Coryell Offense - History of The Name

History of The Name

Originally it was known as the West Coast offense until an article about San Francisco 49ers Head Coach Bill Walsh in Sports Illustrated in the early 80s incorrectly called Walsh's offense "the West Coast offense," and this mis-labelling stuck. 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 Hall of Famers QB Dan Fouts, WR Charlie Joiner, & TE Kellen Winslow, and Pro Bowl WR Wes Chandler & HB Chuck Muncie. Today it is also known as the "Coryell offense", although the "vertical offense" is another accepted name.