July 14, 2010

Madden: 'Something Missing' in Hall without Coryell: John Madden became emotional Monday delivering the eulogy for Don Coryell, upset that his friend is not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. "You know, I'm sitting down there in front, and next to me is Joe Gibbs, and next to him is Dan Fouts, and the three of us are in the Hall of Fame because of Don Coryell," Madden said. "There's something missing."

posted by rcade to football at 04:34 PM - 8 comments

There was something missing here as well. I don't think Don Coryell got a farewell nod on SpoFi - so here it is. RIP Coach Coryell.

posted by beaverboard at 04:34 PM on July 14, 2010

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posted by DudeDykstra at 08:58 PM on July 14, 2010

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posted by irunfromclones at 01:45 AM on July 15, 2010

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posted by tommybiden at 08:10 AM on July 15, 2010

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posted by yzelda4045 at 08:46 AM on July 15, 2010

I watch NFL network all the time, and I haven't heard of him before he passed away. Is influencing others to great heights enough for the HOF?

RIP

posted by bperk at 09:39 AM on July 15, 2010

That's on the NFL Network. Air Coryell was the parent of the West Coast Offense (he said, without double-checking his facts). He's one of the patriarchs of the modern offensive game. While the Bolts never won the Super Bowl, Coryell wasn't simply an influence.

posted by yerfatma at 10:23 AM on July 15, 2010

Coryell's Chargers almost got to the Super Bowl. Other coaches have had tough weather luck and you accept bad weather as part of the game, but it still pains me to think of Coryell having to bring his Chargers to Cincinnati for that brutally cold AFC championship game against the Bengals in 1982. I thought he deserved a better fate than that.

The Chargers had just won that incredible overtime game against the Dolphins the week before (one of the all time greats - they must show it on ESPN Classics now and then, I'm guessing).

The minute I saw the weather report and game conditions for the conference title game in Cincy, I did not feel good about the Chargers' chances. My fears were realized. They were never in it.

Nothing against the Bengals. They were well run and well coached at the time and were a worthy Super Bowl opponent for the 49'ers (who won their first SB championship that year).

But that was as close as Coryell would get to the Super Bowl, and I would have loved to have seen him get there just once.

posted by beaverboard at 05:22 PM on July 15, 2010

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