Don Coryell, the best coach in St. Louis football Cardinals history and the innovative coach whose “Air Coryell” offense produced some of the most dynamic passing attacks in NFL history, has died. He was 85.
The San Diego Chargers confirmed Coryell died Thursday at Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa, just outside of San Diego. The team did not release the cause of death, but Coryell had been in poor health for some time.
In Coryell's five seasons, the Cardinals captured two division titles (there was no wild card) and went 42-27-1 for a winning percentage of .607. In their other 22 seasons in St. Louis, the Cardinals won 45 percent of their games.
Coryell's days in St. Louis represent a relatively minor part of his story. The "Air Coryell" offense took flight at Busch Stadium II but truly soared in San Diego. When Coryell took over the Chargers in 1978, he elevated his offense to a new level, and his ingenuity changed the game.
Coryell is one of the founding fathers of the modern passing game. He coached at San Diego State from 1961-72 and went 104-19-2. He left the Aztecs for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1973. With Jim Hart at quarterback, the Cardinals won division titles in 1974 and ’75 behind Coryell.
He returned to coach the Chargers in 1978.
From 1978-86, his “Air Coryell” offense — led by quarterback Dan Fouts — set records and led the NFL in passing almost every season. Coryell guided the Chargers to the AFC championship game after the 1980 and ’81 seasons, but he never reached the Super Bowl.
In 14 NFL seasons, he had a record of 111-83-1. He was a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in February but was not selected for induction.
But Coryell's innovations, influence and impact were profound.
Consider, as Bernie Miklasz wrote from the Super Bowl:
- Coryell originated the three digit play-calling system that most NFL teams use today.
- Coryell invented the one-back offense. And as part of that scheme, he developed an entirely new position, the H-back.
- Coryell came up with one of the most substantial innovations in modern football by splitting the tight end wide, away from the formation. The deployment required a leaner, faster tight end who could outrun linebackers and outmuscle defensive backs.
Kellen Winslow was the prototype, and he became a Hall of Famer under Coryell. Many NFL teams adopted the Coryell philosophy, and over the last 25 years we've seen dramatically increased production from NFL tight ends. Winslow, Shannon Sharpe, Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates, Dallas Clark, Jason Witten are all the result of the Coryell design.
- Coryell's coaching tree has produced an impressive collection of top coaches. Hall of Fame coach John Madden began his career as a Coryell assistant. So did Joe Gibbs, who went on to coach the Washington Redskins to three Super Bowl championships.
Coryell's top assistant, Ernie Zampese, orchestrated the offense that played a major role in the Dallas Cowboys winning three Super Bowls in the 1990s. Zampese trained Norv Turner, who was the offensive coordinator for two of those Cowboys' titles. Mike Martz is a football descendant of Coryell; the Rams' "Greatest Show on Turf" carried the Coryell imprint.
These various offensive systems spawned a long list of Hall of Famers, including Gibbs, Madden, Winslow, Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, John Riggins, Charlie Joiner, Dan Fouts, Art Monk, Dan Dierdorf and Jackie Smith. And Emmitt Smith is likely to join that list with his selection today.
Coryell's guys have rallied around his candidacy. Hall of Fame selectors (including the Post-Dispatch's Bernie Miklasz) have received a dozen endorsement e-mails from former Coryell players and coaches.
"His forward way of thinking forever changed the game of football, " Winslow wrote in a letter to voters. "The playing and coaching careers of many individuals, many of whom you have already enshrined in Canton, are due to the thinking and implementation of Air Coryell. You cannot watch a professional football game today and not see the influence Coryell has had on the game."
And in his note, Gibbs called Coryell "a football genius" and said, "Don pioneered the way for an explosive passing game in our league."
