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Actually, after they discovered the extent of Cook's injury, they traded for a veteran QB named Virgil Carter. Of course, Carter barely had a fraction of the natural talent that Cook possessed. Walsh realized that he to completely revamp his offense and tailor it to Carter's abilities. Carter was a savy player that got by more with his wits that athletic ability. Walsh installed a lot of short, high percentage throws, screen passes to the backs, etc. By his second season, Carter wound up leading the league in passing percentage, and finished the year as the highest rated passer in the AFC. And thus, an offense was born. The "West Coast" offense actually began with the Carter and the Bengals.

That's one other thing that most people don't know : Walsh had always hated the term, "West Coast offense", because that's not where it originated.

Walsh had always hated the term, "West Coast offense", because that's not where it originated.

Well, also there was an original "West Coast Offense" that wasn't directly related to Walsh's offense - the "West Coast Offense" run by Sid Gillman, and later practiced by Don Coryell, Joe Gibbs, Ernie Zampese, and Mike Martz. Walsh's offense wasn't the same thing - it apparently took on the name because Walsh had success with it in SF, but it should be called what it is - the Bill Walsh Offense.