The Blind Side

After the 49ers’ 1982 Super Bowl win, Walsh used his first draft pick to select Bubba Paris to defend Montana’s blind side. Walsh needed Paris under 300 pounds, but Paris liked to eat. The more he ate, the slower he played. The 49ers lost badly to the Giants in 1985 and again, in 1986. Taylor “wreaked havoc,” and the vaunted 49er offense managed only three points per game and lost Montana to a concussion in the 1986 game (188). By the end of the 1987 season, Walsh had enough of “his promising left tackle” (188). The team amassed a 14-2 regular season record but had weaknesses. Prognosticators expected the 49ers to steamroll their first playoff opponent, the Minnesota Vikings, but the Vikings had an effective young pass rusher, Chris Doleman, who mentally and physically harassed Montana. Walsh’s left tackle could not handle “a speedy pass rusher,” and Montana struggled so much that Walsh pulled him in favor of Steven Young, a left-handed quarterback who could “see Doleman coming” (190). Following the unexpected loss, Walsh left the stadium without addressing his players, causing them to lose respect for him. He only coached one more season.

Steve Wallace, the 49ers’ back-up left tackle in that game, was not Paris’s obvious replacement.