San Francisco 49ers Coach Bill Walsh told at least two people he will step down
after the Super Bowl in Miami next Sunday but Walsh has denied it, the San Jose Mercury News reported Saturday.A colleague of Walsh reported the resignation plans and an NFL head coach said the same thing, the paper said, but Walsh dismissed the statements.
"They were mistaken," he told the paper. "I haven't decided anything."
Both the colleague and the NFL coach spoke on condition they not be identified, the paper said.
Walsh also denied he would make such an announcement to the team before the championship game with Cincinnati as a motivator.
"I would never do anything like that," he said.
Walsh, 57, often has been reported to be considering quitting, usually when the team's fortunes have been down. He has a 101-62-1 record in his 10 years with the 49ers, his first and only job as an NFL head coach after decades of working as an NFL assistant and in college ranks. Walsh, who has led the 49ers to a pair of Super Bowl triumphs, is one of only three NFL head coaches to have won more than 100 games in his first 10 years.
Quarterback Joe Montana said such reports and rumors were nothing new to the team.
"I'm sure we'll find out," he said. "We hear a lot of rumors all the time and they never come true."
"I'd hope we could win the last one for him, whether it is or isn't (his last game)," Montana said. "Bill's done a lot for this organization and he's done a lot for me. It would be very meaningful if we could win it if this was his last one."
Should Walsh leave, one person discussed as his replacement is his opponent in the Super Bowl, Cincinnati Coach Sam Wyche.