Don Coryell developed the “Air Coryell” offense while he was with San Diego State (West Coast) between 1961 and 1972. While coach of the Aztecs, he often watched Chargers practices. Coryell added his own innovations and took the NFL by storm when he assumed the head coaching position of the Chargers in 1979.
The Air Coryell Offense has four basic principles which are stretch the field, protect the passer, confuse the defense and run it down their throats. The offensive line is composed of maulers to employ the power running game. The line blocks in a zone scheme, meaning they block anyone that comes into their zone. The offense is based on passing, so the wide receivers run intermediate to long-range routes. In order to give these routes time to develop, quarterback protection is paramount. Three wide-receiver sets are the base offense and used about 90% of the time (goaline situations dictate a tighter formation). Motion and shifting is also heavily used to confuse the defense.
