West Coast offense
In American football, the term "West Coast Offense" is an offensive-minded strategic system of play.
Contrary to popular belief, the "West Coast Offense" is not derived from the schemes popularized by the Cincinnati Bengals and Bill Walsh's San Francisco 49ers, but rather the offensive system derived from Sid Gillman and Don Coryell, in their days coaching the San Diego Chargers and San Diego State University, respectively, during the 1960s. This system spread throughout the NFL during the late-1980s and 1990s via such coaches as Joe Gibbs, of the Washington Redskins; Ernie Zampese, first of the Los Angeles Rams and then the New England Patriots; Dennis Green of the Minnesota Vikings and now of the Arizona Cardinals; Mike Holmgren of the Green Bay Packers and now of the Seattle Seahawks; and Norv Turner, of the Dallas Cowboys and later the Washington Redskins and Oakland Raiders.
Origin and Confusion
The actual term "West Coast Offense" is derived from a 1993 Bernie Kosar quote, which was publicized by Sports Illustrated writer Paul Zimmerman, aka "Dr. Z". It meant the offense used by the two west coast teams (Chargers and 49ers) in the past few decades, not the 1980s-era 49ers attack, but a reporter mistakenly grouped all three and the name stuck in association with Walsh's offense. The West Coast Offense is more of a philosophy and an approach to the game than it is a set of plays or formations. "Traditional' offensive thinking argues that a team must establish their running game first, which will draw the defense in and open up passing lanes downfield. The West Coast Offense, on the contrary, stipulates that a defense must first be stretched with a short, horizontal passing attack that features sharp, precisely-run pass patterns by the receivers and quick, 3-step and 5-step drops by the Quarterback . This 'stretching' will then open up running lanes for the backs to exploit. This will, in theory, make the offense's play calling unpredictable, which makes a defense play 'honest' because most down and distance situations can be attacked with the pass or run in the West Coast Offense. Beyond this basic principle of passing to set up the run (not vice versa), there are few rules that govern the WCO. Throughout the years, coaches have added to, adjusted, modified, simplified, and enhanced Bill Walsh's original adaptation of the Coryell/Gillman offense. Formations and plays vary greatly, as does play calling.
Differences
Walsh's offense operated with a great deal of motion attacks and horizontal pass plays, meant to be a ball-control system without the traditional reliance on the running game.
The true West Coast offense utilizes a great deal of down-the field passing attacks accented by power running with zone blocking. Intrinsically, it is designed to be high-scoring with a great deal of yardage accumulated, a near opposite to Walsh's approach.
"The pass that sets up the run" - Howard Eskin, 610WIP Philadelphia.