Walsh Can’t Even Sell Himself on Future, So He Steps Down

Recruiting is selling yourself, and Bill Walsh said Monday that he was having a hard time selling high school seniors on the idea that he would be their coach for an entire college career.

Age and its impact on the lingering question of his future at Stanford were prime reasons for Walsh’s resignation as the Cardinal football coach two days before his 63rd birthday.

“One of the critical factors about a coaching change is recruiting and . . . a very critical area was sustaining a recruiting program with a person in my age group being asked a very simple question: ‘How long will you coach?’ ” Walsh said.

“That started the first day I returned to Stanford, but it’s become more critical. . . . Could I logically and legitimately recruit, feeling that I was soon to step away from the job, because there was throughout the recruiting process some attraction to me, or at least my history.”

That attraction is what brought Walsh back to Stanford three years ago after a 13-year absence in which he found time to win three Super Bowls as coach of the San Francisco 49ers and carve out three seasons as a commentator on NBC.

He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993.

Stanford was looking for national impact for its football team, and on Monday, Ted Leland, once a Walsh assistant and now his boss as athletic director, said it got what it paid for and more.

“Notre Dame was concerned about our status nationally and was considering ending its series with us,” said Leland. “Now, they’ve re-signed through 2008.

“Money from exposure on network television doubled over what it was before he got here, even with our 3-7-1 record.”

Walsh had two years remaining on his Stanford contract, and Leland said those years will be spent in fund raising.

Walsh said they would be spent enjoying campus life “without the trappings of being the head football coach” and playing tennis and golf.

“I said when I came back I was going to find my bliss,” he said. “I guess the guys that paint the Golden Gate Bridge about 200 feet up, that’s their bliss. This is what I do, and I don’t want to leave Stanford. Unless there’s a grouping of people that wants to look for alternatives, which is always possible.”

The last is part of most coaches’ admonition to never say never to questions of a possible return to coaching.

Leland said Stanford would launch a “national search” for a replacement for Walsh, who said that “if asked, I’ll have some thoughts and observations” about his successor.

Mainly, those thoughts and observations would involve promoting Terry Shea, the assistant head coach and offensive coordinator. When Walsh lured Shea from the head coaching job at San Jose State three seasons ago, it was reported that it was with the idea of Shea succeeding him with the Cardinal.

Leland said Monday that Shea would be a candidate.

“We’re committed to a national search, and that’s no reflection on Terry,” Leland said. “We hope he will be a candidate.”

He added that Stanford had no agreement with Shea that would require that he replace Walsh.

Walsh’s resignation had been rumored for several weeks, even as assistants Monte Clark and Fred Von Appen left the staff.

After the luster of his return to Stanford wore off, Walsh found himself with a nationally ranked defensive team that was good enough to put together a 10-3 record that included a Blockbuster Bowl victory over Penn State. The Cardinal offense was less than sound, however, and belied Walsh’s reputation as an offensive coach.

That changed over the next two seasons when Walsh and quarterback Steve Stenstrom generated passing yards and touchdowns, though few victories. Stanford was 4-7 last season and 3-7-1 in 1994, with defense being the culprit.

“I had hoped to do better this year, but I have learned to live with these things,” Walsh said. “They are not in my mind shameful or a factor in failure. I never worked harder than I have here.”

The Cardinal led the Pacific 10 Conference in offense but was last in defense.

As this season wore on, it became clearer that Walsh might not return.

“I think every coach has a part of the season when they’ve been looking for it to be over, and I mean every coach,” said Walsh. “That was true even when my teams were successful.”

Negotiations with Leland have occurred for more than a month, with the question being Walsh’s place within the university upon his resignation as coach.

“I just felt that this was an appropriate time to move to another stage of my life,” Walsh said. “Anyone who looks at my chronological age can understand that. I love football and have thrived on it. But the job of head coach is an exhausting job, and at this stage in my life it’s time for somebody else to do it.”