You could make the case that the seeds of the modern football passing game, college and pro, were planted around 50 years ago.
Bill Walsh was tweaking the Cincinnati Bengals' offense and crafting what would become the West Coast offense. Don Coryell took what would be known as his Air Coryell offense to the big time, jumping from San Diego State to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1973. LaVell Edwards took over as BYU head coach in 1972 and, figuring he had to do something radical to succeed there, took to the air. They would become three of the most influential figures in the modernization of football.