1998 San Diego Chargers season

1998 San Diego Chargers season
OwnerAlex Spanos
General managerBobby Beathard
Head coachKevin Gilbride (fired Week 6, 2–4 record)
June Jones (interim, 3–7 record)
Home fieldQualcomm Stadium
Results
Record5–11
Division place5th AFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers
AP All-Pros

The 1998 San Diego Chargers season was the franchise's 29th season in the National Football League (NFL), its 39th overall and was the second and final season under Kevin Gilbride. After a 2–4 start, Gilbride was fired and June Jones coached the final ten games of the season as interim head coach, the team going 3–7 under his stewardship. San Diego's defense led the league in yards allowed; however, a weak offense under infamous draft bust quarterback Ryan Leaf meant that the team was last in the AFC West. The team scored a total of 241 points, an average of 15.1 points per game, the second lowest in the NFL, with only the Philadelphia Eagles performing worse with 161 (10.1 per game).[3][4]

With the retirement of Stan Humphries, the Chargers went into the draft seeking a new quarterback. There were two outstanding prospects; when Indianapolis took future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning as the #1 pick, Leaf went to San Diego. Immediately named the starter, he began 2–0 before an infamous performance at Kansas City, after which he was caught on camera shouting at a reporter.[5]

Leaf finished with 15 interceptions and only two touchdown passes in ten games; Craig Whelihan replaced him as the starter for the final seven games, but also performed poorly. The two combined for 34 interceptions, the worst tally in the NFL for a decade; San Diego had 51 turnovers in total, 8 more than any other team in 1998. The inexperienced quarterbacks were hampered by the departure of star receiver Tony Martin during the offseason. In his absence, Charlie Jones led the team with 699 yards, while tight end Freddie Jones had the most receptions with 57. Natrone Means returned to lead the rushing attack after two seasons in Jacksonville. He performed well prior to a season-ending injury, gaining 883 yards in ten games.

On defense, Norman Hand was promoted to starting defensive tackle, and led the team with 6.0 sacks; Greg Jackson had the most interceptions, with six. Pro bowlers Junior Seau and Rodney Harrison made 115 and 114 tackles respectively – the most any other player had was 63. Kicker John Carney, who had been injured for most of the previous season, returned and converted 26 attempts out of 30.

The ineffective offense and rookie Leaf's obnoxious behavior toward teammates damaged morale; outside linebacker Lew Bush recalled

"Try going into a game you have no chance of winning, knowing that if you give up more than one touchdown, it's over

Strong safety Rodney Harrison described the season as

a nightmare you can't even imagine. If I had to go through another year like that, I'd probably quit playing".[6]

Following the season, Oregon State head coach Mike Riley was named Chargers' head coach.

  1. ^ "1998 NFL Pro Bowlers". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  2. ^ "1998 NFL All-Pros". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  3. ^ "1998 San Diego Chargers Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  4. ^ "1998 Philadelphia Eagles Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  5. ^ Pennington, Bill (September 24, 1998). "PRO FOOTBALL; Leaf Seeks Turnabout Following Tantrum". The New York Times.
  6. ^ Silver, Michael (August 30, 1999). "San Diego Chargers – After a season of discontent there's reason to be upbeat". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved February 21, 2012.