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Former San Francisco 49ers head coach Bill Walsh died of leukemia today, and he's being remembered as a coach who changed the way football is played.

Walsh had a 102-63-1 coaching record and won three Super Bowls with the 49ers, but as we look back on his career, his worst season might be the one that says the most about what kind of coach he was.

Walsh took over the 49ers in 1979, and they were terrible. The team had only one big-name player, a running back on his last legs named O.J. Simpson, and the easy thing for a new coach with a roster lacking in talent would have been to give that star the ball a lot, play as conservatively as possible and hope not to lose too many blowouts.

Instead, Walsh made it clear that his offense was about passing, passing and passing some more. Walsh told his young quarterback, Steve DeBerg, to air it out all game long, and as a result DeBerg set new NFL records for attempts and completions.

The result was a 2-14 record, but the seeds had been planted for the offense that would revolutionize football. The following year Joe Montana replaced DeBerg as the starter, and the year after that the 49ers won their first Super Bowl. Walsh became one of the most influential minds in the history of football not just because he had the vision to create his offense, but because he had the guts to stick with it.