Sports at Lunch, Don Coryell and former players

Don Coryell’s former players with the Chargers and San Diego State Aztecs gathered at the San Diego Hall of Champions on Sept. 13 for Sports at Lunch to talk football with the coach that shaped their lives off the field and the game they played on the field that Coryell shaped at both the college and professional levels.

But it wasn’t long before the players’ respect for their old coach turned into a bit of as roast as they told stories. They spoke of their teams’ successes as well as Coryell’s legendary focus on football that made him forgetful at mundane daily tasks such as driving or not noticing a player as they passed in a hallway.

“You watch pro football or college football today, and the wide open offenses that have to be defended were influenced by Don’s philosophies,” said Fred Dryer, a San Diego State All-American defensive end and NFL player for 13 years with the Rams and Giants. “I always thnk about what Don said in 1967, my junior year. He said the more field you have, the more fun you have. So if you’re on the 1-yard line, we have 99 yards to play with. That was his philosophy and the kind of environment you played in at San Diego State.”

The fans gathered for Sports at Lunch laughed as they enjoyed another opportunity to recognize the coach who shaped San Diego football as a coach with the Aztecs for 12 years (1961-1972) and the Chargers (1978-86).

Dryer served as the moderator and was joined on stage by Willie Buchanon, Hank Bauer, Ed White and Coryell to talk about their days with the Aztecs and Chargers.

San Diego State was a small school when Coryell arrived and graduated to Division I-As status in 1969 in the Pacific Coast Athletic Association. But Dryer talked about how advanced football was at SDSU, even for a future first-round draft pick in 1969 by the New York Giants such as Dryer.

“When I went to the Giants, I was disappointed,” Dryer said. “The Giants didn’t have a philosophy or a system by which people could thrive. Anytime you were on one of Don’s teams, with the Aztecs, the (St. Louis) Cardinals or the Chargers, you got the feeling if you had ability or talent he would push it. The fun thing about his teams is they were efficient and aggressive.”

With the Aztecs, Coryell’s teams were 104-19-2 with CCAA titles in 1966 and 1967 and PCAA titles in 1969 and 1972. He had unbeaten teams in 1966 and 1969 and a 9-0-1 team as an independent in 1968 while making the transition to Division I-A and joining the PCAA.

Buchanon was an All-American cornerback for the Aztecs in 1971 under Coryell and played again with him with the Chargers when he was acquired in a trade in 1979 after beginning his career with the Green Bay Packers.

“When I got in the NFL, it was easy after playing at San Diego State,” said Buchanon, the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year with the Packers in 1972. “I learned everything I knew from Don, Ernie Zampese and Claude Gilbert. We had a system. Coryell developed the tight end as a wide receiver when he split Tim Delaney 5 yards out. They call the passing games today the West Coach offense. That was Don’s system.”

Bauer, who played and coached for the Chargers and is now the Chargers’ radio broadcast analyst, talked about how Coryell could be so lost in football thoughts.

“I was walking down the hallway one day and I said to hello to Coach,” Bauer said. “He walked right past me, and I had to tell myself, ‘He’s thinking about football. He doesn't hate you.’ ”

Ed White, who played and coached for Coryell with the Chargers and is now an Aztecs assistant coach, spoke about Coryell’s style of pep talks.

“When I was in Minnesota with Bud Grant, he was a man of few words, and I don’t think he spoke a sentence to me in nine years,” White said. “Getting with coach, he wanted us to be killer dogs, killer ducks and killer bees. We were a bunch of 30-year-old guys running around the field quacking and barking. He made football a fun experience, and one I didn’t want to stop playing.”

Dryer also told humorous stories about driving with Coryell on his recruiting trip to SDSU and Coryell catching him riding a motorcycle on campus in a flowing choir robe. What made the stories so funny? You should have been at Sports at Lunch.

Tom Shanahan can be contacted at 619-699-2334 or toms@sdhoc.com.