West Coast offense

An offensive philosophy that uses short, high-percentage passes as the core of a ball-control offense. Was invented in Cincinnati under coach Paul Brown in the mid 1970s. Is now widely used in the NFL but originally made popular by San Francisco 49ers coach Bill Walsh. The original west coast offense was actually a term used by Don Coryell and after a Sports Illustrated article that accidentally confused Coryell’s title with the offense being used by Walsh, the title stuck and Coryell’s offense was known instead as “Air Coryell” through the 1980s. The basis of Walsh’s offense is to use short routes for receivers, delivering the ball on time and accurately and using short passes to replace runs. It relies heavily on RAC yardage, using many eligible receivers on plays to maximize quarterback options, and spreading the ball to many targets to keep the defense confused.