Don Coryell, innovative former coach of Chargers and Cardinals, picked as Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist

Innovative offensive coach Don Coryell, who helped usher in the modern passing game to the NFL, was picked as a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's class of 2023.

The former Chargers and Cardinals coach was announced Wednesday as the candidate from a group of 12 coaches and contributors. Coryell will get into the Hall if he is supported by at least 80% of the full Hall of Fame panel of voters next January.

Coryell had a 111-83-1 record in 14 NFL seasons, won three playoff games and never reached a Super Bowl.

But his impact on the game with his famous «Air Coryell» offense in San Diego was transcendent as he took advantage of rule changes that opened up the passing game in the late 1970s and put together an offense that still influences the game today.

After a successful collegiate stint at San Diego State where he helped groom future Hall of Fame coaches John Madden and Joe Gibbs, Coryell took over the St. Louis Cardinals in 1973.

He led a franchise that won at least 10 games only twice in 53 seasons before he arrived to three straight double-digit win seasons and the team's only two division titles in St. Louis with Jim Hart as his quarterback. Coryell won Coach of the Year in 1974.

But his greatest success came when he took over the Chargers early in the 1978 season and teamed with Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Fouts to form one of the NFL's most dynamic passing games.

With an offense that featured pre-snap motion, only one running back and thrived on throwing the ball downfield, the Chargers changed how offenses played the game.

The success was immediate with the Chargers making the playoffs in Coryell's first four full seasons with back-to-back trips to the AFC title game in 1980 and '81.

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