On January 18, 1973, Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill surprised everyone by announcing the hiring of Don Coryell as the new head coach of the St. Louis Football Cardinals.

The Cardinals were coming off consecutive 4-9-1 seasons under Bob Hollway, who had been fired after the last regular season game. Hollway was let go, in part due to his drab play calling and his inability to choose a starting quarterback. Bidwill admitted that he hired Coryell “to put the offense back in the Cardinals.”

The 48-year old had spent the last 12 seasons directing San Diego State University to a 104-19-2 record. The Aztecs averaged 45 points per game in 1969.

“I like to throw the ball,” Coryell said after the hire. “I’ve gone from ball-control philosophy to a wide-open style. I believe in attacking the defense. I don’t believe in waiting for other people to make mistakes.”

“I believe in the passing game. 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. And I desperately want to win.”

Coryell claimed to have only seen the Cardinals play a few games, but that didn’t prevent him from commenting on former number-one quarterback Jim Hart.

“Jim Hart threw well,” he said, “and what I like about him is that he can throw long and he can throw the deep sideline. Anyone who can do that, I feel, can be a great passer.”

Coryell was born in Seattle and played football and tennis in high school. In 1943, he enlisted in the Army for a special mission, a ski-troop infantry unit trained for mountain warfare. Showing elements of his leadership ability, he was selected for Officer Candidate School and became the executive officer of a regimental paratroop company.

“It really was good for me,” he said about his stint in the Army. “I was in there with college men, with people who had been out in the world, and I was winning their respect.”

After leaving the Army, he attended the University of Washington, where, in his senior. year, he started every game as a defensive halfback.

Coryell stayed at Washington to finish his master’s degree and then coached a few years of high school ball.

He got his big break in 1957 when he succeeded George Allen as head coach at Whittier College. In three seasons, he led the team to a 23-5-1 record, three conference titles, and the nation’s top passing offense in 1959.

He was hired at San Diego State in 1961 and first encountered the Cardinals while attending the 1972 East-West Shrine game in San Francisco. There, he ran into Big Red Director of Scouting Abe Stuber. After learning of the Cardinals’ situation, Coryell told Stuber that he would write a letter to Bidwill expressing interest in the job.

Stuber couldn’t wait to tell his boss about Coryell.

“Abe called me and said he couldn’t believe this Coryell,” Bidwill said in Coryell’s book Win With Honor, “His football knowledge, the people he knew, the people who knew him, all his enthusiasm.”

A week or so after receiving Coryell’s letter, Bidwill set up a meeting in San Diego.

“When I first met him,” Coryell said in his book, “there was Mr. Bidwill in a Cardinal golf shirt. I felt comfortable with him right away.”

“He was just the way he seemed in his letter—straightforward,” Bidwill said. “After talking football with him for a while, I could understand how he’d been so successful.”

A couple of weeks later, Coryell was hired.

Coryell coached in St. Louis for five seasons. During that time, he won two NFC East Division titles, led the Cardinals to their first postseason appearance in 26 years, and directed one of the most exciting offenses in the NFL. He became the winningest coach in franchise history.

But transforming the Cardinals from a doormat to a winner wasn’t enough. He was fired after the 1977 season.

He eventually returned to San Diego and was the architect of the Chargers record-setting offense known as Air Coryell.

Don Coryell passed away in 2010 at the age of 85. In 2023, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Coryell is still third in Cardinals franchise history with 42 wins.