Don “Air” Coryell the maverick NFL coach and innovator of the modern day passing game is Dead at 85. Outsiders saw him as a very intense, focused offensive genius coach. But Coryell’s players say he liked to laugh and have fun and wanted his players to be happy.
Known for his high-flying ” Air Coryell ” aerial passing attack, Coryell tried things that those before him never had. He spread the field with multiple-receiver sets, attacked defenses vertically and essentially created the “H-back” position, a hybrid fullback/tight end.
Super Bowl champion coaching wizards Bill Walsh and Mike Martz used the Coryell blueprint to form their own offensive schemes, strategy and tactics.
A rarity, Coryell actually cared about his players. Legend Don Coryell, who put team and family above all else, will be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 2011.
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