“It’s only proper that [Don Coryell] gets into the Hall of Fame,” says former Chargers wide receiver John Jefferson. “It is not about if he won the Super Bowl—not in his case.”

Don "Air" Coryell.

^Chargers.com

Many also believe the legendary San Diego coach belongs in the Hall of Fame for his far-reaching influence and impact on the National Football League. This is demonstrated in the design of his offense, the defense developed to match it, the nurtured talent of many powerful players, and the style and decision-making techniques passed down to generations of coaches.

Players, coaches and now fans have an opportunity to influence the selection for the class of 2010. For the first time, the Pro Football Hall of Fame is allowing fans to vote for a promotional version of the Class of 2010. Anyone can go to www.fanschoice.com to vote, and post feedback via comments and videos.

On January 8, the NFL Network will announce the 15 finalists for the Hall of Fame. [UPDATE: Don Coryell is now among those 15 finalists, as announced by the NFL.]

The class of 2010 will then be announced live on the NFL Network on February 6.

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Former Chargers quarterback Dan Fouts is a proactive Coryell fan. Fouts sent a letter to each of the voting members of the Hall of Fame, encouraging their consideration of Coryell. When Fouts was inducted into the Hall of Fame, he chose Coryell to be his presenter. In his 1993 induction speech, Fouts said: “To me the Hall of Fame is about influence on and contribution to the game of pro football. I was lucky enough to play for and with such worthy individuals. There is no coach that has had as big an influence on how football is played today as had Don Coryell.”

Dan Fouts: A Coryell fan.

^Chargers.com

With creative play-making and leadership skills, Coryell brought instant success at all levels throughout his coaching career. He is remembered for being “Air Coryell,” the architect of a dynamic Chargers offense that led the NFL in passing for seven seasons.

Mike Martz, who won Super Bowl XXXIV (1999 season) as the offensive coordinator of the St. Louis Rams’ “Greatest Show on Turf,” and lost Super Bowl XXXVI (2002 season) as the Rams head coach, says Coryell’s offense can still be seen today in the NFL.

“Don is the father of the modern passing game,” Martz recently told SDNN.com. “People talk about the ‘West Coast’ offense, but Don started the West Coast decades ago and kept updating it. You look around the NFL now, and so many teams are running a version of the Coryell offense. Coaches have added their own touches, but it’s still Coryell’s offense. He has disciples all over the league. He changed the game.”

Martz is an alum of San Diego High School, where he first became exposed Coryell’s offense while attending San Diego State University (SDSU) games at Balboa Stadium.

Coryell’s profound impact on football goes far beyond his influence on the passing game, though.

Don Halte first remembers marveling over Coryell when he met him as a Whittier High School student in 1957. At the time, Coryell was in his first year as head coach at Whittier College. Coryell was running the ball under the Power-I formation, still a popular running formation used in colleges and the NFL today.

Paul Zimmerman, “Dr. Z” of Sports Illustrated, writes about Coryell creating the Power-I. “Coryell used it in 1955 at Wenatchee Valley, a junior college in Washington, in one year to turn a winless team into one that was undefeated and went to the Potato Bowl,” he says.

Coryell coached Whittier College from 1957 through 1959, replacing Hall of Famer George Allen. In all three seasons, Whittier won the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title.

Coryell left Whittier in 1960 to become running backs coach for the University of Southern California (USC). The following year, SDSU hired Coryell as its head coach. And San Diego would never be the same.

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Doug Wilkerson.

^Chargers.com

Coryell brought with him a philosophy of running the ball first offensively and building a team through the junior college system.

Halte had pursued, but did not receive, a scholarship to play for Coryell at Whittier College. However, he did become a junior college All American.

“When I found out Coryell was going to San Diego State, I knew that was where I was going,” says Halte. “For the three years I played for him; he ran the ball. He didn’t throw the ball a lot. He had not become ‘Air’ Coryell yet…We ran the ball under the I-formation under Mario Mendez and Kern Carson, and we ran very effectively.”

So effectively, that Coryell promptly turned the Aztecs around and led them from a 1-6-1 record in 1960 to a 7-2-1 record in 1961.

With Rod Dowhower (1963-1964) at QB and future Charger Gary Garrison (1964-1965) receiving, Coryell’s offensive playbook began to incorporate more passing plays.

In 1966, Dowhower became an assistant coach at SDSU. Under Coryell’s direction during practices, Dowhower had Horn run creative passing plays with his receivers Craig Scoggins, Tom Nettles, Ted Washington, and Haven Moses.

The Aztecs opened the 1966 season by whipping under-matched Mexico Polytechnic 45-0. However, Polytechnic would not prepare the Aztecs for their next opponent, Weber State, who, at the time, was a powerhouse and had Lee White at fullback (who would later be drafted by the Chargers). Arguably, this game marks the true beginning of the Air Coryell offense.

Horn recalls the Weber State game. “I remember getting tackled after I threw a pass at the end of the first quarter and we were down, I believe, 20-0,” he says. “We hung in there until halftime, and then we totally threw our game plan out and made up a new one for the second half. We implemented the shotgun. The spread formation is what they call it today, and we started throwing on virtually every down.”

“I had never seen anything like it,” says Moses. “He changed the entire offense at halftime, and we ended up coming back and winning, 34-30. To have a mind like he did pretty much shows for itself his ability to create mismatches to his advantage.”

Five weeks later, the Aztecs took on the defending champions North Dakota State, a team that hadn’t lost a game in two years, and was ranked number one in the nation. The game took place in front of the all-time largest crowd at Balboa Stadium.

The Aztecs won the game, 36-0, earning SDSU the ranking of number-one small college team in the nation. Ultimately, the Aztecs went 11-0 in 1966 and captured the Wire Service College Division Football National Championship. Coryell led the Aztecs to two more undefeated seasons in 1968 and 1969.

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On the early impact of Coryell’s offense on the NFL, Horn says, “Sid Gillman, Al Davis, and a lot of the pro scouts would be out watching us two to three times a week.” At the time, Gillman was head coach of the Los Angeles Rams, and Davis was head coach of the Oakland Raiders. Both are now members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Not only did Coryell’s style influence NFL head coaches, it also created opportunities for SDSU players.

“If you were a wide receiver or defensive back, you wanted to come to SDSU because you knew that you were going to get noticed,” says former SDSU defensive star Willie Buchanon. “At one point we had more people in the NFL than USC.”

At least 47 of Coryell’s SDSU alumni went on to participate in NFL camps—an astonishing number considering SDSU was a Division II college at the time.

Coryell’s SDSU assistant coaches were even more successful than his players. Notable among this group: John Madden, Joe Gibbs, Ernie Zampese, Jim Hanifan and Rod Dowhower.

Gibbs and Madden are members of the NFL Hall of Fame. In Madden's 2006 induction speech he said: “...then to San Diego State with a great coach that someday will be in here, Don Coryell. He had a real influence on my coaching.”

Coryell left SDSU as the most successful head coach in university history, with a 104-19-2 record.

In 1973, Coryell went to the NFL as head coach of the St. Louis Cardinals. The following year, the Cardinals won their first Division Championship in modern football, and Coryell won NFL Coach of the Year. The Cardinals repeated as Division Champions in 1975. In 1976 the Cardinals went 10-4 but did not win the division or advance to the playoffs. Following a 7-7 record in 1977, the Cardinals ownership became impatient for a Super Bowl appearance and Coryell was released.

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On September 24, 1978, in 102 degree heat at San Diego Stadium, Willie Buchanon was playing with the Green Bay Packers against the San Diego Chargers, who were coached by Tommy Prothro. Buchanon set an NFL record by intercepting four passes in a single game. These were thrown by quarterbacks James Harris, Cliff Olander and Fouts. The Chargers had started 1-3 on the season, and it was time for a coaching change.

The next day, Coryell was hired by the Chargers. Buchanon jokes: “I was the one who brought Coryell back to San Diego.”

“On that day, Don Coryell became head coach of the San Diego Chargers, and from that day since became Air Coryell,” says Doug Wilkerson.

(Contrary to popular belief, the nickname Air Coryell is not due to his passing offense. Just hours after Coryell was hired, San Diego was struck by a catastrophe. PSA Flight 142 crashed into North Park after striking Cessna 172, killing 144 people in the worst aviation disaster in California history. According to Wilkerson, the term "Air" Coryell was given to honor the victims of that disaster.)

Coryell never bought into the four-year plan for turning a football team around. He began to win immediately. In less than one season, Coryell transformed the Chargers into winners, finishing 1978 at 9-7.

On December 17, 1979, the Chargers defeated Denver, 17-7, at home on Monday Night Football, clinching the first of four consecutive AFC West Championships.

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Charlie Joiner: Don Coryell had

a big influence on his career.

^Chargers.com

The Pro Football Hall of Fame published an article entitled, “Air Coryell.” It describes the 1979-1983 Chargers as having, “The most explosive and exciting offenses that ever set foot on an NFL field.”

According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame: “[Fouts] led the NFL in passing yardage six straight seasons, from 1978 to 1983, and again in 1985. San Diego, which led the league in scoring in 1981 and 1982, averaged an astonishing 28 points per game during a span of 57 games from 1979 through 1982.”

Under Coryell, from 1978-83, the Chargers amassed more than 24,000 yards of total offense through the air. At the receiving end of Fouts’ passes were receivers John Jefferson, Wes Chandler, and Pro Football Hall of Famers Charlie Joiner and Kellen Winslow.

“When you think of modern day football, [Coryell] pretty much innovated it,” says Jefferson. “Everybody else pretty much copied it and took it from there.”

Joiner believes Coryell helped him become a Hall of Fame player. “When Coryell first got here, we were in a rut,” he says. “His offensive system fit my skills to achieve…His coaching had a big influence on me for the rest of my career.”

Joiner also believes Coryell should be credited for changes defenses throughout the NFL had to make to counter the Chargers offense. “Coach Coryell brought in the ‘nickel’ and ‘dime’ defenses” says Joiner. “Somebody who can make other teams play those kinds of defenses should be in the Hall of Fame.”

Running back Chuck Muncie also was a key element to the Air Coryell offense. He scored 39 touchdowns from 1981-1983. Muncie says media coverage for the NFL changed because of Coryell.

“When I first came here in 1980, they used to do the games with a six or seven camera shoot,” says Muncie. “Then the next year, because of the type of innovations on offense, they came in with the overhead camera and like four more cameras because of all the shifting that we did.”

There are two things all those connected with Coryell share. One, they love the man. Secondly, they believe he should be in the Hall of Fame. Says Muncie: “He is an innovator of the game. He has done so many great things in the community, and he’s just a special guy…Now that he’s a finalist, it is up to us—the Chargers organization, the players and the fans—to voice how important it is for him to get in.”