(Updated Jan. 18, 2020)
Don Coryell was the best coaching hire in St. Louis Cardinals football history.
On Jan. 18, 1973, the football Cardinals, responding to an unsolicited letter, hired Coryell to be their head coach.
An innovator known for producing winning college teams and high-powered offenses, Coryell overcame his lack of NFL experience and transformed the Cardinals into a championship-caliber club.
In five seasons (1973-77) under Coryell, the Cardinals posted a 42-27-1 record and twice qualified for the playoffs. Those were the Cardinals’ first playoff berths since 1948 and their first division titles since moving from Chicago to St. Louis in 1960.
Few predicted such success in January 1973. The Cardinals had finished the 1972 season with their second consecutive 4-9-1 record under head coach Bob Hollway. They ranked 23rd in scoring in the 26-team NFL.
Coryell, 48, had a 104-19-2 record in 12 years at San Diego State. He had developed future NFL players such as quarterbacks Dennis Shaw of the Bills, Don Horn of the Broncos and Brian Sipe of the Browns, and receivers Isaac Curtis of the Bengals and Gary Garrison of the Chargers.
Outside of the San Diego area, Coryell was “an unfamiliar name to most,” according to The Sporting News.
In the book “Big Red: The Story of the Football Cardinals,” author Bob Burnes said reporters at the St. Louis press conference announcing Coryell’s hiring asked, “Don who?”
Seeking a challenge, Coryell had written a letter to Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill, inquiring about the job after Hollway was fired. “People told me that, if I wanted a college coach, there was this guy at San Diego State,” Bidwill said.
Coryell received a three-year contract from the Cardinals. The only other candidate considered for the position was former Packers quarterback Bart Starr, United Press International reported.
“I wanted someone who could put the offense back into the Cardinals,” Bidwill said. “(Coryell) has always had this. He comes to us very highly recommended from many sources. He has a consistent record of winning seasons.”
Said Coryell: “I believe in a wide-open style of play. I like to throw the ball. I believe in attacking the defense.”
One reason Coryell was confident he could succeed was the presence of quarterback Jim Hart on the Cardinals’ roster. Hollway had soured on Hart and had tried Gary Cuozzo and Tim Van Galder at quarterback in 1972.
“(Hart) can throw long and he can throw the deep sideline pattern,” Coryell said. “If he can do that, I know he can throw the short stuff. I want a quarterback who can explode the ball, particularly against the zone defense.”
Years later, Hart told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “After the first meeting we had with him, and he started talking about how he liked to throw the ball … It was like, ‘Whoa, you got us, pal.’ ”
“I believe in the passing game,” Coryell said. “I’m not a coach who builds on defense. If you’re playing a team with more talent, the only way to win is by throwing the ball well.”
After a 4-9-1 record in 1973, St. Louis was 10-4 and won a division championship in Coryell’s second season, 1974. Hart thrived in an offense with running backs Jim Otis and Terry Metcalf; receivers Mel Gray, Earl Thomas, Jackie Smith and J.V. Cain (Ike Harris and Pat Tilley later contributed significantly); and linemen Dan Dierdorf, Conrad Dobler and Tom Banks.
The Cardinals were 11-3 and won a second consecutive division title in 1975. They won seven times in the last minute of a game that season, earning the nickname “Cardiac Cardinals.”
Winning championships with flair, the football Cardinals began to rank in popularity with the baseball Cardinals, who went without a championship in the 1970s, and Coryell began to emerge as an iconic coach.
A 10-4 finish in 1976 was followed by a 7-7 record in 1977. Coryell and Bidwill feuded over control of the draft and personnel decisions. Disenchanted, Coryell went back to San Diego to coach the Chargers and led them to the NFL playoffs in four consecutive seasons.
Previously: 1987: year of the Smiths, Ozzie and J.T., for Cardinals
RetroSimba 
Stands out (with Ariens) among a cast of mediocre and dreadful HC’s in Cards history. Leave it to W Bidwill to blow it.
Yes, it’s a shame his run with the Cardinals was just 5 years.
Reblogged this on THE BIG RED ZONE.
If Bill Bidwill could have swallowed his pride and give Coryell more of a say, the Big Red would still be in St. Louis. “Higher Critics”, that say St. Louis is only a baseball town, have no idea what there saying. Back in the old days, they would only televise the home games if it was a sellout. I think all of us can remember watching quite a few home games on CBS Channel 4 with Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshire. Those were the great years.
Well said, thanks.
[…] suffered an elbow injury that caused him to miss the final two games of Don Coryell’s first season as coach of the Big Red. Even though the Cardinals finished with a 4-9-1 record for the third consecutive year, Hart and his […]