Don Coryell
Don Coryell went 126–24–3 as a head coach, 1957–1972, at Whittier and San Diego State. Share
11 seasons our game records don’t credit to him come from the coach’s Wikipedia article: 1957–59 at Whittier; 1961–68 at San Diego State (on file under another coach). They’re marked in the table.
- Record
- 126–24–3 career
- Seasons
- 15
- Schools
- 2
- Final AP top 10
- 0 seasons
- Hall of Fame
- 1999 inducted
- Best season
- 1969 11–0
Season by season
| Season | School | Record | Conference finish | Bowl | AP final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Whittier * | 6–2–1 | 1st | |||
| 1958 | Whittier * | 8–1 | 1st | |||
| 1959 | Whittier * | 8–2 | 1st | |||
| 1960: not a college head coach | ||||||
| 1961 | San Diego State * | 7–2–1 | T–3rd | |||
| 1962 | San Diego State * | 8–2 | 1st | |||
| 1963 | San Diego State * | 7–2 | 2nd | |||
| 1964 | San Diego State * | 8–2 | 2nd | |||
| 1965 | San Diego State * | 8–2 | 3rd | |||
| 1966 | San Diego State * | 11–0 | 1st | Camellia W | 1 | |
| 1967 | San Diego State * | 10–1 | 1st | Camellia W | 1 | |
| 1968 | San Diego State * | 9–0–1 | 1 | |||
| 1969 | San Diego State | 11–0 | 1st | Pasadena Bowl W | 18 | |
| 1970 | San Diego State | 9–2 | T–1st | |||
| 1971 | San Diego State | 6–5 | T–4th | |||
| 1972 | San Diego State | 10–1 | 1st | 20 | ||
Each season links to the team’s season page; bowls and playoff games link to the game. Conference finishes from the Wikipedia article’s record table. * A season our game records don’t credit to him; its record is the article’s.
Players he coached
Willie BuchanonNo. 7 pick, 1972- Isaac CurtisNo. 15 pick, 1973
Every player from his seasons with a Heisman top-five finish, a national award, consensus All-America honors or a first-round pick.
How his teams did
| Kind of game | Games | Record | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Against rivals | 8 | 6–2 | 75% |
| Conference games | 21 | 17–4 | 81% |
| Bowls and playoffs | 1 | 1–0 | 100% |
| Decided by 8 points or fewer | 8 | 5–3 | 63% |
| At home | 25 | 22–3 | 88% |
| On the road | 18 | 13–5 | 72% |
| At neutral sites | 1 | 1–0 | 100% |
| As our Elo’s favorite | 37 | 31–6 | 84% |
| As our Elo’s underdog | 7 | 5–2 | 71% |
His own 44 games on file, 1969–1972, as played (vacated wins counted, ties as half a win). Ranks are the AP poll going into the game; rivals are the ones either program’s Wikipedia article names; favorite and underdog by our own Elo rating, which reads only scores.
Against other head coaches
| Coach | Record | Their schools | Games | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rod Rust 1969–1972 | 4–0 | North Texas | 4 | |
| Darryl Rogers 1969–1972 | 3–1 | Fresno State | 4 | |
| DeWayne King 1970–1972 | 2–1 | San José State | 3 | |
| Johnny Majors 1970–1972 | 1–2 | Iowa State | 3 |
Don Coryell’s record against the head coaches he met three or more times, from the games on file, as played.
Most-faced opponents
| Opponent | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|
| North Texasseries | 4 | 4–0 |
| Pacificseries | 4 | 4–0 |
| San José Stateseries | 4 | 3–1 |
| Fresno Stateseries | 4 | 3–1 |
| Long Beach Stateseries | 4 | 2–2 |
| California–Santa Barbaraseries | 3 | 3–0 |
| Iowa Stateseries | 3 | 1–2 |
| Northern Illinoisseries | 2 | 2–0 |
Career
| Years | Team | Job | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Washington | Assistant coach | |
| 1951 | Punahou (HI) high school | Assistant coach | |
| 1952 | Farrington HS (HI) high school | Head coach | |
| 1953–54 | UBC | Head coach | |
| 1955 | Wenatchee Valley | Head coach | |
| 1956 | Fort Ord service team | Head coach | |
| 1957–59 | Whittier | Head coach | |
| 1960 | USC | Assistant coach | |
| 1961–72 | San Diego State | Head coach | |
| 1973–77 | St. Louis Cardinals NFL | Head coach | |
| 1978–86 | San Diego Chargers NFL | Head coach |
Every job as the infobox of his Wikipedia article lists it (CC BY-SA), assistant jobs included.
Coaching tree
Worked under
- Howard OdellWashington
- John McKayUSC
Assistants who became head coaches
- John MaddenHancock, Oakland Raiders
- Ron DowhowerStanford, Vanderbilt, Indianapolis Colts
- Claude GilbertSan Diego State, San José State, Southwestern (CA)
- Ray WillseyCalifornia, St. Louis Cardinals, London Monarchs
- Ray PerkinsAlabama, Arkansas State, New York Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jones County
- Jack PardeeHouston, Florida Blazers, Chicago Bears, Washington Redskins, Houston Gamblers, Houston Oilers, Birmingham Barracudas
- Marv BradenTruman State, United States International
- Jim MoraUCLA, UConn, Colorado State, Atlanta Falcons, Seattle Seahawks
Worked under (2)
| Head coach | Team | Years | His job | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Howard Odell | Washington | 1950 | Assistant coach | |
| John McKay | USC | 1960 | Assistant coach |
Coached under him, later head coaches (8)
| Coach | With him | Head coach at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Madden | San Diego State, 1964–66: defensive coordinator | Hancock, Oakland Raiders | |
| Ron Dowhower | San Diego State, 1966: graduate assistant; 1967: quarterbacks and wide receivers coach; 1968–72: offensive coordinator; St. Louis Cardinals, 1973: quarterbacks and wide receivers coach | Stanford, Vanderbilt, Indianapolis Colts | |
| Claude Gilbert | San Diego State, 1967–68: offensive line coach; 1969–72: defensive coordinator | San Diego State, San José State, Southwestern (CA) | |
| Ray Willsey | St. Louis Cardinals, 1973–77: defensive coordinator | California, St. Louis Cardinals, London Monarchs | |
| Ray Perkins | San Diego Chargers, 1978: offensive coordinator | Alabama, Arkansas State, New York Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jones County | |
| Jack Pardee | San Diego Chargers, 1981: defensive coordinator | Houston, Florida Blazers, Chicago Bears, Washington Redskins, Houston Gamblers, Houston Oilers, Birmingham Barracudas | |
| Marv Braden | San Diego Chargers, 1981–85: special assistant | Truman State, United States International | |
| Jim Mora | San Diego Chargers, 1985: defensive quality control coach; 1986: assistant defensive backs | UCLA, UConn, Colorado State, Atlanta Falcons, Seattle Seahawks |
From coaches’ Wikipedia infoboxes (CC BY-SA) and each season’s article for its coordinators: an assistant’s seasons at a school count under its head coach in our records; jobs in the NFL and elsewhere, under the head coach whose own article lists the job that year. Names without a page here link to their Wikipedia articles.
Books
Books: Open Library (CC0); most-reissued first, each linked to its page there.