#nfl-history

#nfl-history

Bill Walsh's decision to turn down the New England Patriots' coaching job in 1990 altered the course of NFL history, paving the way for Bill Belichick and Tom Brady's success later on.

"When I arrived in the N.F.L., the middle was open. No one was there to stop the pass over the middle. The hardest part was learning to play a position that had not existed." This statement captures the transition the sport went through as well as Schmidt's pioneering spirit in developing the middle linebacker role.