1978 San Diego Chargers season

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1978 San Diego Chargers season
Head coach Tommy Prothro (weeks 1-4)
(5th season)
Don Coryell (weeks 5-16)
(1st season)
General manager Johnny Sanders
(Since 1976)
Owner Gene Klein
(Since 1966)
Home field San Diego Stadium
Results
Record 9–7
Division place 3rd AFC West
Playoff finish did not qualify
Pro Bowlers
AP All-Pros

The 1978 San Diego Chargers season was the team's 19th season, and 9th in the National Football League.

The Chargers improved on their 7–7 record in 1977. This season included the "Holy Roller" game. It was Don Coryell's first season as the team's head coach, replacing Tommy Prothro after four games, and the team's first 16 game schedule.

Said the 2006 edition of Pro Football Prospectus,[3] "The Chargers were one of the worst franchises in the NFL before they hired Don Coryell four games into the 1978 season. The Chargers were 1–3 at the time, but finished 8–4 under Coryell, winning seven of their last eight games for the franchise's first winning record since 1969.

Blessed with Hall of Famer Dan Fouts, the creative Coryell always designed potent offenses, but the San Diego Defense didn't catch up until 1979.

1978 NFL Draft

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Main article: 1978 NFL Draft
1978 San Diego Chargers draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 14 John Jefferson *  Wide receiver Arizona State
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 September 3, 1978 at Seattle Seahawks W 24–20
55,778
2 September 10, 1978 Oakland Raiders L 21–20
51,653
3 September 17, 1978 at Denver Broncos L 27–14
74,983
4 September 24, 1978 Green Bay Packers L 24–3
42,755
5 October 1, 1978 at New England Patriots L 28–23
60,781
6 October 8, 1978 Denver Broncos W 23–0
50,077
7 October 15, 1978 Miami Dolphins L 28–21
50,637
8 October 22, 1978 at Detroit Lions L 31–14
54,031
9 October 29, 1978 at Oakland Raiders W 27–23
52,612
10 November 5, 1978 Cincinnati Bengals W 22–13
43,639
11 November 12, 1978 Kansas City Chiefs W 29–23
41,395
12 November 19, 1978 at Minnesota Vikings W 13–7
38,859
13 November 26, 1978 at Kansas City Chiefs L 23–0
26,248
14 December 4, 1978 Chicago Bears W 40–7
48,492
15 December 10, 1978 Seattle Seahawks W 37–10
49,975
16 December 17, 1978 at Houston Oilers W 45–24
49,554

Standings

AFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Denver Broncos(3) 10 6 0 .625 7–1 8–4 282 198 L1
Seattle Seahawks 9 7 0 .563 4–4 6–6 345 358 W1
Oakland Raiders 9 7 0 .563 3–5 5–7 311 283 W1
San Diego Chargers 9 7 0 .563 5–3 7–5 355 309 W3
Kansas City Chiefs 4 12 0 .250 1–7 4–10 243 327 L2

Roster

1978 San Diego Chargers Team Starters
Rookies in italics

Offense

14   Dan Fouts          QB
26   Lydell Mitchell    RB
33   Don Woods          FB
83   John Jefferson     WR
18   Charlie Joiner     WR
84   Bob Klein          TE

66   Billy Shields      LT
63   Doug Wilkerson     LG
62   Don Macek          C
67   Ed White           RG
70   Russ Washington    RT

Defense

68   Leroy Jones       LDE
74   Louie Kelcher     LDT
79   Gary Johnson      RDT
71   Fred Dean         RDE

50   Don Goode         LB
55   Bob Horn          LB
51   Woodrow Lowe      LB

45   Hal Stringert     LCB
29   Mike Williams     RCB
42   Mike Fuller       SS/PR
44   Pete Shaw         FS

Kicking Team

6   Rolf Benirschke   K
8   Jeff West         P
85  Artie Owens       KR

References

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  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Pro Football Prospectus 2006 (ISBN 0761142177), p.73-75


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