West Coast offense | football (2024)

FAQs

What is a west coast style offense? ›

In Bill Walsh. His “West Coast offense” was a ball-control offense that featured short passes and quick slanting pass routes by receivers and running backs. This resulted in coverage mismatches and space for the backs and receivers to break long runs. Walsh was inducted into the Pro Football Hall…

Bill Walsh was the architect of the San Francisco 49ers' 1980s dynasty and the inventor of the West Coast Offense. When Walsh was hired as Niners coach and GM in 1979, the franchise had yet to win a championship since their founding in 1946.

The West Coast Offense is an innovative horizontal passing offense based on timing and route running. San Francisco 49ers head coach Bill Walsh created the system, which is still used in many football offenses today.

The West Coast Offense features short pass plays to replace the running game while still controlling the ball. The quarterback takes a three or five-step drop, reads the defense and has his progression of receivers to look to.

Shanahan's push to heavier personnel is force multiplied by formational manipulation. Instead of running a play from a static look, shifts and motions change and rechange the formational strength of the offense. When defenses align to the tight end, a shift forces a response and can change the math in the run game.

Today, the West Coast Offense no longer only resides on the west coast, but can be found in schools across the nation, including Boise State, Nebraska, Auburn, . Former Pittsburgh and Stanford head coach Walt Harris also used a variation of the West Coast Offense during his stint at Pittsburgh.

So Reid's Chiefs offense doesn't fit into any of our pre-defined schemes. It's a short to intermediate, pass-first offense that is run out of the shotgun. It leverages players' strengths, focusing on spreading out the defense and finding open grass on the boundaries. It's Reid's West Coast Gun offense.

The vast majority of the NFL passing game is a hybrid from Air Coryell, West Coast, Eihart-Perkins, etc. So please refrain saying “He'd fit a West Coast offense”, because everyone runs some West Coast concepts and no one runs them exclusively.

Erhardt-Perkins offensive system.

The West Coast Offense as implemented under Walsh features precisely run pass patterns by the receivers that make up about 65% to 80% of the offensive scheme. With the defense stretched out, the offense is then free to focus the remaining plays on longer throws of more than 14 yards and mid to long yard rushes.

Why is it called the West Coast offense? ›

The original West Coast Offense was developed by Bill Walsh (ironically in the Midwest, not the west coast). It gained fame as it was the offense used by the 49ers juggernaut. It was developed at a time when a lot of NFL offenses still relied on a heavy, power running game.

“West Coast design is more relaxed and less formal. A connection to nature is definitely there as well. Nature, modernism, and industrialism frequently intermix.

On the West coast, people are a lot more laid-back. Nature and health are often a huge focus there, so it should come as no surprise that they try to stay very zen and get out to their favorite parks and locations.

West Coast Swing is a form of swing dancing that is danced in a slot to moderate tempo blues, R&B, and in recent times, contemporary music. It is the smoother, sexier version of the swing dance family. Its basic patterns are both 6 and 8 beats, but those patterns can be varied by +/- 2 beat increments.

Style. Both East Coast vs West Coast have much different senses of style. It is amazing how the sense of style changes too much in the same country depending on which side you live on. California's style tends to be relaxed, beachy, and Earthy. Those on the East Coast tend to dress more sleek and polished.