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ShareThisHOF 2010: Don Coryell
Previous HOF 2010 Bios: John Randle; Roger Craig; Russ Grimm; Steve Tasker; Aeneas Williams; Art Modell; Terrell Davis; Dermontti Dawson; Tim Brown/Cris Carter/Andre Reed; Chris Doleman, Kevin Greene and Charles Haley; Cortez Kennedy
The 1966 San Diego State Aztecs went 11-0. It's safe to say they were coached pretty well. Joe Gibbs served as the team's offensive line coach. John Madden was the defensive coordinator. Those two men answered to Don Coryell, who won 84% of his games during his first stint coaching football in the city of San Diego. By that point, being associated with future Hall of Fame coaches was old hat for Coryell. Before coming to SDSU, Coryell was the head coach at tiny Whittier College from 1957 to 1959. Whitter needed a new coach after George Allen left the college but stayed in the city when he joined the Los Angeles Rams staff.
Coryell's innovative coaching coupled with his success with the Aztecs caught the eye of the NFL; he was hired as head coach of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1973 following his time with San Diego State. The Cardinals had gone 4-9-1 in three of the previous four seasons, and would repeat that record during Coryell's ifrst year. Whether it was good fortune or good coaching, Coryell inherited three young linemen who would become stars in the mid-'70s: Dan Dierdorf, Conrad Dobler and Tom Banks. Jim Hart, Jim Otis and Mel Gray -- the main passer, rusher and receiver during the Coryell years in St. Louis -- were all in St. Louis when Coryell arrived, as well. But Coryell would make one big addition during his first season in St. Louis. In the third round of the '73 draft, he selected Long Beach State star and JKL's hero, Terry Metcalf.
In '71 and '72, the Cardinals had offensive SRS ratings of -4.0 and -4.5, respectively. The Cardinals ranked 23rd in points and 25th in yards in a 26-team NFL in 1972. Over the next five seasons, St. Louis would rank in the top half of the league in points scored and yards gained every season, and average an OSRS rating of +2.8. From 1974 to 1976, St. Louis won double digit games each season despite sharing the division with two of the league's powerhouses in Dallas and Washington. From '74 to '77, the Cards would sent 28 players to the Pro Bowl, with a minimum of five players each year. The Cardinals haven't had five players make the Pro Bowl in a single season since.
While there was young talent on the roster, when Coryell arrived the Cards hadn't made the post-season in 24 seasons. Coryell would have the Cards in the playoffs in two of his first three seasons. Unfortunately, in two playoff games, the Cards would commit seven turnovers, with three of them returned for scores, and come away with no playoff victories under Coryell. Despite NFC East crowns in '74 and '75, a four-game losing streak to end the '77 season cost Coryell his job. Outisde of the strike-shortened '82 season, the Cardinals wouldn't make the playoffs again until 1998.
While Coryell's offenses were good in St. Louis, things began to take flight when Coryell joined the San Diego Chargers coaching staff in 1978. He worked under Tommy Prothro to start the season. The '78 Chargers won the opener in Seattle, but lost the next week to the Raiders thanks to the Holy Roller play. Three more losses and Prothro had seen enough; he resigned with the team 1-4, and Coryell took over. The Chargers would end the season 8-4 under Coryell's watch, and one of the most exciting eras in football history was under way.
The first six seasons Coryell was in San Diego, the Chargers led the league in passing yards six times. But Coryell's success wasn't just a product of quantity. Coryell's teams had one of the most incredible passing stretches of all-time; from 1975 to 1985, with two different franchises, Coryell's teams ranked in the top five in net yards per pass attempt all eleven seasons. Ten times they ranked in the top three, and five times they led the league in that metric. From 1980 to 1983, the Chargers led the league in offense every season; they did it again in 1985, too. Three times the Chargers ranked first or second in the league in touchdowns. Kellen Winslow and Dan Fouts were rewriting the record books on a yearly basis. In Coryell's first full season in San Diego, John Jefferson, Charlie Joiner and Winslow became the first trio of teammates to record 1,000 receiving yards in the same season. Nine years later, under the tutelage of Coryell's protege, Gary Clark, Art Monk and Ricky Sanders would become the second trio to hit those marks, and the first trio of wide receivers to do so.
We could go over Coryell's offensive accomplishment for hours and not do a complete job. So let's move to what's kept Coryell out of Canton so far -- a lack of playoff success. After going 0-2 in the post-season with the Cardinals, the Chargers went just 3-4 under Coryell and never made the Super Bowl. Recounting the losses:
- 1979 vs. Houston. By far the most embarrassing loss, and one I discussed with Jonathon Rand. Playing without RB Earl Campbell, QB Dan Pastorini and WR Ken Burrough, the Oilers were heavy underdogs in San Diego. But Dan Fouts threw 5 interceptions -- 4 of them to Vernon Perry -- making the Chargers +121 edge in total yards moot.
- The Chargers won the AFC West in 1980, and split the season series with the Oakland Raiders. After beating the Bills in the final minutes in the divisional round of the playoffs, the AFC Championship Game was set in San Diego. Oakland came out hot, scoring three touchdowns in the first quarter, and went up 28-7 in the second quarter. The Chargers would bounce back, but Jim Plunkett had a flawless game and the Raiders ultimately won, 34-27. The Chargers outgained the Raiders 434-352, but San Diego was -3 in the turnover margin.
- In 1981, the Chargers went 10-6 and again won the AFC West. San Diego's first playoff game was the Epic in Miami, arguably the greatest game of all-time. San Diego emerged exhausted and victorious. Their reward? A trip to Cincinnati in the Freezer Bowl, the coldest game in NFL history as measured by wind chill. It wouldn't take San Diego long to realize they weren't in the Orange Bowl anymore: rookie James Brooks fumbled the team's initial kick return, and the Chargers were trailing 10-0 before the offense ever took the field. The Chargers lost the turnover battle 4 to 1, and learned the hard way the value of home field advantage.
- The '82 Chargers may have been the best version; San Diego led the league in points, yards, first downs, passing yards, passing touchdowns, net yards per attempt and rushing touchdowns. After beating the Steelers in the Wildcard round, San Diego had scored 30 or more points in seven consecutive games, and had topped 40 points twice and 50 points once. Superman, meet Kyrptonite. The '82 Dolphins ranked 2nd in the league in points allowed, 1st in yards allowed, 1st in first downs allowed, 1st in passing yards allowed, 1st in interceptions, 1st in net yards per attempt allowed and 2nd in passing touchdowns allowed. The hype preceding a game featuring the best pass offense and the best pass defense didn't match the performance. San Diego turned the ball over a whopping 7 times, and was outgained by over 150 yards by the low-octane Dolphins. San Diego scored just thirteen points, in the final playoff game for all the key members of the Air Coryell era.
After '82, Coryell wouldn't have another winning season. His peak was very short, as far as NFL coaches go: from 1974 to 1982, he didn't have a losing season. But he never had a winning season outside of that nine-year stretch. A short peak can be enough to build a HOF resume: Vince Lombardi coached GB for just nine seasons; Bill Walsh coached the 49ers for ten years. But Lombardi won five NFL championships and appeared in another title game; Walsh won three Super Bowls, set the record for wins in a season, and was partially responsible for at least one more championship the 49ers won after he left.
Coryell never won multiple playoff games in a season, never appeared in or won a Super Bowl, and had a losing playoff record. With a short peak that didn't burn hot, Coryell's coaching resume is simply not HOF-caliber. When I ranked the greatest coaching records of all-time, Coryell fell just outside the top 40; all 21 coaches in the HOF rank ahead of Coryell according to my formula. Every single modern HOF coach won or appeared in multiple championship games, or won more games than Coryell, or both. His resume as a coach just doesn't stack up.
Bill Belichick, Bill Pacells, George Seifert, Dan Reeves, Mike Shanahan, Tony Dungy, Mike Holmgren, Bill Cowher, Marty Schottenheimer, Chuck Knox, Buddy Parker, Blanton Collier, Tom Flores, Jimmy Johnson, Dick Vermeil, Jeff Fisher and Andy Reid are all potential HOF coaches. Some of them have obviously more impressive resumes than Coryell, but all of them have arguably more impressive ones. A 111-83-1 record with more post-season failures than accomplishments is not a HOF resume for a head coach.
But Coryell isn't necessarily remembered by most as a great coach, but as a great innovator and teacher. At least eight Super Bowl Championships can be tied for Coryell. The Raiders under Madden (1) and the Redskins under Gibbs (3) both won titles in part because of his influence; both HOF coaches have said as much. The Rams Greatest Show on Turf Offense was a modern day version of Air Coryell, with Al Saunders (another Coryell disciple) teaming with Martz to create one of the greatest offenses in league history. Ernie Zampese, another offensive assistant under Coryell in San Diego (college and pro), won Super Bowl XXX as OC of the Cowboys. The other two Cowboys titles in the '90s came with Norv Turner as OC, and he teamed with Zampese in Los Angeles beforehand and then implemented much of the Coryell offense in Dallas.
Would Dan Dierdorf, Charlie Joiner, Dan Fouts or Kellen Winslow be in the HOF had they never worked under Coryell? For that matter, would Art Monk, Troy Aikman or (perhaps one day) Kurt Warner be Hall of Famers if Dan Coryell never came to the NFL? As a head coach, Coryell's accomplishments don't stand out as exceptional. But his impact on the game was legendary, and you'd be hard pressed to find a current head coach who would disagree.
Chances that Don Coryell is selected in 2010: Not good
Chances that Don Coryell eventually gets selected: Below average
This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 5th, 2010 at 8:21 am and is filed under HOF, Player articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Coryell was a really great offensive coach, no doubt about it.
But defensively that 1981 Chargers team was 26th in pts allowed, 27th in yards allowed, and 27th in passing NY/A allowed -- of 27 teams in the league. That's dead last.
The 1982 "best version" Chargers team was 24th, 25th, and 24th, respectively.
Head coaches are supposed to coach defense too. At least Hall of Fame ones are.
The downfall for Coryell and the Chargers was the trade of Fred Dean to San Francisco at the beggining of the 1981 season. San Diego's defense, with Dean was in the top 10 in yards allowed from 1978-1980, after that they were in the bottom of the league, as Jim Glass pointed out.
Don Coryell may never get into the Hall of Fame because of his defenses! He was never a great coach and he never won a championship! He in my mind has no shot to make it to Canton!
Yeah, I doubt he gets in. It sounds like he was an exceptional OC who got promoted beyond his level of expertise. But even at that, his teams may have won something if they hadn't turned it over so many times in big games. That reflects his schemes as well.
Coryell is arguably the most important offensive coach of all time. That's why he keeps getting nominated, and that's why he deserves to be in. Think of him as an innovator, not strictly as a head coach.
He's not being nominated for his accomplishments as a head coach, though he was a good one. He's nominated for revolutionizing the way teams play offense. It would be hard to overstate his impact on the game.
@ Jim,
Hall of Fame head coaches don't have to coach defense. But they do need to put coordinators & position coaches in place to handle the areas of the team that they have no expertise. Bill Walsh couldn't coach defense; but he knew that, and put people in place to develop a good defense to go along with his innovative offenses. That is the failing of Coryell -- not having good defensive coaches to develop even an average defense to go along with the best offense in the NFL in that era. An average defense certainly would have given him a Super Bowl appearance, and perhaps a title as well. That is what makes him a good head coach, but not Hall of Fame worthy.
Chargers had horrible managment/owner/front-office. Don should not shoulder any of the burden of the defense sucking. It was not his responsibility to scour the country for a good DC or the best defensive players. He was a good coach, and part of the evolution of the way the game was played. It would be a travesty to not induct him, and no numbers (that arn't soley related to judging a coach's success) can refute that.
I agree with Brad O. Nobody had an impact on offensive football (since the advent of the forward pass) more than Don Coryell. It's a disgrace he isn't already in the Hall of Fame.
If respect among peers alone can get a man in the Hall then Coryell is a lead-pipe cinch. As a voter I'd be sitting on the fence with this one. But as a fan, nothing would please me more than to see him take the podium.
I think he should be. Impact through innovation counts for a lot in my book, even if it isn't reflected in his personal coaching record. I don't think raw coaching records are particularly valuable as a metric for measuring a coach anyway.
@ Jim, Hall of Fame head coaches don't have to coach defense ...
Pedantry in a football forum. Who'd have imagined?
They don't have to coach offense either, nor special teams -- if by "coach" one means personally draw all the Xs and Os and micro-manage the O and D game plans and play calling.
But they do have to "coach" the whole dang team -- all three units -- by dint of being "head coach". That's what the term "head coach" means: responsibility for the entire team. Coaching in the broad term, what we mean when we think of Brown, Lombardi, Noll, Walsh, Shula, Ray Handley, Rich Kotite, whether they were their own coordinators on O and D or not.
As to Coryell as a HoF-er: Anyone who supports him going in as an "offensive innovator" or such will get no argument from me, as per my first comment: "Coryell was a really great offensive coach, no doubt about it."
But as to him being a "HoF head coach", one would have to blind oneself from looking at a long run of Ds on his teams -- Ds he was responsible for -- that were not merely bad but historically bad. Possibly unmatched in NFL history bad. (Someone more adept than me at using the search function here would have to check it.)
Let's look at the data. For defensive figures I picked team rank for points allowed, yards allowed, and net yards/pass attempt allowed.
First, Coryell in St. Louis:
(Year, Pts, Yds, NY/A)
1973: 23, 26, 26 -- of 26 teams
1974: 8, 17, 12
1975: 11, 18, 16
1976: 16, 12, 19 -- of 27 teams
1977: 23, 24, 22 -- of 28 teams
Average: 16.2, 19.4, 19 of 26.6 teams.
Then on to San Diego. There was a good D in place there before he arrived that he inherited, ranked in 1977: 6, 6, 3.
In mid-season 1978 he took over after five games, the D ranked: 21, 8, 3.
From then on, the D rankings with him in charge:
1979: 2, 5, 5 -- of 28 teams
1980: 18, 6, 4
1981: 26, 27, 27
1982: 24, 25, 24
1983: 28, 26, 24
1984: 24, 26, 27
1985: 25, 28, 27
1986: 24, 23, 24 -- dismissed after 8 games
That five-year run from 1981-1985 is really extraordinary, averaging 25.4, 26.4, 25.8, of 28 teams.
Basically that's a run of being 26th of 28 -- worse than 92% of the teams in the league -- consistently for five straight years.
I suspect that might be the all-time record for worst sustained Ds ever fielded by any head coach, if only because anyone else would have been fired after two or three years like that.
(I can hardly believe a streak like that could survive regression to the mean. Dumb random chance should have improved that D.)
In 12 years as a HC Coryell's Ds total average rankings were: 19th, 20th, 19.4 -- of 27.4 teams.
When evaluating him as a "great" head coach worthy of the HoF -- responsible for the entire team as all HCs are -- how does one ignore all these D performances and that five-year "streak"?
As a great OC, offensive innovator, a guy who belongs in the Hall of Fame because he coached a lot of famous shoot-out games? Fair enough.
Though if he had shifted just some of his resources and efforts from O to D, he might have had a winning record in a larger number of boring playoff games, instead of the losing record in a small number of exciting and memorable ones he had.
(And not to be cynical, but perhaps some -- not all -- of his O rep comes from the fact if a coach puts near all of his team's finite resources in developing the O, depriving the D of them, the O ought to be pretty good as a starting point, even before applying any genius to it.)
Jim does have a point. I wonder if it wouldn't make more sense for Coryell to go to Canton as a contributor instead of a coach. Bert Bell was a terrible head coach (10-46-2), but he's in the Hall of Fame for his importance to the NFL and the game of football. Coryell was a good head coach, but there were more successful HCs whom I wouldn't support for the Hall. The real reason Coryell should be in is his innovation, his contributions to the modern passing game.
There is precedent for people to be inducted based on consideration of more than one facet of their games. Guy Chamberlin and Ray Flaherty were all-pro ends and good HCs, but they probably wouldn't be in Canton without both their playing and coaching accomplishments. Mike Ditka beat John Mackey into the Hall partially because of his coaching. Dick LeBeau, a Seniors nominee this year, is technically up as a player, but everyone understands that his contributions as a defensive coach are just as much a part of his résumé.
If we induct Coryell as a coach, I think there's an implicit understanding that he'd be in as much for his contributions to offensive philosophy and strategy as for his 111-83-1 record and playoff runs. Coryell was a good HC, yeah. But obviously he's not being nominated just for what he did as a head coach, and suggesting that's how he should be judged misses the point. Let's induct him as a coach and just realize that he's really a coach/contributor.
"Whether it was good fortune or good coaching, Coryell inherited three young linemen who would become stars in the mid-'70s: Dan Dierdorf, Conrad Dobler and Tom Banks. Jim Hart, Jim Otis and Mel Gray -- the main passer, rusher and receiver during the Coryell years in St. Louis -- were all in St. Louis when Coryell arrived, as well."
He also inherited future HOF cb Roger Wehrli. Still, Coryell did an impressive job in St. Louis and his leaving there had more to do with Bill Bidwell's notorious bungling/tight-fistedness than anything else. The four-game losing streak in '77 was just an excuse.
Most of the naysayers about Don don't get it!! Coryell changed the way the game was played. He was an innovator.....like Sid Gilman. He redefined the Head Coach position and
changed it from being based on playerfear and intimidation to one of "I'm the boss, head teacher and facilitator." In the era of the Civil Rights Movement, this was true and genuine genius. Just ask his players.
I understand some of the thinking on defense. You have to look at the ownership too. Bill Bidwell was killing the morale of the team. That is why Coryell left. In San Diego, you had an owner who was really interested in making money. He actually sold players for cash. Why, becuase people came to see the offense and he balanced that by selling the defense.
Gene Klein sold the team to Alex Spanos because it was apparent in San Diego that he would not do what was right.
Spanos came in the way Bidwell did. He installed a BASEBALL SCOUT as Director of Player Personnel. Ron Nay would not listen to Coryell, in making draft or trade decisions.
The ownership has an influence on the success of the Coach. I think you would have seen championships if he had a better owner supporting him. Truth is Cory won everywhere he went.
One way to measure if any head coach/manager is can they turn a loser into a winner. The Packers before Lombardi had not had a winning season since forever, then in Lombardi's first season they went 7-5.
Coryell was the same with the Cardinals, in first season they were only
4-9-1, but they were not regarded as a patsy and some thought that with the Redskins showing signs of aging they could contend.
That's what happened starting in 1974, those three seasons when the Cardinals went 31-11-0 are the only years that team ever won 10+ games more than 1 time.
When he was fired what happened to the Cards, they never made the playoffs until 1982, and that only because of an expanded format because of the strike. Since 1982 the Cards have made the playoffs 3 times.
Same in San Diego the Chargers had not a winner since the merger they had not had a contender since 1965, the way the Chargers were playing in 1978 they would have won the AFC West.
They then proceeded to win the AFC West 3 straight seasons and got into the conference title game in 2 of those years.
In both Saint Louis and San Diego he had lousy owners who appeared to wanted to LOSE! The Bidwell's were more interested in running a blackmail/extortion racket than running a Super Bowl winner.
In San Diego the "owner" was the Commissioner's sock puppet. A person mentioned Bill Walsh having gifted DC's while Coryell didn't, this is true,
but Walsh was also GM and Coryell wasn't.
Coryell deserves to be in the HOF just for being able to field winners when his bosses wanted him to lose.