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Well known for his innovations in football's passing game, in particular the Air Coryell offense he created with the Chargers, Coryell was the first head coach to win more than 100 games at both the collegiate and professional levels.
- NFL: 117–95–1 (.552), NCAA: 127–24–3 (.834)
- October 17, 1924, Seattle, Washington, U.S.
- 114–89–1 (.561)
- Washington
- Soldier
- The Making of A Coach
- Coryell Begins to Tinker
- Coryell Develops A Passing Game
- Turnaround at San Diego State
- The Aztecs Become A Juggernaut
- Coryell Heads to The NFL
- The Cardinals Get on Track
- Coryell Returns to San Diego
- Chargers Put on A Passing Display
Donald David Coryell was born on October 17, 1924, in Seattle, Washington. Coryell doesn’t have the type of origin story that many pro football players do. He enjoyed sports as a youth but wasn’t overly athletic. After playing football at Lincoln High School in Seattle, Coryell enlisted in the U.S. Army to help out with the war effort. World War II...
When he returned home to attend college, Coryell found himself among a large number of World War II vets that wanted to play college football. Coryell wasn’t a standout player, but he did find a home as a defensive back for Washington. Away from the gridiron, Coryell found his future calling when he began studying physical education. Coryell receiv...
Two years after arriving at UBC, Coryell escaped football purgatory and returned to Washington State. There he was hired as the head coach at Wenatchee Valley College. Seeing an opportunity to improve a squad that hadn’t won a contest in 1954, Coryell recruited players from all over the Western United States and Canada. When he gathered his new rec...
After one year at Fort Ord, Coryell found his way to Whittier College in Whittier, California. Coryell replaced George Allen who left the school to work for the LA Rams (and would become a successful NFL head coach). The 1957 Poets team ran the Power I, but Coryell happened upon a copy of Texas Christian University coach Dutch Meyer’s book about th...
Coryell’s rise as a football coach was swift. After spending a year with McKay and USC, he was hired to be the new head coach at San Diego State University in 1961. At the time, SDSU was a Division II school and Coryell knew he couldn’t compete with the likes of UCLA, USC, Cal, and Stanford for California-based athletes. So, he embarked on a tour o...
As Coryell’s teams began to win, and the Aztecs proved an exciting program to watch, the coach found he had no shortage of talented athletes that wanted to play for him. With such notable assistants as John Madden, Ernie Zampese, and Joe Gibbs, the SDSU offense became known as “Air Coryell”and produced numerous lopsided wins. In many games, SDSU cr...
For the next three years, SDSU continued dominating its competition and compiled a 25-8 combined record between 1970 and 1972. By the end of the ‘72 season, Coryell had won three small school national championships, three bowl games, seven conference titles, had win streaks of 25 and 31 games, and never posted a losing recordin 12 years. Between 19...
When Coryell arrived in St. Louis in the spring of 1973, the first order of business was finding a quarterback. He found his man sitting on the bench. At that point in his career, Jim Hart was entering his eighth season and had spent a large majority of the 1972 season as a backup. Coryell changed that immediately. Hart stepped up his game and spen...
In 1976, the Cards won 10 games (and Hart led the NFL in touchdown passes) but failed to make the playoffs. St. Louis’ double-digit wins between 1974 and 1976also marked a first in franchise history. Then, after a seven-win season in 1977, Coryell got upset when Bidwell did not re-sign Metcalf. That transgression was the latest in a long list of co...
When Coryell took over for Prothro, the Chargers were 1-3. It didn’t seem possible to Coryell that San Diego had so many losses. After all, their roster included quarterback Dan Fouts, rookie receiver John Jefferson and veteran receiver Charlie Joiner. Coryell immediately installed his Air Coryell offense and San Diego went 8-4 for the remainder of...
People also ask
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Jul 13, 2010 · Remembering former Aztecs and Chargers head football coach Don Coryell drew tears, but much more laughter. The winningest coach in SDSU history was memorialized Monday by his family and former coaches and players before 2,000 guests at Viejas Arena.
Aug 24, 2022 · Innovative offensive coach Don Coryell, who helped usher in the modern passing game to the NFL, was picked as a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's class of 2023.
Jul 31, 2023 · Nearly two weeks after Don Coryell died in 2010 at age 85, an impressive lineup of Hall of Famers gathered to remember the innovative coach whose “Air Coryell” offense produced some of the most dynamic passing attacks in NFL history.
SAN DIEGO — Nearly two weeks after Don Coryell died in 2010 at age 85, an impressive lineup of Hall of Famers gathered to remember the innovative coach whose "Air Coryell" offense produced some of the most dynamic passing attacks in NFL history.
Feb 9, 2023 · Don Coryell, the pioneering Chargers head coach of the late 1970s and 1980s who led the National Football League into an era of explosive offensive football, has been officially selected for enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the Hall announced on Thursday.
