Don Coryell
Encyclopedia
Donald David Coryell was an American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 coach, who coached in the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 first with the St. Louis Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 from 1973–1977 and then the San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 from 1978-1986. He was well known for his innovations to football's passing offense. Coryell's offense was commonly known as "Air Coryell". Coryell was the first coach ever to win more than 100 games at both the collegiate and professional level. He was inducted into the San Diego Chargers Hall of Fame in 1986. Coryell is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...

.

Early career

Don Coryell enlisted in the Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 in 1943 and spent 3½ years as a paratrooper
Paratrooper
Paratroopers are soldiers trained in parachuting and generally operate as part of an airborne force.Paratroopers are used for tactical advantage as they can be inserted into the battlefield from the air, thereby allowing them to be positioned in areas not accessible by land...

. He played defensive back
Defensive back
In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of...

 for the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...

 from 1949-1951. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Washington. He was a high school coach in Hawaii where his teams ran a version of the I formation
I formation
The I formation is one of the most common offensive formations in American football. The I formation draws its name from the vertical alignment of quarterback, fullback, and running back, particularly when contrasted with the same players' alignments in the T formation.The formation begins with...

 running game. He would also coach at the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...

 (where he compiled a 2 win, 16 loss reord), Wenatchee Valley College
Wenatchee Valley College
Wenatchee Valley College, or WVC, is a two-year Community College located in Wenatchee, Washington. The college provides students with adult education classes, certifications, and 2-year Associates Degree. WVC's primary service district is one of the largest in the state, serving an area larger...

, and a military team at Fort Ord
Fort Ord
Fort Ord was a U.S. Army post on Monterey Bay in California. It was established in 1917 as a maneuver area and field artillery target range and was closed in September 1994. Fort Ord was one of the most attractive locations of any U.S. Army post, because of its proximity to the beach and California...

. As head coach at Whittier College
Whittier College
Whittier College is a private liberal arts college in Whittier, California. As of January 2009, the college has approximately 1540 enrolled students.-Overview:...

 from 1957–1959, Whittier won conference championships in each of Coryell's three years. He would also rely on the I formation at Whittier. In 1960, he was an assistant coach under John McKay for the USC Trojans
USC Trojans
The USC Trojans are the athletic teams representing the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the Trojans, the women's athletic teams are referred to as either the Trojans or Women of Troy...

, where the I formation would be its signature offense for decades. While the origin of the I formation is unclear, Coryell was one of its pioneers.

San Diego State University

Coryell coached 12 seasons with the San Diego State University (SDSU)
San Diego State University
San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...

 Aztecs
SDSU Aztecs
The San Diego State Aztecs are the collegiate athletics and sports teams for San Diego State University .San Diego State has organized programs for baseball, basketball, football, soccer, golf, gymnastics, rowing , softball, tennis, track, swimming, diving, women's volleyball, and water polo.The...

, using the philosophy of recruiting only junior college players. There, he compiled a record of 104 wins, 19 losses and 2 ties including three undefeated seasons in 1966, 1968 and 1969. His teams would enjoy winning streaks of 31 and 25 games, and would win three bowl games during his tenure. Coryell helped lead SDSU from an NCAA Division II to an NCAA Division I program in 1969.

It was at SDSU that Coryell began to emphasize a passing offense. Coryell recounted, “We could only recruit a limited number of runners and linemen against schools like USC and UCLA
UCLA Bruins Football
The UCLA Bruins football program represents the University of California, Los Angeles in college football as members of the Pacific-12 Conference at the NCAA Division I FBS level. The Bruins have enjoyed several periods of success in their history, having been ranked in the top ten of the AP Poll...

. And there were a lot of kids in Southern California passing and catching the ball. There seemed to be a deeper supply of quarterbacks and receivers. And the passing game was also open to some new ideas.” Coryell adds, "Finally we decided it's crazy that we can win games by throwing the ball without the best personnel. So we threw the hell out of the ball and won some games. When we started doing that, we were like 55-5-1."

John Madden served as Coryell's defensive assistant at SDSU. Madden had first met Coryell attending a coaching clinic on the I formation led by McKay. "We'd go to these clinics, and afterward, everyone would run up to talk to McKay," said Madden. "Coryell was there because he introduced (McKay). I was thinking, 'If (McKay) learned from him, I'll go talk to (Coryell).' "

At San Diego State, Coryell helped develop a number of quarterbacks for the NFL, including Don Horn
Don Horn
Donald Glenn Horn is a former National Football League quarterback. He was a first round pick All American out of San Diego State University by the Green Bay Packers, but his NFL career was less impressive because he only threw for 3,369 yards and 20 touchdowns in 8 seasons...

, Jesse Freitas
Jesse Freitas
Jesse Lee Freitas, Jr. is a former American football quarterback. His son Jesse Freitas III also played professional football as a quarterback.-References:...

, Dennis Shaw
Dennis Shaw
Dennis Wendell Shaw is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Buffalo Bills, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, and the Kansas City Chiefs.-College career:...

 and future NFL MVP Brian Sipe
Brian Sipe
Brian Winfield Sipe is a former professional American football quarterback who played in the National Football League from 1974 to 1983 and the United States Football League from 1984 to 1985....

. Wide receivers who went on to the NFL include Isaac Curtis
Isaac Curtis
Isaac Fisher Curtis is a former professional American football wide receiver who played his entire National Football League career with the Cincinnati Bengals .-College career:...

, Gary Garrison
Gary Garrison
Gary Lynn Garrison is a former American football wide receiver who played professional football in the American Football League and the National Football League . He attended San Diego State University from 1964-1965...

, and Haven Moses
Haven Moses
Haven Christopher Moses is a former American football wide receiver. Haven played collegiately for Los Angeles Harbor College and San Diego State University. He was drafted by the American Football League's Buffalo Bills in the first round of the 1968 Draft and played for the Bills from 1968 to...

. Coryell also coached two players who later became actors: Fred Dryer
Fred Dryer
John Frederick "Fred" Dryer is an American actor and former football defensive end in the National Football League . Dryer played 13 years in the NFL, playing 176 games, starting 166, and recording 104 career sacks with the New York Giants and Los Angeles Rams...

 and Carl Weathers
Carl Weathers
Carl Weathers is an American actor, as well as former professional football player in the United States and Canada. He is best known for playing Apollo Creed in the Rocky series of films...

.

St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals under Coryell had three consecutive seasons (1974–1976) with double-digit victories and won two consecutive division titles (1974–1975). Those were the only division titles the Cardinals ever won while in St. Louis. Prior to 1974, the Cardinals had not been in the playoffs in 26 years since 1948 when they were the Chicago Cardinals. In 1975, the "Cardiac Cardinals" won seven times in the game's last minute. Multi-purpose back Terry Metcalf
Terry Metcalf
Terrance Randolph Metcalf is a former professional American football running back who played six total seasons in the National Football League, five of them with the St. Louis Cardinals, and one with the Washington Redskins. He attended Long Beach State University...

 set an NFL all-purpose yards record at the time in 1975. When St. Louis did not re-sign Metcalf and he left for the Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....

 after 1977, Coryell departed also

He won three straight division titles (1979, 1980, 1981) with the Chargers, reaching the playoffs four consecutive times. Previously, the Chargers had not been to the playoffs since 1965. With Dan Fouts
Dan Fouts
Daniel Francis Fouts is a retired Hall of Fame American football quarterback in the National Football League. Fouts played his entire professional career with the San Diego Chargers from 1973 through 1987...

 as quarterback, San Diego's "Air Coryell" was among the greatest passing offenses in NFL history. The Chargers led the league in passing yards an NFL record 6 consecutive years from 1978-1983 and again in 1985. They also led the league in total yards in offense 1980-1983 and 1985. The Pro Football Hall of Fame called Coryell's offenses "one of the most explosive and exciting offenses that ever set foot on an NFL field." Fouts, wide receiver Charlie Joiner
Charlie Joiner
Charles B. Joiner Jr. is a former American football player who starred in professional football for eighteen seasons, virtually exclusively at the position of wide receiver. He retired with the most career receptions, receiving yards, and games played of any wide receiver in NFL history. He was...

, and tight end Kellen Winslow
Kellen Winslow
Kellen Boswell Winslow is a former American football tight end with the Missouri Tigers and the San Diego Chargers. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest tight ends in the history of the game. He is currently the athletic director at Central State University.Winslow did not play high...

 would all be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame from those Charger teams.

Fouts was only the 2nd player to pass for 4,000 yards in a season in 1979 before establishing a new record for total passing yards in a season in 1980 and again in 1981. In a nine-game strike-shortened 1982 season
1982 NFL season
The 1982 NFL season was the 63rd regular season of the National Football League. A 57-day long players' strike reduced the 1982 season from a 16-game schedule per team to an abbreviated nine game schedule...

, Fouts averaged 320 yards passing per game, still an NFL record . With Winslow, Coryell redefined the tight end position into a deep, pass-catching threat too fast for a linebacker and too big for a defensive back. Coryell was astute to realize that "If we're asking Kellen to block a defensive end and not catch passes, I'm not a very good coach
."

In San Diego, Coryell groomed another set of all-purpose backs in James Brooks
James Brooks (American football player)
James Brooks is a retired NFL football running back.-High school and college career:His young career started with success in elementary school. He led the Warner Robins High School Demons to a State championship and a National Championship ranking in 1976...

 and later Lionel James
Lionel James
Lionel 'Little Train' James , is a former professional American football player who was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the 5th round of the 1984 NFL Draft. Undersized at 5'6" and 171 lbs., James played running back at Auburn University where he shared the backfield with Bo Jackson...

, a mere 5'6" and 171 pound running back, who broke Metcalf's record in 1985 while also setting a record of 1,027 receiving yards by a running back
. A rookie in 1978, John Jefferson
John Jefferson
John Jefferson is a retired American football wide receiver in the National Football League . He was selected out of Arizona State University in the first round of the 1978 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers. He played three seasons in San Diego, where he became the first NFL player to gain...

 went on to become the first receiver in league history to gain 1,000 yards in each of his first three seasons while also grabbing 36 touchdowns. Traded away from Air Coryell by ownership because of a contract dispute, Jefferson never reached 1,000 yards again in his career. Wes Chandler
Wes Chandler
Wesley Sandy "Wes" Chandler is a former American college and professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League for eleven seasons in the 1970s and 1980s...

 was acquired to replace Jefferson. In the 1982 strike year, Chandler, set the record of 129 yards receiving per game that is still an NFL record.

Detractors of Coryell point to the Chargers' defensive shortcomings given that his defenses were in the bottom ten league-wide from 1981-1986. However in 1979, the Chargers allowed the fewest points (246) in the AFC. In 1980 their defense led the NFL with 60 sacks spearheaded by a frontline of All-Pros in Fred Dean
Fred Dean
Frederick Rudolph "Fred" Dean is a former American football player in the National Football League, and a member of the NFL Hall of Fame. His career started with the San Diego Chargers in 1975 and ended with the San Francisco 49ers after the 1985 season. Dean was born in Arcadia, the seat of...

, Gary "Big Hands" Johnson and Louie Kelcher
Louie Kelcher
Louis James Kelcher was an American football player who played most of his career with the San Diego Chargers. His primary position was defensive tackle. His outstanding performance made him one of the team's most popular players from 1975-83...

. The group was locally nicknamed "the Bruise Brothers", coined from a popular act at the time, The Blues Brothers. However, in 1981, Dean, like Jefferson, was traded away due to a contract dispute with ownership. Dean contends he was making the same amount of money as his brother-in-law who was a truck driver. The Chargers' defense would never be the same afterwards as it surrendered the most passing yards in the NFL in both 1981
and 1982. Meanwhile, Dean would go on in the same year to win UPI NFC Defensive Player of the Year
UPI NFC Player of the Year
From 1970 to 1996, the United Press International awarded the NFC Player of the Year to players from the NFL's National Football Conference .-NFC Offensive Player of the Year:-See also:*UPI AFL-AFC Player of the Year...

 (while playing in only 11 games) and help lead the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...

 to a Super Bowl that year and again in 1984. Dean was inducted to the NFL Hall of Fame in 2008.

"I can't say how much it affected us, because we did make it to the AFC championship game," said Johnson of the loss of Dean. "But I could say if we had more pass rush from the corner, it might've been different."

Tom Bass
Tom Bass (American football)
Tom Bass is a retired American football coach who spent 30 years as an assistant with the Cincinnati Bengals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and San Diego Chargers. He played at San Diego State University as a lineman until a bout of polio left him unable to play football. He then served as an undergraduate...

, who was a defensive coordinator
Defensive coordinator
A defensive coordinator typically refers to a coach on a gridiron football team who is in charge of the defense. Generally, along with his offensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...

 for Coryell with both SDSU and the Chargers, said Coryell focused on offense during practice. He left the coaching of defensive players and the defensive game plan to Bass."In planning and designing defense, he simply had no interest," said Bass.

Hall of Fame Consideration

Coryell's failure to lead his teams to a Super Bowl has presumably kept him out of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Voters have cited his 3-6 postseason record as further evidence. His teams' defenses were not as strong as its offenses, which could be attributed to the offensive unit scoring quickly and not providing the defensive side sufficient rest. Tony Dungy
Tony Dungy
Anthony Kevin "Tony" Dungy [DUN-jee] is a former professional American football player and coach in the National Football League. Dungy was head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1996 to 2001, and head coach of the Indianapolis Colts from 2002 to 2008...

, a Super Bowl head coach, says that "If you talk about impact on the game, training other coaches -- John Madden, Bill Walsh, Joe Gibbs
Joe Gibbs
Joe Jackson Gibbs is a former American football coach, NASCAR Championship team owner, and two time NHRA Pro Stock team owner. He was the 20th and 26th head coach in the history of the Washington Redskins...

 to name a few -- and influencing how things are done, Don Coryell is probably right up there with Paul Brown
Paul Brown
Paul Eugene Brown was a coach in American football and a major figure in the development of the National Football League...

. He was a genius." Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...

writer Jim Trotter, who votes on the Pro Football Hall of Fame Board of Selectors, said selectors are hesitant to vote for coaches when there is a backlog of deserving players.

Coryell's direct development of future coaches included Super Bowl head coaches Madden and Gibbs, Super Bowl offensive coordinators Ernie Zampese
Ernie Zampese
Ernie Zampese is a former American football player and coach. Playing for Santa Barbara High School, he was selected as the CIS Player of the Year in 1953 and went on to play at the halfback position for the USC Trojans in 1955 and 1956...

 and Al Saunders
Al Saunders
Al Saunders is the current offensive coordinator for the Oakland Raiders.-Early life and playing career:Born in London, England, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1960, and is one of four foreign-born coaches in the NFL...

, as well as Jim Hanifan
Jim Hanifan
Jim Hanifan is a longtime American football coach and former head coach of the St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Falcons. He compiled a career record of 39-53-1.-Playing career:...

 and Rod Dowhower
Rod Dowhower
-External links:...

. Adding to the Coryell coaching tree, Super Bowl offensive coordinator Norv Turner
Norv Turner
Norval Eugene Turner is the head coach for the National Football League's San Diego Chargers. He also has served as head coach of the Washington Redskins and the Oakland Raiders, and as offensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys, San Diego Chargers, Miami Dolphins, and San Francisco 49ers...

 tutored under Zampese, and another Super Bowl offensive coordinator Mike Martz
Mike Martz
Michael Martz is a former NFL head coach and currently the offensive coordinator for the National Football League's Chicago Bears....

 studied under both Zampese and later Turner. Dan Henning
Dan Henning
-External links:...

 coached under Gibbs.

Fouts says, "He influenced offensive and defensive football because if you are going to have three or four receivers out there, you better have an answer for it on the other side of the ball. If it wasn't for Don, I wouldn't be in the Hall of Fame." "Whoever heard of the nickel or dime pass defense before “Air Coryell” forced opponents to come up with strategies to combat Coryell’s aerial assault?" wrote Fouts to Hall of Fame voters in support of Coryell's induction.

In Madden's Hall of Fame induction speech, he mentioned his time at San Diego State "with a great coach that someday will be in here, Don Coryell. He had a real influence on my coaching. Joe Gibbs
Joe Gibbs
Joe Jackson Gibbs is a former American football coach, NASCAR Championship team owner, and two time NHRA Pro Stock team owner. He was the 20th and 26th head coach in the history of the Washington Redskins...

 was on that staff, too."

Gibbs also lobbied for Coryell's induction into the Hall of Fame, stating "(Coryell) was extremely creative and fostered things that are still in today's game because he was so creative. I think he's affected a lot of coaches, and I'd like to see him get in.
"
Mike Martz, who won a Super Bowl as the offensive coordinator of the "Greatest Show on Turf" with the St. Louis Rams and advanced to another Super Bowl as the Rams' head coach:
"Don is the father of the modern passing game. People talk about the 'West Coast' offense
West Coast offense
In American football, "West Coast Offense" refers to two similar but distinct offensive-strategic-systems of play: the "Air Coryell" system; or more commonly the pass play system popularized by Bill Walsh...

, but Don started the 'West Coast' decades ago and kept updating it. You look around the NFL now, and so many teams are running a version of the Coryell offense. Coaches have added their own touches, but it's still Coryell's offense. He has disciples all over the league. He changed the game," adds Martz. "I'm not sure why that hasn't been acknowledged by the Hall of Fame."

Winslow points out that Coryell had an indirect hand in the 49ers', Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...

' and St. Louis Rams' Super Bowl teams. "They call it the West Coast offense because San Francisco won Super Bowls with it, but it was a variation of what we did in San Diego. Joe Gibbs' itty-bitty receivers on the outside and two tight ends in the middle, (that's) a variation of Coryell's offense in San Diego. It's just a personnel change, but it's the same thing. When the Rams won their Super Bowl, it was the same offense, same terminology. For Don Coryell to not be in the Hall of Fame is a lack of knowledge of the voters. That's the nicest way that I can put that. A lack of understanding of the legacy of the game.
"

"In the offense we won the Super Bowl with in 1999, the foundation was Don Coryell," former Rams coach Dick Vermeil
Dick Vermeil
Richard Albert "Dick" Vermeil is a former American head coach for the National Football League's Philadelphia Eagles , St. Louis Rams and Kansas City Chiefs...

 said. "The route philosophies, the vertical passing game ... everything stemmed from the founder, Don Coryell. The genius."

In 2010, Coryell for the first time was among the 15 finalists considered by the Hall of Fame selection committee on the Saturday before the Super Bowl. He was not selected. After Coryell's passing later that year, Chargers President Dean Spanos said "He revolutionized the game of football, not only in San Diego, but throughout the entire NFL. Don Coryell was a legend not only with the Chargers but throughout San Diego. Though unfortunately he did not live long enough to see it, hopefully one day his bust will find its proper place in Pro Football’s Hall of Fame." Delivering a eulogy at Coryell's funeral, Madden noted, "You know, I'm sitting down there in front, and next to me is Joe Gibbs, and next to him is Dan Fouts, and the three of us are in the Hall of Fame because of Don Coryell." Choking up and then pausing, he continued, "There's something missing."

Coaching personality

Coryell was adored by his players. "The most important thing to me about Don Coryell is him as a person. He actually cared about us as players. A lot of coaches don't even know who you are," said Fouts. Coryell did not want to intimidate his players and instead treated his players with respect, allowing them to showcase their strengths. "I don't think a coach has to be a son of a bitch to be successful. I think you can treat men like men," he said.

Death

Don Coryell died on July 1, 2010 at Sharp Grossmont Hospital
Sharp Grossmont Hospital
Sharp Grossmont Hospital is located in La Mesa, California, and is the largest health care facility in East San Diego County with a service area covering 750 square miles....

 in La Mesa, California
La Mesa, California
La Mesa is a city in San Diego County, California. The population was 57,065 at the 2010 census, up from 54,749 at the 2000 census. It was founded in 1869 and officially incorporated as a city on February 16, 1912. Its official flower is the bougainvillea....

. The cause of death has not been officially released, but Coryell had been in poor health for some time.
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