| 1978 San Diego Chargers season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Eugene V. Klein |
| General manager | Johnny Sanders |
| Head coach | Tommy Prothro (resigned Sept. 25, 1–3 record) Don Coryell (interim, 8–4 record) |
| Home field | San Diego Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 9–7 |
| Division place | 4th AFC West |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers | |
| AP All-Pros | 2[2]
|
The 1978 San Diego Chargers season was the team's 19th season, and ninth 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...."
New head coach Coryell lost three out of his first four games before ending the season by winning seven out of the last eight.
Fouts had lost the starting job in Prothro's last game in charge, but grew in confidence as the season progress — 917 of his 2,999 passing yards came in the final three games alone. He had more attempts, completions, yards and touchdowns than in any of his five previous seasons in the NFL, and posted a league-leading 7.9 yards per attempts.[4] Rookie John Jefferson had a strong year, with 56 catches for 1001 yards. He also scored a league-leading 13 receiving touchdowns, tying a rookie record set in 1952 by Billy Howton.
San Diego brought in Lydell Mitchell to strengthen the running game; in each of the three previous seasons, he had rushed for over 1,000 yards with Baltimore. While less effective in a Charger uniform, he did post 820 yards, while adding 500 more on a team-leading 57 catches. Hank Bauer was used as a short-yardage specialist — 6 of his 9 touchdowns were runs of 1 or 2 yards.
The defense slipped slightly, from 6th to 8th in terms of yardage, but remained a solid unit. Fred Dean had 13.5 sacks, and Mike Fuller ran one of his four interceptions back for a touchdown. Second-year kicker Rolf Benirschke made 18 kicks out of 22; his success rate of 81.8% was the second best in the league.[5]