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Maybe they’ll posthumously put Don Coryell in the Pro Football Hall of Fame

July 2, 2010 by John Stansberry  

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I was sad to hear that football coaching legend Don Coryell passed away today at the age of 85.  In the history of football, few men put more entertaining teams on the field than Coryell did.

His work with the Chargers is what he’s most remembered for, but unfortunately for him, folks weren’t satisfied with just appreciating how exciting those teams were to watch.  No, on the contrary, they always wanted to knock him for never winning a Super Bowl.

This is the same legacy bullshit that will follow LeBron James around until he finally climbs the mountain.  Oh, excuse the hell out of Coryell for coaching in an era when the Steelers and Cowboys soaked up Super Bowl wins and the 49ers were just starting their run of dominance.  Did that make him less of a coach?

Well if it’s dominance the critics want, then people need to scan further down Air Coryell’s resume.  While coaching at San Diego State from 1961 through 1972, he posted a 104-19-2 record.  From ‘65 through ‘69, his record was a sick 41-1-1 and included three College Division national titles.  FORTY ONE, ONE AND ONE.

I don’t care what level of football you’re coaching in, that’s pretty damn impressive.   Hell, if San Diego State came close to those numbers today, they’d probably have the Pac-10 begging them to join.

He was the first coach to win 100 games in college and pro football and is currently enshrined in the college Hall of Fame.  However, no bust of Coryell sits in Canton, ostensibly because he never won a Super Bowl.  Damn, are people really that friggin’ shortsighted?  Rest in peace, Don, you never got all of the credit you deserved.

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3 Comments on "Maybe they’ll posthumously put Don Coryell in the Pro Football Hall of Fame"

  1. clingy on Fri, 2nd Jul 2010 6:43 am 

    how much did air coryell have to do with kellen winslow being a giant asshole?

  2. Julie Ogborne on Fri, 2nd Jul 2010 7:39 am 

    Today’s passing game is a direct descendent of Don’s passing game. Yes, Kellen Winslow was and is a complete ASS, but that does take away from Don’s incredible coaching ability. He truly was the John Wooden of College football…. Innovative, successfull and good person.

  3. clingy on Fri, 2nd Jul 2010 8:31 am 

    uh, julie, he was a good coach but you think he is the “john wooden of college football?” he wasn’t even coaching d-1 back then.

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