Arizona Cardinals: Reliving Don Coryell’s Hall of Fame Career
By Sion Fawkes
The Arizona Cardinals saw one of their own recognized at the NFL Honors Ceremony last night in former head coach Don Coryell.
Many may know Don Coryell for his time with the San Diego Chargers, but back when the Redbirds were still known as the St. Louis Cardinals, Coryell led the charge between 1973 and 1977. Coryell was easily the Cardinals best coach during the franchise’s “dark days” between 1948 and 1998, leading the team to two NFC East titles in 1974 and 1975.
During his five seasons as the Cardinals coach, he led them to two playoff appearances during those NFC East-winning seasons. St. Louis also finished lower than third place in the division just once, which occurred in 1973, Coryell’s first season on the job.
Overall, Coryell finished his tenure in the Gateway to the West at 42-27-1. His 7-0 start in 1974 wouldn’t occur again until 2021, when the Kliff Kingsbury, yes, Kliff Kingsbury-led Arizona Cardinals won their first seven contests and very nearly, their eighth.
Arizona Cardinals are seeing a former coach finish his career in Canton
Coryell left the Cardinals for the San Diego Chargers following the 1977 season, where he led the Bolts to five straight winning records between 1978 and 1982. In three of those five years, the Chargers won the AFC West, and his tenure was perhaps best-known for the 1982 Divisional Playoff Game (1981 Season) now known as The Epic in Miami.
He’s also best remembered for being the brains behind the “Air Coryell” offense, a system that embraced the vertical passing game and is one of the philosophies out there responsible for shifting the NFL into a passing-friendly league. Under the “Air Coryell” offense, the Chargers paced the NFL in passing offense between 1980 and 1983, and again in 1985.
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Coryell finished his tenure in the NFL with an overall record of 111-83-1, with five division titles between his time in St. Louis and San Diego. Although he never reached the Super Bowl, Coryell’s teams came within two contests of the Big Game every time they made the playoffs.
(Historical data provided by Pro-Football-Reference)
Article Source: Former Cardinals head coach Don Coryell elected to Pro Football Hall of Fame by Jake Anderson
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