Celebrating ‘Air Coryell’

Don Coryell

By Johnny McDonald

Air Coryell was an exciting brand of football that produced marvelous results for San Diego State and the Chargers.

To prove that football fans still remember, retired coach Don Coryell received a long, standing ovation when introduced at the San Diego Hall of Champions’ Sports at Lunch on Sept. 13. He was joined by four of his former players, including moderator Fred Dryer, who played for his Aztecs before great pro football and acting careers.

It was an entertaining program, with Ed White, Willie Buchanon and Hank Bauer talking about the human side and thoughtful days of a man solely dedicated to football.

His great seasons with the Aztecs were even more remarkable because he often had to do the job with only 23 or 24 scholarships available.

“There was no way we could compete with most of the teams on our schedule by using the I-formation that I used early in my career,” Coryell said. “We weren’t going to run over anybody. We just didn’t have the offensive line, but we did have some very good quarterbacks and receivers.”

Coryell had three seasons without a loss — 1966, ’68 and ’69 — and a pair of unbeaten streaks that reached 25 and 31 games.

He coached at Whittier College (1957-59) and San Diego State (1961-72) and his teams compiled an astounding 127-24-3 record.

He took those credentials and an innovative offense to the NFL, where he enjoyed success with the St. Louis Cardinals and Chargers before retiring in 1986. He was the only coach in history to win 100 games in college and the NFL.

Dryer said Coryell’s wide-open offense was enhanced by an efficient organization and no-fear football.

“His approach to the game created not only followers among his fans but of those who played for him,” he said.

“When I first arrived at the New York Giants training camp, I found them not as well organized as Coryell’s San Diego State teams.

“There was something special about the coach that you wanted to do that much more for him,” Dryer said.

“He knew everything that was going on and had a great feel for the game.”

With the Aztecs, Dryer recalled that Coryell only recruited junior college transfers. “That meant he had to work with a new team about every year,” he said.

The panel agreed their old coach fed on challenges. “If his team was deep in its territory, he became excited about how much of the field lay ahead,” Dryer said.

Buchanon recalled that when Coryell came to see him at MiraCosta College, the coach said he had one more scholarship and that was for a lineman. After viewing a film, he told Buchanon: “We’re going to be great.”

Bauer recalled a terrible Chargers loss to Green Bay and the day in 1978 when coach Tommy Prothro was forced out.

The television football analyst said the stress from the situation was compounded by a PSA plane crash that morning in North Park, in which all aboard were killed.

“Suddenly, we’re introduced to our new coach, Don Coryell,” Bauer said. “With this tragedy on our minds, here comes a guy who only wants to talk football.”

“I knew of the plane crash but I felt football came first in my mind,” Coryell answered.

White, who first met the coach at the East-West game, said Coryell’s recruiting approach was to interject the feeling that it was going to be a fun and happy situation.

Coryell and his wife Alisa lead a very private life on an island in the Puget Sound for six months each year and in a remote area of Hawaii the rest of the time.