Don Coryell: Offensive genius

San Diego Chargers Coach Don Coryell pacing the sidelines in the '80s.

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The legend truly preceded him the first time I ever saw Don Coryell.

It was the 1979 AFC Divisional Game and his heavily favoured, AFC West Division champion San Diego Chargers were hosting the underdog, undermanned Houston Oilers.

The Oilers had just bested the Denver Broncos in the AFC Wild Card Game, but in the process had lost their starting quarterback, All-Pro runningback and best receiver. They would be forced to play rookies or inexperienced players at all three positions.

However, offence wasn’t what anyone was really talking about.

Instead, everyone wanted to know if the Oilers’ defence could stop the high-powered, record-setting passing attack of the San Diego Chargers.

It was an offence tuned to perfection by San Diego’s head coach Don Coryell, and his coaching staff.

I was thinking about that game, which I still consider one of the best I have ever watched, when I heard this past weekend that Don Coryell was posthumously inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

In the beginning
Don Coryell had a long coaching career by the time he arrived in San Diego. He had coached the San Diego State Aztecs for 12 seasons from 1961 to 1972, winning 104 games, three national championships and seven conference titles.

He moved over to the NFL in 1973 to coach the hapless St. Louis Cardinals who, except for the add flash of brilliance, were historically bad or, at the very best, just mediocre.

Coryell would turn around the fortunes of the Cardinals. After a 4-9 record and a fourth place finish in the NFC East in 1973, the Cardinals would win the division in 1974 and 1975, the only two division titles the team would win as the St. Louis Cardinals in their 28-year history, from 1960 to 1987.

They dropped to second place in 1976 and third place in 1977. Coryell came into conflict with Cardinal owner Bill Bidwill and left the team after the 1977 season.

He and his family moved back to San Diego in April of 1978. While Coryell was in St. Louis, in turmoil with Bidwill, there had been rumours he would be in line to coach the Chargers, until San Diego extended coach Tommy Prothro’s contract for the 1978 season.

Just four games into the 1978 season, with the Chargers mired in a 1-3 slump, Prothro resigned and Coryell was immediately hired.

The Chargers would fall to 2-6 before reeling off seven wins in eight weeks to end the season with a 9-7 record. They missed the playoffs by one game, but 1978 was their first winning season since 1969.

Quarterback Dan Fouts had a career-high 2,999 yards passing, rookie wide receiver John Jefferson had 1,001 yards receiving and tied a rookie record with 13 touchdowns. The Chargers also led the league with 3,375 yards passing.

The Don Coryell era had begun in San Diego.

Breaking through
The Chargers would have a breakthrough season in 1979, Coryell’s first full season at the helm in San Diego. They struck pay dirt in the first round of the NFL draft selecting tight end Kellen Winslow.

Coryell also opened up the offence with a system dubbed “Air Coryell” that utilized sending receivers in motion, and virtually any one as a potential target be it back or receiver. Winslow would also revolutionize the tight end position by becoming essentially a receiver in a lineman’s body. Previously, tight ends were primarily used as blockers on the end of the line. Winslow would change that, but make no mistake, he could block as well. Unfortunately, he missed much of his rookie season with a broken leg.

Fouts broke Joe Namath’s single-season record with 4,082 yards passing. Jefferson went over 1,000 yards again and so did receiver Charlie Joiner.

The Chargers finished 12-4, good enough to win the AFC West, their first division title since entering the NFL, and securing the number one seed in the AFC.

They would host the Houston Oilers in the AFC Divisional game, and it is one of the most incredible performances I have seen. The Chargers were heavily favoured, especially with the Oilers missing their top quarteback, runningback, and receiver. Yet it was their defence that came to play. They intercepted Fouts five times, turning two of them into touchdowns.

They were led by defensive back Vernon Perry who intercepted Fouts three times. I remember him well, and was really happy when I learned he had just come from the CFL where he played with Montreal.

What really stuck out for me was the play of unheralded Houston back-up quarterback Gifford Nielsen who did not try to do too much; back-up runningback Rob Carpenter who got the yards when needed; and receiver Mike Renfro who made the catches at opportune times.

I thought I had misremembered the game, so I watched it awhile back and it really was as incredible as I remember.

The Chargers had broken through, but showed they may not just be ready to be a championship team yet.

Championship Game
The Chargers repeated as AFC West champions in 1980, with a record of 11-5, as “Air Coryell” really took flight.

Winslow led the league in receptions with 89 and had 1,000 yards. Jefferson and Joiner also had 1,000-yard seasons, the first time a team had three players go over 1,000 yards in the same season. Fouts broke his own record with 4,715 yards, and broke the single-season records for most attempts, completions, and 300-yard games.

The Chargers were again the number one seed, drawing a first-round bye. Meanwhile, their AFC West rivals, the Oakland Raiders, defeated the Houston Oilers in the AFC Wildcard Game. The Chargers should have faced the Raiders in the AFC Divisional Game, but the NFL had a rule that teams from the same division could not meet until the conference championship game.

Consequently, the Chargers hosted the AFC East champion Buffalo Bills, while Oakland would travel to Cleveland to play the Browns.

The Bills had the best defence in the NFL, and controlled the Chargers early, leading 14-3 at halftime. However, Fouts and crew rallied, winning 20-14 and earning a spot in their first AFC Championship Game since joining the NFL. They would play the Raiders who upset the Browns.

The game was played at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Again, the Chargers were bit by the turnover bug, coughing up the ball three times early in the game. That helped propel the Raiders to a 28-7 lead. The Chargers again rallied, but fell short, losing by a score of 34-27.

Return trip
Jefferson started the 1981 season by holding out to renegotiate his contract, so the Chargers traded him to Green Bay.

They would have an up and down season, going 6-5 to start then picking up steam, winning four of their last five games to finish with a 10-6 record, good enough for their third straight AFC West title.

The Chargers acquired receiver Wes Chandler from the New Orleans Saints to replace Jefferson, and it paid dividends. Chandler, long with Joiner and Winslow all went over 1,000 yards receiving. Fouts broke the NFL passing yardage record again, with 4,802 yards. Runningback Chuck Muncie tied the record for most rushing touchdowns in a season with 19, and rushed for 1,000 yards. The Chargers also broke their own league records for total yards and scoring.

This time, the Chargers were not a top seed and had to travel to Miami to play the Dolphins in the AFC Divisional Game. When the teams met in the Orange Bowl, it became an epic battle that has gone down as one of the greatest games of all time. I recently watched it again, and it was as good, and probably better, than I remember.

The Chargers took control early, scoring at will in every possible manner, leading 24-0. Miami pulled their starting quarterback, and backup Don Strock brought the Dolphins back, utilizing everything they possibly could, including a hook and lateral for a touchdown at the end of the first half.

The Dolphins kept coming, and would surge ahead by a score of 38-35, only to have the Chargers kick a field goal to send the game into overtime. Twice, Miami had a chance to win the game, but twice the Chargers blocked the kick. Finally, they kicked a field goal to win the game by a score of 41-38.

Fouts set a single playoff game passing records for attempts, completions and yards, while Winslow set a single playoff game record for most receptions.

Kellen Winslow was heroic in that game, doing everything he possibly could including block one of the field goal attempts. There is an iconic picture of him, being so exhausted he is helped off the field by two teammates with a towel draped over his head.

The win put the Chargers back in the AFC Championship Game for the second straight year. This time they had to travel to the cold and ice of Cincinnati, to play the top-seeded Bengals at Riverfront Stadium. The Chargers were never really in the game, unable to cope with the cold and ice, falling by a score of 27-7.

Back again
The 1982 season was interrupted by a players’ strike part way through. Instead of the usual playoff format, the NFL decided to stage a 16-team tournament, with the eight teams with the best records in each conference qualifying for the playoffs.

San Diego led the league in points, total yardage and passing yardage in the abbreviated season, but had the third worst defence in the AFC.

The Chargers finished with a 6-3 record, making them the fifth seed in the AFC. They would play the Steelers in Pittsburgh and, once again it would be cold. This time the Chargers prevailed, defeating the Steelers by a score of 31-28.

Awaiting them, once again in the Orange Bowl, were the Miami Dolphins hungry for revenge after the previous season’s overtime loss. The Dolphins had the best defence in the league, forcing seven turnovers and effectively shutting down Fouts and company, winning handily by a score of 34-13.

It was the fourth straight trip to the playoffs for the Chargers and Coach Coryell, but it would be the last time he coached in the playoffs.

Slow decline
The Chargers, hampered by an injury to Dan Fouts, finished 6-10 in 1983, missing the playoffs and suffering their first losing season under Coryell. They still led the league in total yardage and passing yardage.

In 1984, the Chargers again were hampered by injuries to Fouts and Winslow, and a drug suspension to Muncie. Their record was 7-9 and this was the first season under Coryell the Chargers did not lead the league in passing yardage, finishing second to Miami and quarterback Dan Marino.

San Diego again led the league in passing for the seventh time in eight years in 1985, despite Fouts again missing time due to injury. Their record improved to 8-8, but again they missed the playoffs. This would also be Coryell’s final full season with the Chargers.

Don Coryell had already begun to clash with owner Alex Spanos, who had bought the team in 1984. After the Chargers won their season opener in 1986, they lost their next seven games in a row.

Spanos fired Don Coryell on October 29, 1986.

He would never coach again, despite several offers.

Coryell'ss record in San Diego was 68-56 in the regular season, giving him an overall NFL regular season record of 111-83-1. Coryell was 3-4 in the playoffs with the Chargers and 3-6 overall.

He was inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame in 1994, the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame earlier this year.

Don Coryell died on October 17, 2010.

Parting thoughts
If you watch an NFL game today, the finger prints of Don Coryell are still all over it. The NFL has evolved from a running league into a passing league, and Coryell is one of the innovators who opened up the passing game by utilizing motion, revolutionizing the role of the tight end, and so much more.

The proof is in the numbers. The Chargers led the NFL in passing seven of eight years, and quarterback Dan Fouts kept breaking the record for most passing yards in a season.

Quite frankly, Don Coryell was an offensive genius.