Don Coryell

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Don Coryell (* 17th October 1924 in Seattle , Washington ; † 1 July 2010 in La Mesa , California ) was an American American football - coach in the National Football League (NFL).

College coach

After three years as head coach for Whittier College and one year as assistant to John McKay at USC Trojans , he moved to San Diego State University as head coach . Here he coached the San Diego Aztecs from 1961 to 1972 and achieved a win rate of 104 wins to 19 defeats with two draws. At times, John Madden was his assistant coach for defense .

National Football League (NFL)

St. Louis Cardinals

After his departure from the Aztecs, he was head coach of the St. Louis Cardinals between 1973 and 1977 and won NFC East twice in 1974 and 1975 with Jim Hart as quarterback . In 1974 he was named NFL Coach of the Year Award by the Associated Press . In addition, he scored with a record of 42-27-1, a winning percentage of around 67 percent, whereas Cardinals were able to win only 45 percent of their games in the 22 previous seasons. Although his activity in St. Louis made up only a small part of his coaching activity, he created his offensive tactic called Air Coryell at the Busch Memorial Stadium there . The assistant coach of the offensive backfield was Joe Gibbs .

San Diego Chargers

He developed this tactic further when he became head coach of the San Diego Chargers in 1978 . During his activity there, which lasted until 1986, his innovations led the team to 69 wins and 56 defeats. During this time, the quarterback Dan Fouts- led offense set new NFL records almost every season. Two other pillars of his team were the wide receiver Charles Joiner and the tight end Kellen Winslow . Although he led the San Diego Chargers to the AFC Championship Game in 1980 and 1981 , he never made it to the Super Bowl . The offense coach was again Joe Gibbs between 1979 and 1980. During his 14 years as head coach in the NFL, he achieved a rate of 111 wins with 83 losses and one draw.

In February 2010, Coryell was first on the list of nominees for inclusion in the Pro Football Hall of Fame , but was not accepted despite prominent supporters. Yet his innovations were influential; so he created the offensive system called "Air Coryell" and the so-called three digit play-calling system , which is used by almost every team in the NFL today. A move called "896" denoted z. B. that one wide receiver (1st position) takes a path coded with "8" (diagonal inwards), the tight end (2nd position) takes a path coded with "9" (straight down), and the other wide receiver (3rd position) takes a path coded with "6" (rectangular path inwards). The players only had to remember a three-digit number in order to know exactly which move was meant.

Air Coryell

Coryell is best known for his attack tactics called "Air Coryell". It is based on the preparatory work of Sid Gillman , who is considered to be the pioneer of the passing game in the NFL. Air Coryell emphasizes a fast, precise passing game, which in turn requires a high degree of timing between quarterback and pass recipient. A special feature is that not only wide receivers, but also running backs and tight ends have to run exact routes and have safe hands. The Air-Coryell-System often uses long throws in depth, which are taken by a strong quarterback on fast, safe wide receivers and a versatile tight end. Coryell brought out the qualities of quarterback Dan Fouts , wide receiver Charles Joiner and tight end Kellen Winslow , all of whom were accepted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Air Coryell is similar to the West Coast Offense , but emphasizes more depths than widths.

military service

During World War II , Coryell served in the 10th Mountain Division .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Speak My Language , grantland.com
  2. ^ Cait Murphy: A History of American Sports in 100 Objects. New York, 2016: Basic Books. ISBN 978-0-465-09774-6 (pages 93-97, in English).
personal data
SURNAME Coryell, Don
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American football coach
DATE OF BIRTH October 17, 1924
PLACE OF BIRTH Seattle , Washington (State)
DATE OF DEATH July 1, 2010
Place of death La Mesa , San Diego County, California