Air Coryell
Dan Fouts, Charlie Joiner, Kellen Winslow, and Don Coryell would all be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame from those Charger teams.
[5][6] After Coryell arrived in the NFL from jobs with college football teams, he set the league on its ear with his passing offenses.
He won two consecutive division titles (1974–1975) with the St. Louis Cardinals, whose offense emphasized the pass while running the standard pro set.
Mike Martz, who ran The Greatest Show on Turf with the St. Louis Rams, said, "Don is the father of the modern passing game.
Pass protection is critical to success because at least two of the five receivers will run a deep in, skinny post, comeback, speed out, or shallow cross.
Overall, the goal of the Coryell offense is to have at least two downfield, fast wide receivers who adjust to the deep pass very well, combined with a sturdy pocket quarterback with a strong arm.
The first is a strong inside running game, the second is its ability to strike deep with two or more receivers on any play, and the third is to not only use those two attacks in cooperation with each other, but to include a great deal of mid-range passing to a TE, WR, or back.
The Coryell offense introduced the concept of a tight end that ran wide receiver-type routes with Kellen Winslow in 1980.
[18] Tight ends previously were primarily blockers lined up next to an offensive lineman and ran short to medium drag routes.
"[23] Gibbs served as head coach of the Washington Redskins from 1981 to 1992, and during that time, he won three Super Bowls with a Coryell offense.
Gibbs's offense also showcased a 3-receiver deep air attack featuring Hall of Famer Art Monk, Gary Clark and Ricky Sanders, known as "The Posse".
Gibbs usually kept the tight end in as an extra blocker, especially to neutralize pass rushing specialist and Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor of the New York Giants.
Subsequently, Coryell's offense scheme was referred to as "Air Coryell"—the name announcers had assigned to his high powered Charger offenses in San Diego, featuring 3 Hall of Famers in QB Dan Fouts, WR Charlie Joiner, & TE Kellen Winslow,[25] as well as Pro Bowl WR Wes Chandler & HB Chuck Muncie.
In NFL coaching circles, the most famous and successful advocates of the Air Coryell system are Norv Turner, Mike Martz and Al Saunders.
[24] Turner's take on the Coryell system turned around the career of Hall of Fame QB Troy Aikman, and has also proven to be very successful with talented high draft picks struggling with the complexities of the NFL, such as Alex Smith.
His offenses tend to include a strong offensive line, a strong running game, a #1 WR who can stretch the field and catch jump balls in the end-zone, a good receiving TE to attack the space the WRs create in the middle of the field and a FB who fills the role of a lead blocker and a final option as an outlet receiver.
[27] In Dallas, Turner helped make RB Emmitt Smith & WR Michael Irvin Hall of Famers, and TE Jay Novacek a five time Pro Bowler.
As offensive coordinator of the Cowboys under head coach Jimmy Johnson, Norv Turner enjoyed great success, piloting Dallas to back-to-back Super Bowl titles in 1992 and 1993.
Besides Rivers, the Chargers featured a strong running game, starring Hall of Fame RB LaDainian Tomlinson.
Turner's offense also had a potent passing game, which featured multiple-time Pro Bowl TE Antonio Gates.
The Mike Martz variant was a much more aggressive passing offense, frequently deploying pre-snap motion and shifts, with the running game often forgotten.
The Martz variant favored an elusive feature back who can catch the ball, such as Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk, over the power runners the Turner scheme prefers.
[28] Martz first learned the Air Coryell offense as an assistant coach working under his mentor, Ernie Zampese.
[30] In 1999, Martz, then serving as offensive coordinator for Hall of Fame head coach Dick Vermeil, helped pilot the St. Louis Rams to victory in Super Bowl XXXIV.
Additionally, St. Louis's offensive line was strong, anchored by multiple-time Pro Bowler and fellow Hall of Famer Orlando Pace.
It does not insist on size at wide receiver or halfback like the Turner variant and as such has difficulties in short yardage and red zone situations.
"[35] Former head coach Marty Schottenheimer said "putting three receivers on one side and flooding that area" probably originated from the Coryell offense.
