Dan Fouts

Hall of Fame quarterback who led the Air Coryell offense and set consecutive passing records.

Dan Fouts is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League (NFL) throughout his 15-season career (1973–1987).

Quick Facts

Position: Quarterback
Born: 10 June 1951
Birthplace: San Francisco, California, U.S.
High school: Marin Catholic (Kentfield, California), St. Ignatius (San Francisco)
College: Oregon (1969–1972)
Draft year: 1973
Draft pick: 64
Former teams: San Diego Chargers (1973, 1987)

Lore & Background

Fouts led the NFL in passing yards for four straight years from 1979 to 1982 (still a consecutive-years record), and he became the first player in league history to throw for 4,000 yards in three straight seasons, breaking the NFL single-season record for passing yards each time. He was voted a Pro Bowler six times (1979–1983 & 1985), first-team All-Pro twice (1979 and 1982), and in 1982 he was the Offensive Player of the Year. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993, his first year of eligibility.

Reader's Guide

Fouts played college football for the Oregon Ducks, where he broke numerous records, and was later inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame and the University of Oregon Hall of Fame. He was a third-round draft pick by the Chargers in 1973. Fouts struggled during his first three seasons in the league. His form began to improve in 1976, but he was discontented over the direction of the team and the restrictions of the NFL's free agency rules so he refused to play during the majority of the 1977 season.

Early in 1978, Don Coryell became the head coach of the Chargers and he instituted the pass-oriented Air Coryell offensive scheme, allowing Fouts to throw the ball with unprecedented frequency. Fouts led the Chargers to three consecutive AFC West division titles – 1979, 1980 and 1981 – and a playoff appearance in 1982. He was the winning quarterback of the Epic in Miami, when he broke the league playoff single-game record by passing for 433 yards.

The Chargers advanced to the AFC Championship Game twice during his career, but never reached the Super Bowl. Fouts was the first quarterback to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame without appearing in either the Super Bowl or an NFL championship game.

Did You Know?

Fouts was born in San Francisco on June 10, 1951, to Julie and Bob Fouts, the fourth of five children.
His father was a sports broadcaster who commentated for the San Francisco 49ers for over 20 years.
Fouts attended Marin Catholic High School for his first two years of high school and transferred to St. Ignatius College Preparatory for his final two years.
He was not a highly sought recruit and accepted the only major college offer he received, from the University of Oregon.
Fouts set 19 Oregon records, including career passing yardage (5,995) and total offense (5,871).