The Bill Walsh Award was established in 2004 in honor of San Francisco's Hall of Fame Head Coach. Walsh served as the team's head coach for 10 seasons from 1979-88. In that time, he compiled a record of 102-63-1 and led the team to three Super Bowls. He was twice named Coach of the Year (1981, 1984) and was later named Coach of the Decade for the 1980s. The award, which is voted on by coaches, is given to the 49ers team MVP, honoring his outstanding individual performance.

"Any award with Bill Walsh's name attached to it is a big deal," Dawson said. "In my three years in San Francisco, I've grown to learn even more about coach Walsh and respect him all the more. So, that's a tremendous honor in and of itself. But, then to consider that the coaches were the ones voting on this, just puts it over the top. In most places, the kicker is just kind of an afterthought or a necessary evil. I've always tried to just be a football player and just come to work and do my job. This means quite a bit given the fact that I am a kicker. There are certainly other guys on the team who are deserving and I hold them in high regard. So, when you mix all that together, it's a pretty special deal."