He knew; he knew those things."
Walsh told DeMeo that as the 49ers' West coast offense was evolving, a "running quarterback wasn't necessary, but the guy had to have good feet, be mobile," DeMeo said. "Bill really understood the modern quarterback, the kind of rhythm needed in the passing game.
"I'd been in coaching a long time and had been running the triple option but that night at dinner, realized I was just a neophyte ... That dinner was certainly an epiphany for me."
The gabfest among Walsh, DeMeo, Rutigliano and Billick came at a clinic in Fort Worth.
Walsh told DeMeo that the evolution of the NFL defense to a speed unit meant, "a quarterback couldn't take big drops. When he was asked about hot routes, Bill shook his head and said, 'Joe Montana (getting hit) isn't worth a 6-yard gain.' "
DeMeo said Walsh's "attention to detail" made him the great coach he was, in the veteran UC coach's opinion.
"He knew the passing game in detail," DeMeo said. "Anybody can draw patterns; the difference is in the details. He knew the nuances. Bill fit the pattern with the protection, with the routes.
"He knew the timing of the short passing game and using it to control the ball. He understood how to get the routes open not all at once, but in sequence. You can say, 'Run a curl,' but if three guys are running it to get open at the same time, it may be open, but it's not the same."
The Washburn season after DeMeo met Walsh and soaked in the teachings of three-time Super Bowl champion former coach (Walsh left the 49er sideline in 1997), DeMeo's team went from sixth in the conference in passing to second. DeMeo added the shotgun to his triple option in '99.
"We were always a passing team," DeMeo said, "but we weren't nearly as good at it until I met Walsh."
So, what else does he remember from that dinner he really didn't want to attend?
"I ordered the veal chops," DeMeo said. "$80."
It sounds like the coffee was good until the last three-step drop, too.