Forget the Catch and Montana to Rice--three key moments for Bill Walsh.

NFL Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh’s recent passing reminds me of the massive influence the San Francisco 49ers coach had and still has over the sport. On the field the Walsh delivered a dynasty to a franchise that was the Detroit Lions of the day; off the field he sponsored the Minority Coaching Fellowship and saw many of his former assistants achieve success across the league. When I recall Walsh’s decade of dominance, naturally "the Catch" in the 1981 NFC Championship game as well as the last-minute drive in Super Bowl XXIII come to mind. I look to a few other pivot points that contributed to the Hall of Fame career:

NFL Draft-1979. Dallas is picking and the Cowboys extensive scouting system has produced their “master list” as always. The braintrust of Gil Brandt, Tex Schramm and Tom Landry never go against “the list”. But with Roger Staubach coming off a Pro Bowl season and Danny White leading the Cowboys to a playoff win in relief the previous winter, they take tight end Doug Cosbie instead of Joe Montana. Walsh and Niners GM Jim McVay take the Notre Dame QB and the first seeds of supremacy are planted.

NFL Draft-1983. The Los Angeles Rams take All-American Eric Dickerson in the first round, making Wendell Tyler obsolete. Somehow the Rams decide to trade the oft-injured running back inside their own division—to a Niners team that boasted no running game whatsoever the year before (the one glaring weakness of the ’81 champs was their lack of a ground attack). Paired with rookie Roger Craig, Tyler cranks out three straight 800 yard seasons and the team wins Super Bowl XIX with a devastating ground game to complement Joe Montana’s heroics.

NFL Draft-1986. Tampa Bay picks Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson first overall; instead of signing with the Buccaneers Jackson opts for the Kansas City Royals and a Major League Baseball career. The Bucs finish 2-14 for the second straight year and choose Vinny Testaverde first in the ’87 draft—clearing the way for Steve Young to be traded to San Francisco. Young’s broken-field run against Minnesota the following year keyed a four-game winning streak that delivered the NFC West and sparked the Niners to the Super Bowl in Walsh’s final season.