Tampa Bay Tops on Walsh’s List if He Leaves Television

Bill Walsh says he plans to wait until after the NFL playoffs to decide whether to stay in broadcasting or return to football, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would be his top choice if he chooses the latter.

“If I pick a team to sign with, Tampa Bay would be at the top of my list,” Walsh told the St. Petersburg Times on Monday. “But there’s a lot that would have to occur before we finalized something.”

However, there is other interest in Walsh. The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer quoted unidentified sources as saying three teams have contacted the former 49er coach, possibly including the Rams. Tampa Bay and Cleveland were the other teams.

The newspaper did not elaborate on potential interest from the Rams. Walsh has seven games left on his two-year contract with NBC as a football analyst.

Although not in a hurry to make a decision about his future, Walsh thinks Tampa Bay could be a good opportunity.

“I have great respect for (owner) Hugh Culverhouse and great respect for the whole organization,” Walsh said.

“I also think Tampa Bay can become competitive and real contenders in that division (NFC Central) right away. It’s just a matter of me looking into whether I want to leave the San Francisco area at this stage of my life. That would be the prime consideration.”

Walsh said he has not talked directly with Culverhouse, but that he has had two conversations with San Francisco owner Eddie DeBartolo and 49ers president Carmen Policy about the Buccaneers’ coaching vacancy.

He said Culverhouse had asked DeBartolo and Policy to present Tampa Bay’s position in preliminary discussions.

“Like I said, there’s a lot that would have to happen before we finalized anything,” Walsh said.

Cleveland owner Art Modelll would not comment on the situation.