In what can only be considered one of sports' ongoing injustices, Don Coryell was once again passed over for entry into the 2010 NFL Hall of Fame class today. Coryell, former head coach of the San Diego Chargers as well as the St. Louis Cardinals and the SDSU Aztecs, made the final 15 for the first time, but did not gain entry. The 44 selectors chose Emmitt Smith, Jerry Rice, Russ Grimm, Ricky Jackson, Floyd Little and Dick LeBeau and John Randle for the Hall's class of 2010.
Undeniably one of football's most influential and innovative minds, Coryell, 85, is credited with creating the modern-day passing game that continues to bear his stamp to this very day. Known for his high-flying "Air Coryell" Chargers from 1978 through 1986, Coryell tried things that those before him never had. He spread the field with multiple-receiver sets, attacked defenses vertically, lined up his tight end in various places and made him a vertical threat and essentially created the "H-back" position, a hybrid fullback/tight end.
In turn, defenses had to drastically change to keep up with the way he used so many different formations and personnel groups. Coryell essentially forced the creation of nickel and dime defenses.
Successful offensive coaching wizards from Bil Walsh to Ernie Zampese to Mike Martz to current Chargers head coach Norv Turner have all used the Coryell blueprint to form their own offensive schemes and philosophy.
But Coryell's teams never went to or won a Super Bowl, which might explain the continued slight. Which is a shame, because the NFL's unsurpassed popularity owes a big part of its success to the genius of Don Coryell. One can only hope the Hall of Fame's acknowledgment isn't a posthumous one.
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