Crazy Canton Cuts = Don Coryell

Don Coryell
Head Coach
Saint Louis Cardinals
San Diego Chargers
1973 - 1986
14 Seasons
111 Wins
First Coach With 100 Wins In Pro And College
Only Coach To Lead NFL In Passing 6 Straight Years
5 Division Titles



Donald David Coryell played college football at the University of Washington from 1949 to 1951 as a defensive back.  He then went into coaching, and became a head coach at Whittier College in 1957,  succeeding George Allen, who became a NFL Hall Of Fame coach.

He spent three years as the head coach of the Poets.  While there, he led the team to win the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title in each of his three seasons.  He had a record of 21 - 5 - 1 and is a member of the school's Hall Of Fame.

Coryell left Whittier after the 1959 season and was not a head coach in 1960. He then became the head coach of San Diego State in 1961, where his teams would make a significant impact on the college football universe.

Coryell stayed with San Diego State for 12 seasons until 1972.  In his 125 games there, the Aztecs won 104 of them.  Attendance jumped from 8,000 spectators per game to over 41,000 per game during his tenure. 

Three of his teams finished their seasons undefeated, and seven of them won both the California Collegiate Athletic Conference and later the Pacific Coast Athletic Association title.

His offensive genius also garnered nationwide attention while at San Diego State.  His 1969 team led the NCAA in total offense (532.2 yards per game), passing (374.2 yards per game), and scoring (46.4 points per game) in their undefeated season.

He also showed his innate ability to develop players, especially on offense.  He had 54 players go to the NFL from his teams, including five players drafted in the first round.  Nine of his players were First Team All-Americans.  In 1967, he had eight players drafted, and five went in the first two rounds.

The list of players he coached with the Aztecs included Haven Moses, Dennis Shaw, Brian Sipe, Willie Buchanon, Isaac Curtis, Don Horn, Fred Dryer, Joe Lavender, Don Shy, Claudie Minor, Tom Reynolds, Gary Garrison, Ralph Wenzel, Henry Allison, and noted actor Carl Weathers known best as Apollo Creed in the movie "Rocky".  Dryer also became an actor after his NFL career, starring in the television series "Hunter".

Shaw led the NCAA in total offense in 1969, and would go on to become the first quarterback to win the NFL Offensive Rookie Of The Year Award in 1970.  Only three other quarterbacks have won that award since.

Buchanon won the 1972 NFL Defensive Rookie Of The Year Award and is a member of the Green Bay Packers Hall Of Fame and their All-Time Team.

Sipe led the NCAA in passing in 1971, while Reynolds led the NCAA in receiving.  Sipe's successor was Jesse Freitas, who was also recruited by Coryell.  Freitas would lead the NCAA in passing in 1973.  Sipe would later be named the MVP of the NFL in 1980.

The Coryell coaching tree from his Aztec era is very impressive as well. 

Joe Gibbs was a player on Coryell's team at first and won the team's Most Inspirational Player Award in 1963.  Gibbs later became a graduate assistant, then assistant coach at San Diego State. 

He also was an assistant under Coryell with both the Cardinals and Chargers before becoming head coach of the Washington Redskins.  Gibbs is a member of the Pro Football Hall Of Fame.

Another Pro Football Hall Of Fame coach who coached under Coryell at San Diego State was John Madden.  Madden would join the Oakland Raiders in 1967, and then become the youngest head coach of the league the next season at 32 years old. 

After a very successful stint with the Raiders, Madden became a popular NFL analyst on television and video game mogul.

Joe Gibbs' coaching career was almost cut short by Madden. 

Gibbs was working under Madden, who was the defensive coordinator for Coryell.  There was an annual spring football game approaching, and Coryell had Gibbs coach the team that would face Madden's team in the game.

Madden approached Gibbs and asked him what plays would be run, so Madden could prepare his team.  Gibbs refused to disclose the plays, so Madden asked Coryell to mediate the situation. 

Coryell told both Gibbs and Madden to treat it as real game, without the disclosure of plays to either side.

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