Alas we get to Sid Gillman, the man to which virtually everything can be traced back to.
All of Bill Walsh's tree can be connected with Gillman and even part of Marty Schottenheimer's.
Gillman himself though, had enough success to earn a pro and college football Hall of Fame induction, so it's safe to say he can be put in that greatest of all-time discussion.
In college, Gillman had an 81-19-2 record between the Miami Redskins (now Redhawks) and Cincinnati Bearcats. Beginning in pro football with the Los Angeles Rams in 1955, Gillman also coached the Los Angeles/San Diego Chargers and Houston Oilers.
During his time, Gillman compiled a 123-103-7 record, one AFL championship (1963) and six total championship game appearances (five of six came from 1960-65).
As for his coaching tree pre-Bill Walsh, Gillman influenced Chuck Noll, Al Davis, Chuck Knox, Dick Vermeil, George Allen and Don Coryell. Together, that's five Super Bowls and currently three Hall of Famers.
After Gillman's direct line comes other greats such as John Madden, Tom Flores, Joe Gibbs and Tony Dungy (connected from Noll and Schottenheimer). So, add six more Super Bowls not including Dungy and then everything else after Bill Walsh.
In short, all you can do is appreciate the great foundation put forth by Sid Gillman.
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