Summer School: The Air Coryell Offense

We continue the Summer School series with a look at what makes the Coryell offense so great.

Don Coryell was the head coach of the San Diego Chargers from 1978 to 1986. In those nine years, his team led the NFL in passing yards six times, including every year from 1979 to 1983. His offensive scheme was an evolution of another Chargers coach, Sid Gillman, and pushed the limitations of the vertical passing game in ways football had never seen. As such, his offense went down in history as one of the best the league history. The gaudy numbers and high-flying style earned his style the nickname "Air Coryell."

Concepts

Vertical spread

The thing that defines the "Air Coryell" the most is that it…