Don Coryell
Donald David Coryell (October 17, 1924 – July 1, 2010) was an American football coach, who coached in the NFL first with the St. Louis Cardinals from 1973 to 1977 and then the San Diego Chargers from 1978 to 1986. He was well known for his innovations to football's passing offense. Coryell's offense was commonly known as "Air Coryell". Coryell was the first coach ever to win more than 100 games at both the collegiate and professional level. He was inducted into the San Diego Chargers Hall of Fame in 1986. Coryell is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.
Early career
Don Coryell enlisted in the United States Army in 1943 and spent 3½ years as a paratrooper. He played defensive back for the University of Washington from 1949 to 1951. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Washington. He was a high school coach in Hawaii where his teams ran a version of the I formation running game. He would also coach at the University of British Columbia (where he compiled a 2 win, 16 loss record),Wenatchee Valley College, and a military team at Fort Ord. As head coach at Whittier College from 1957 to 1959, Whittier won conference championships in each of Coryell's three years. He would also rely on the I formation at Whittier. In 1960, he was an assistant coach under John McKay for the USC Trojans, where the I formation would be its signature offense for decades. While the origin of the I formation is unclear, Coryell was one of its pioneers.
