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Dan Fouts

January 01, 1970

Daniel Francis Fouts (born June 10, 1951) is an American former professional football quarterback who played for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League (NFL) throughout his 15-season career (1973–1987). After a relatively undistinguished first five seasons in the league, Fouts came to prominence as the on-field leader during the Chargers' Air Coryell period. He led the league in passing every year from 1979 to 1982, passing for over 4,000 yards in the first three of these—no previous quarterback had posted consecutive 4,000-yard seasons. Fouts was voted a Pro Bowler six times, first-team All-Pro twice, and Offensive Player of the Year in 1982. He was named a member of the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team, and elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993, his first year of eligibility.

Dan Fouts
Fouts in 2012
No. 14
Position:Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1951-06-10) June 10, 1951 (age 72)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:204 lb (93 kg)
Career information
High school:Marin Catholic
(Kentfield, California)
St. Ignatius
(San Francisco, California)
College:Oregon (1969–1972)
NFL draft:1973 / Round: 3 / Pick: 64
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Passing attempts:5,604
Passing completions:3,297
Completion percentage:58.8%
TD–INT:254–242
Passing yards:43,040
Passer rating:80.2
Rushing yards:476
Rushing touchdowns:13
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR
Pro Football Hall of Fame

Fouts played college football for the Oregon Ducks, breaking numerous records and later being inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame and the University of Oregon Hall of Fame. He was a third-round draft pick of the Chargers in 1973, brought in to back up veteran Johnny Unitas. Fouts struggled during his first three season in the league while playing for losing teams. His form began to improve in 1976, when Bill Walsh spent a year in San Diego as his offensive coordinator, but discontentment over the direction of the team and the restrictions of the NFL's free agency rules led Fouts to refuse to play through the majority of 1977.

Early in 1978, Don Coryell became the new head coach of the Chargers and installed the pass-oriented offensive scheme that would become known as Air Coryell. Fouts, given license to throw with an unprecedented frequency, produced record-breaking numbers during the rest of his career. He led the NFL in passing yards four straight years from 1979 to 1982 (still a record), and became the first player in history to throw for 4,000 yards in three consecutive seasons, breaking the NFL single-season record for passing yards each time. He set career records for the most 300-yard games and 400-yard games. Fouts was rewarded with six Pro Bowl selections (1979–1983 & 1985) and four All-Pro selections (first team in 1979 and 1982, second team in 1980 and 1985). In the strike-shortened 1982 season, he passed for 2,883 yards in only nine games, winning the AP Offensive Player of the Year and PFWA NFL MVP honors.

Fouts led the Chargers to three consecutive AFC West division titles (1979–1981) and a further playoff appearance in 1982. He was the winning quarterback in the Epic in Miami game, breaking a playoff record with 433 passing yards. The Chargers advanced to the AFC championship game twice during his career, but never reached the Super Bowl. Fouts is widely considered among the best quarterbacks in NFL history to never reach a Super Bowl.

Fouts was a color analyst for NFL games on CBS television and Westwood One radio. He is the son of Bay Area Radio Hall of Famer Bob Fouts.

Early life and high school career edit

Dan Fouts was born in San Francisco on June 10, 1951,[1] to Julie and Bob Fouts, the fourth of five children.[2] His father was a sports broadcaster who commentated on games for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL) for over 20 years.[3] As a child, Dan acted as a stat-keeper for Bob and worked for the 49ers as a ballboy.[4] One of his first sporting heroes was John Brodie, the 49ers' starting quarterback of that time.[5] When, at the age of 11, Fouts asked his parents' permission to play football, they told him that he would have to be a quarterback, as he had shown a good throwing arm while playing Little League baseball.[6][7] He played Pop Warner football for the Drake Junior Pirates, where his coach described him as an "outstanding quarterback" in 1964.[8]

Fouts attended Marin Catholic High School, located just north of San Francisco in Kentfield, California, for his two first years, and started some games as a sophomore in the fall of 1966. While he temporarily lost the starting job after play described as "extremely jittery" by the local San Rafael Daily Independent Journal,[9] an end of season report from the same paper stated that he should improve with better protection.[10] Fouts, playing on an 0–6 team, finished the season with nine interceptions and only one touchdown.[11] While at Marin Catholic, he also played varsity basketball as a forward.[12]

Fouts transferred to St. Ignatius College Preparatory (San Francisco) for his final two years of high school.[13] Explaining the switch to St. Ignatius in 2013, he said, "My dad told me you’re not going to get a scholarship at Marin Catholic; you’re going to get it at St. Ignatius."[14] In 1967, St. Ignatius were champions of the West Catholic Athletic League with a 6–0 record, and Fouts was named to the WCAL All-Star first-team.[15] He nearly reversed his touchdown to interceptions ratio, with 16 touchdowns and two interceptions.[16] St. Ignatius went 5–1 in Fouts' senior year; he passed much less as his team focused more on their running game.[17][18]

College career edit

Fouts was somewhat of an unknown when he accepted a scholarship offer from the University of Oregon to play for the Ducks in Eugene.[18] It was the only offer from a major college that he received.[19] Fouts didn't feature for the Ducks during his first year at Oregon (1969), instead starting for the freshman team.[20]

In 1970, he began the season as a backup to veteran passer Tom Blanchard.[21] In the opening game, a 31–24 victory over California, Fouts came off the bench and completed 12 of 19 passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner in the final two minutes; Fouts and Blanchard combined to set a new Pacific-8 Conference (Pac-8) record with 424 passing yards on the day.[22] Fouts got his first chance to start two weeks later with Blanchard out injured,[23] and kept the role for the rest of the season.[24][25] He went on to set single-game records for most attempts, completions and yards,[26] and single-season records for completions and touchdowns.[27] His 16 touchdowns ranked second in the Pac-8,[28] while his 212.1 yards of total offense per game were tenth in the nation.[29] UPI named him as an honorable mention in their season-ending all-coast team.[30] The Salem Capital Journal described Fouts as a sophomore with "the poise of a senior."[31]

Fouts entered 1971 as an established and highly-rated starter.[32] He missed two and a half games with knee ligament damage,[33][34] but still ranked third in the Pac-8 for passing yards.[35] When Oregon changed their head coach at the end of the year, Fouts was one of seven players on the committee of fifteen who chose his replacement.[36]

Fouts broke the Oregon record for career passing yardage early in the 1972 season.[37] In his last game as a Duck he threw a 65-yard touchdown pass and Oregon beat Oregon State for the first time in nine years.[38] At the end of the season, Fouts ranked second in the Pac-8 for passing yards and touchdowns behind Mike Boryla of Stanford; comparing the two passers, the Capital Journal stated that Fouts faced "trying conditions" with a relative lack of support on offense.[39] He was named to the All-Pac-8 team as chosen by the conference's coaches,[40] as well as the United Press International (UPI) All-Coast team and the Associated Press (AP) All-West Coast team.[39][41] Fouts was invited to the East–West Shrine Bowl (which he missed due to a foot injury),[42] the Senior Bowl,[43] and the Coaches All-America Game (at which he broke his collarbone on his first play from scrimmage).[44]

At the time of his graduation, Fouts' career passing yardage ranks were No.1 in Oregon history, No. 2 in the Pac-8 and No. 7 in the NCAA.[45] He set 19 Oregon records, including those for career passing yardage (5,995) and total offense (5,871),[46][47] and was inducted into the university's hall of fame in 1992.[48]

Statistics edit

Season Passing
Cmp Att Pct Yds Avg TD Int Rtg
1970 188 361 52.1 2,390 6.6 16 24 109.0
1971 123 247 49.8 1,564 6.3 9 11 106.1
1972 171 348 49.1 2,041 5.9 12 19 98.9
Career[49] 482 956 50.4 5,995 6.3 37 54 104.6

Professional career edit

1973–1978: Early career edit

1973 season edit

Fouts was selected in the third round of the 1973 NFL draft by the San Diego Chargers; he was the sixth quarterback taken in the draft and the 64th selection overall.[50][51] At the time he was drafted, NFL scouts questioned Fouts' durability, arm strength and athleticism.[52][53] He was brought in to back up his childhood idol, Johnny Unitas, who had joined the Chargers during the offseason after 17 years with the Baltimore Colts.[54] Fouts' broken collarbone in the Coaches All-America Game happened after he was drafted; Chargers management had not wanted him to play in the game because of the risk of injury.[55] Fouts missed the start of training camp while holding out for more money,[a] then missed the first three preseason games while recovering from his injury.[58] Head coach Harland Svare described Fouts as "about a year behind" in August, and Fouts himself did not anticipate much play as a rookie.[55]

Once the 1973 season began, Unitas soon picked up a career-ending shoulder injury, causing Fouts to see far more play than expected.[54] His first appearance came in week 4, entering a game at Pittsburgh at the start of the second half with the Chargers trailing 38–0. Fouts threw his first career touchdown in the 4th quarter (a 13-yarder to Jerry LeVias),[59] led two further touchdown drives, and the game finished 38–21.[60] He made his first start the following week, throwing two further touchdowns in a 27–17 loss to the Oakland Raiders.[61] United Press International described his performance as that of a "bona fide NFL quarterback."[62] He struggled in his next game, intercepted four times during a 41–0 home loss to Atlanta, with the Associated Press reporting that he "frequently threw off balance and into a crowd of defenders."[63]

Fouts finished the season ranked 12th by passer rating in the 13-team American Football Conference (AFC).[64] He was benched in favor of Wayne Clark for four weeks late in the season as the Chargers struggled to a 2–11–1 record.[65][66] Speaking in 1985, Fouts described the 1972 Chargers as a team in "turmoil, total disarray," and criticized the coaches for not letting him work with Unitas and benefit from his knowledge.[67]

1974 season edit

Unitas announced his retirement before the 1974 season,[68] leaving Fouts to compete with rookie Jesse Freitas for the starting job.[69] New head coach Tommy Prothro singled out Fouts as giving the only good performance during a preseason loss;[70] he began the regular season as the starter.[71]

San Diego lost their first game, but Fouts got his first career win in week 2, leading a 98-yard 4th quarter drive for the winning touchdown.[72] The Chargers lost their next five games, culminating in a 24–14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in San Diego. Fouts threw two interceptions and lost a fumble, prompting his home fans to start chanting for Freitas to play.[73] In the same game, Fouts argued with wide receiver Harrison Davis, who he felt did not try hard enough to prevent an interception of an underthrown ball. Davis commented to the media, "Not much I could do about it... Fouts can yell, that's his privilege, but it was a bad pass." Fouts said, "He's got to fight for the ball. That's gold out there."[73] He threw four touchdowns the following week and continued to start until week 11, when a broken thumb ended his season.[74][75]

Fouts ranked 11th in the AFC for passer rating.[76] Freitas started the final three games and contributed two of the Chargers' five wins on the season; Prothro declined to comment when asked about his future plans for Fouts and Freitas, except to say that he had no plans to draft another quarterback.[76]

1975 season edit

Fouts and Freitas continued to vie for the starting position entering the 1975 season.[77] Both struggled in preseason, and the Chargers added veteran quarterback Virgil Carter to their roster.[78] All three quarterbacks played in the regular season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers, generating only 145 yards of offense in a 37–0 defeat.[79] Two weeks later, Fouts was the only quarterback Prothro used against the Oakland Raiders.[80] His home crowd booed him when he was announced before kickoff; he went on to complete 3 of 13 passes for 29 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions, while getting sacked five times for the loss of 51 yards.[81] The Chargers lost 6–0.[82] San Diego went on to lose their first eleven games while Fouts missed playing time with a sore ankle and a concussion;[83][84] he had seven injuries in total during the course of the year.[85] The Chargers avoided a winless season with a pair of victories in December, with Fouts the quarterback both times.[86][87]

With only two touchdown passes all season, Fouts finished with the 12th best passer rating in the AFC.[88][64] The following year, he said the Chargers had been running a "very basic, antiquated offense" in 1974 and 1975.[89] Reflecting on his first three seasons in a 1983 interview, he added, "We really didn't have an offensive coordinator or quarterback coach, so I had to fall back on what I'd learned from John Robinson, my offensive coordinator at Oregon."[90]

1976 season edit

Starting in February, Fouts worked out three times a week with Bill Walsh, who spent a year as the Chargers' offensive coordinator.[91][92] Fouts would later describe the sessions: "He showed me how to set up, how to hold the ball, where to throw and why. That's a large part of my success."[67] He also praised Walsh for introducing a more complex offensive system.[89]

Fouts and the Chargers began the 1976 season in good form; they reached a 3–0 record with a 43–24 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in which Fouts threw four touchdown passes.[93] Fouts was the league's No. 1 rated passer at that stage, though the defenses he had faced were not highly rated.[94] His performances worsened as the season went on, and fans were calling for backup Clint Longley to have more playing time entering a week 10 game with the Denver Broncos.[95] Fouts was again booed by his home crowd in the Broncos game, a 17–0 defeat.[96] Longley did start one game late in the season,[97] but was benched for Fouts after failing to produce any points in the first half.[98]

Fouts finished with the eighth-best passer rating in the AFC, and led the conference in both pass attempts (359) and completions (208).[64][99] San Diego sports journalist Jack Murphy described 1976 as a year of "much growth" for Fouts, and the departing Walsh predicted that he would have a fine career in the league.[100]

1977 season: 125-day holdout edit

San Diego acquired quarterback James Harris from the Los Angeles Rams during the offseason, with head coach Tommy Prothro stating that he wanted depth at the injury-prone position.[101] Harris's contract was speculated in the media to pay him approximately $170,000, compared to $82,500 for Fouts.[102] The following month, Fouts was one of 17 players testifying against the NFL in an antitrust settlement.[103] Fouts expressed a desire to leave San Diego, and complained at a new collective bargaining agreement which meant the Chargers had only to match the offer of another team to prevent him from leaving.[102] Prothro speculated that Fouts was disgruntled due to Harris's signing and contract,[104][105] but Fouts himself said that he wanted to play in a Super Bowl, and that the Chargers were not of that caliber; he stated that he would retire if he was not allowed to leave San Diego.[106] He also attacked Prothro as "the farthest thing from a head coach you'll ever find... he's snowing people into thinking he knows what he's doing."[102]

Fouts refused to report to training camp in July and was placed on the reserve list by the Chargers the following month;[107][108] Harris became the new starting quarterback.[109] Owner Gene Klein stated publicly that he would not trade Fouts, and that he would not play in the NFL again if he refused to report.[110] Fouts filed a grievance against the Chargers in October, seeking to be granted free agent status by the NFL.[111] On November 15, the NFL grievance committee rejected an attempt by Fouts to become a free agent. Chargers Owner Gene Klein said that Fouts had been given bad advice by his lawyer,[112] and would be welcomed back to the team.[113] Fouts reported to the team on November 17, 125 days late, having accrued $62,500 in fines.[114] He declined to comment on his holdout to the press.[115] Chargers player representative Pat Curran stated that the team welcomed him back, suggesting that his criticisms of Prothro and the quality of the team were a "smoke-screen" to support his attempt to become a free agent.[116][117]

The 1977 Chargers were a 5–5 team when Fouts returned, and had recently lost Harris to injury.[118] He won praise from Prothro while winning his first two games back, and described the team as the best of his Chargers career.[119] He lost the next two games, struggling in both.[120] The Escondido Times Advocate said of the finale that Fouts was "his vintage horrid self of all his bad games of the past."[121]

1978 season edit

 
The arrival of head coach Don Coryell in 1978 spurred Fouts' transformation into a record-breaking quarterback.

Fouts signed a new five-year contract with the Chargers during the offseason,[122] and was installed as the starter ahead of Harris.[123] He sustained a jammed thumb early in the 1978 season and didn't start in week 4 against the Green Bay Packers, instead coming off the bench and throwing two of the Chargers' five interceptions in a 24–3 defeat.[124]

Prothro resigned after the Green Bay defeat with the team's record at 1–3;[125] his replacement, Don Coryell, would be a key figure in Fouts' career.[126] Coryell was an offensively-minded coach who favored the passing game.[127][128] He later wrote of Fouts, "The first few times I saw him throw the ball, I knew that he would be our quarterback, and that he would be a great one."[129] Recalling Coryell's first team talk, Fouts said, "I went home that day, and I had the biggest canary-eating grin on... He talked about fun, passing, moving the ball, flying around the field, hitting people. All the things I wanted to hear."[130]

San Diego lost three of Coryell's first four games, then won their next four to preserve a small chance of making the playoffs.[131] Fouts missed the next game with an ankle injury,[132] and San Diego lost 23–0.[133] Coryell, who had made few changes to the Chargers' offense up to that point, began to emphasise the passing game more during the last three games of the season.[130] Fouts responded with a total of 917 yards and 9 touchdowns as the Chargers won all three, giving him seven consecutive victories as a starter.[134][135] He passed for 369 yards in the season finale, tying Tobin Rote's franchise record.[136]

Fouts finished with the third-best passer rating in the league (83.2) and the fourth-most touchdown passes (24).[137][138] He had 2,999 passing yards, accounting for the bulk of San Diego's league-leading 3,375 yards.[139][140] A later Chicago Tribune article noted the last three games of 1978 as the start of the "unprecedented passing attack" known as Air Coryell, which Fouts led for several years without further injuries.[130]

1979–1982: Four-time passing yardage leader edit

1979 season edit

San Diego went 12–4 in 1979, winning the AFC West and reaching the playoffs for the first time in Fouts' career.[141] He finished the season with 4,082 yards passing, breaking Joe Namath's NFL record of 4,007.[b] He set an NFL record with a run of four consecutive 300-yard games,[142] while his total of six such games tied Joe Namath's league record.[143] With 332 completions from 530 attempts, Fouts' completion percentage of 62.2 led the league,[144] while his passer rating of 82.6 was the best in the AFC and third-best in the NFL.[145][146] His leading receivers, John Jefferson and Charlie Joiner, were the first pair of teammates to each surpass 1,000 receiving yards in a season since 1968.[c] Fouts said of his record-breaking season, "I'm in the game for one thing—to get to the Super Bowl. The records will come because of our style of play."[147]

In the end of season awards, Fouts finished second behind Earl Campbell for both AP NFL MVP (outvoted 34–27) and AP Offensive Player of the Year (outvoted 39–34).[148][149] He was named a Pro Bowler and an AP first-team All-Pro.[150][151] Other organizations to select him as their All-NFL quarterback included UPI, Pro Football Weekly and the Professional Football Writers of America.[152]

San Diego's return to the playoffs ended in disappointment, losing 17–14 at home to the wildcard Houston Oilers. Fouts completed 25 of 47 passes for 333 yards, no touchdowns and five interceptions. Fouts said after the game, "We just made too many mistakes, that's all. We didn't play very well and they did."[153] It was revealed after the game that Houston defensive coordinator Ed Biles had managed to crack the code San Diego used to signal their offensive plays to Fouts, giving them prior warning of the coming plays and potentially accounting in part for Fouts' struggles.[154]

1980 season edit

San Diego repeated as division champions in 1980 with an 11–5 record. Fouts had an eventful game in the week 2 matchup with Oakland. He turned the ball over on five consecutive possessions in the 3rd quarter, with four interceptions and a fumble that was run back for a touchdown, but eventually threw a 24-yard touchdown to Jefferson in overtime as the Chargers won 30–24.[155] Fouts finished the game with 29 completions from 44 attempts for 387 yards, with 3 touchdowns and 5 interceptions.[156] The 387 yards were a new single-game franchise record for the Chargers.[155] Fouts himself would break the record once more four weeks later, with 388 yards in a 38–24 loss to the Raiders;[157] the following week, he broke it again, this time passing for 444 yards in a 44–7 victory over the Giants.[158] This last total would prove to be the joint-most of his career.[159] San Diego and Oakland had a tight race for the AFC West title, which the Chargers eventually edged on tiebreakers.[160]

For the second consecutive season, Fouts broke the passing yardage record, finishing with 4,715 yards, over 500 ahead of his nearest rival.[161] This time, he also broke Namath's yards per game record by averaging 294.7.[162] His marks for attempts (589) and completions (348) were NFL records,[163] and he posted a new personal best with 30 touchdowns (against 24 interceptions) and with a passer rating of 84.7.[1] He had eight 300+ yard passing games, breaking a record he'd tied the previous season.[163] Fouts was voted a 2nd-team All-Pro, and made his second Pro Bowl.[1] Jefferson, Winslow and Joiner, his leading receivers, dominated the receiving yardage charts, finishing 1st, 2nd and 4th respectively, with over 1,100 yards each. Jefferson led the league in touchdown catches, and Winslow came top in receptions.[164] They were the first trio of teammates to each have 1,000 receiving yards in the same season.[165] Joiner said of Fouts at this point, "Dan has definitely matured over the last four years. His quickness of release is better, he's improved at reading defenses, he's better at going to the receiver who's open."[166]

San Diego was again the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs, and hosted the Buffalo Bills in the divisional playoffs. The Chargers trailed 14–3 early in the game, and 14–13 with a little over two minutes to play, facing a 3rd and 10 at midfield. Fouts then found little-used wide receiver Ron Smith for what would prove to be the game-winning touchdown.[167] Fouts finished 22 of 37, for 314 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions.[168] Jefferson and Joiner were among those praising his leadership and toughness after the come-from-behind win.[166] The following week, San Diego hosted Oakland for their third meeting of the season, with a place in the Super Bowl at stake. Fouts had a mixed first half, as he threw two touchdown passes to Joiner and two red zone interceptions. Joiner's second touchdown began a comeback attempt from 28–7 behind that eventually fell short; Oakland won 34–27, and went on to triumph in Super Bowl XV.[169] Fouts finished the game having completed 22 of 45 passes for 336 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.[170]

1981 season edit

While San Diego won their third consecutive division title in 1981, they had to contend with early-season unrest, with both Jefferson and key defensive end Fred Dean holding out for better pay. Both players were traded early in the season, to the disapproval of numerous other Chargers.[171] Jefferson's replacement, Wes Chandler,[172] had made one Pro Bowl with the New Orleans Saints, and would go on to make three more with the Chargers.[173] Without Dean, the defense slipped from 6th to 27th in the 28-team league, leaving Fouts and the offense as the unit more likely to lead San Diego to victories.

Fouts began the season by posting a near-perfect passer rating of 157.1, completing 19 of 25 for 330 yards, 3 touchdowns and no interceptions in an easy 44–14 win over Cleveland.[174] The Chargers reached a 6–3 record before back to back one-sided defeats left them two games off the division lead.[175] In week 12, the Chargers went to Oakland and beat the defending Super Bowl champions 55–21.[176] Fouts threw touchdown passes on six consecutive drives, including four to Winslow in a ten minute-period sandwiching halftime.[177] The six touchdown passes were the most of Fouts's career,[159] and remain a Chargers record as of 2024.[178] The win was the first of four over the final five weeks of the regular season, as the Chargers recovered to take the division title on tiebreakers over Denver, with a 10–6 record.[179]

 
Fouts led the Chargers to a victory in the storied "Epic in Miami" 1981 AFC divisional playoff game, setting several postseason passing records.

Fouts was consistent, passing for between 252 and 352 yards in every regular season game bar the finale.[180] With 4,802 yards (nearly 900 yards ahead of his nearest rival),[181] he broke the single-season record for the 3rd consecutive season, as well as breaking the records for yards per game (300.1), attempts (609) and completions (360) for the second time. He posted the best touchdown to interception ratio of his career (33–17), led the league in touchdown passes for the first time, and made his third Pro Bowl.[1] At this point, Fouts was responsible for over half of the five 4,000-yard passing seasons in NFL history, posting his third in a row.[182] Fouts again had three 1,000-yard receivers, with Joiner, Chandler (including his yards with the Saints before he was traded) and Winslow (again the league's leader in receptions) all crossing the mark.[183] He benefitted from a stable, veteran offensive line (Billy Shields, Doug Wilkerson, Don Macek, Ed White and Russ Washington),[184] who enabled Fouts to be sacked on a career-low 3% of his pass attempts.[1][185]

San Diego faced the Dolphins in the divisional playoffs, winning the Epic in Miami 41–38. In a dominant 1st quarter, the Chargers led 24–0 when Fouts threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to James Brooks. Miami scored 24 points of their own to tie the score in the 3rd quarter, before Fouts restored the lead with a 25-yard touchdown to Winslow. The Dolphins responded with the next 14 points, and were close to scoring again when they lost a fumble at the San Diego 18 with five minutes to play. Fouts completed 7 of 8 passes for 75 yards on the ensuing drive, ending with a 9-yard touchdown pass that was intended for Winslow but caught instead by Brooks, with 58 seconds to play. The game went into overtime, where Fouts completed back-to-back passes of 20 yards to Chandler and 39 yards to Joiner, and Benirschke won the game with a 29-yard field goal nearly 14 minutes into the extra period.[186] Fouts, who described the game as the best he'd ever played in,[187] finished with 33 completions from 53 attempts for 433 yards (all setting new NFL playoff records), with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception.[188] The Epic in Miami set playoff records for the most combined points, yards, passing yards and completions, and is widely considered one of the greatest NFL games played.[189][190]

The Chargers faced the Bengals in Cincinnati in the AFC championship game. The game, known as the Freezer Bowl, was played in frigid conditions, with a temperature of −9 °F (−22.8 °C), in contrast to the 88 °F (31.1 °C) conditions in Miami the previous week.[191] Fouts struggled to grip the ball, completing 15 of 28 passes for 185 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions as the Chargers were defeated 27–7, missing out on a Super Bowl appearance by one game for the second consecutive season.[192]

1982 season: Offensive Player of the Year edit

 
Fouts tied his career-high with 444 passing yards as San Diego defeated the 49ers 41–37.

In 1982, the Chargers started 1–1 before an NFL players strike interrupted the regular season, and reduced it to nine games in total when it resumed in November.[193] Fouts did not support the strike action before it began, but trained extensively with his teammates while it was ongoing.[194]

When play resumed, the Chargers lost their first game back, then won their next two going into a road meeting with the defending Super Bowl champion 49ers. In a passing duel with Joe Montana, Fouts threw five touchdowns, including a game-winner to running back Chuck Muncie with three minutes left. The Chargers won 41–37; Fouts finished with 33 completions from 48 attempts, for 444 yards (tying his career high),[159] 5 touchdowns and no interceptions. The teams set an NFL record with 65 completions, while combining for 810 passing yards.[195][d] The following week, San Diego faced the other participant from the previous Super Bowl, beating Cincinnati 50–34 at Jack Murphy Stadium. Fouts went 25 of 40 for 435 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. He become the first player in NFL history to post back-to-back 400-yard games. The teams combined for 66 completions, breaking the NFL record set in the Chargers' previous game, and 883 passing yards, setting a new record.[198] The Chargers eventually qualified for the playoffs for the fourth straight year, with a 6–3 record.[199]

While the truncated season prevented Fouts from again breaking the passing yardage record in 1982, he did set a new yards per game record for the third consecutive year, this time with 320.3 per game. He led the league in passing yards (2,883), touchdowns (17, tied with Montana), and yards per attempt (8.7, which would prove to be the best of his career). His passer rating of 93.3, second-best in the league, would stand as a career-high, and he was named 1st-team All-Pro for the second time, as well as being voted to a fourth successive Pro Bowl.[1][200] Fouts won the Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year Award with 43 of the available 80 votes, but finished runner-up in NFL MVP voting with 33, two behind Washington kicker Mark Moseley.[201] He did win a league MVP award from the PFWA, as well as the player-awarded Jim Thorpe Trophy.[202] Fouts was again well protected by the same quintet of offensive linemen as the previous year. This time, none of the five missed a game, and Fouts was sacked on 3.5% of pass plays.[203][200] From Fouts' receivers, Winslow caught the second-most passes in the league, while Chandler, despite missing a game, finished as the only 1,000-yard receiver in the league.[204]

San Diego traveled to Pittsburgh in the first round of the playoffs. The Steelers led 28–17 in the final quarter, but Fouts finished consecutive drives with touchdown passes to Winslow, the first coming on 4th down, the second with one minute to play. These were enough to give the Chargers a 31–28 victory.[205] Fouts completed 27 of 43 passes for 333 yards, 3 touchdowns and no interceptions, producing a passer rating of 112.5, his best in a playoff game.[206] In the second round of the playoffs, the Chargers faced the Dolphins in the Orange Bowl, the same venue as their famous match from the previous season. The rematch proved to be one-sided, with Miami winning 34–13. Fouts completed 15 of 34 passes for 191 yards, 1 touchdown and 5 interceptions.[207] This proved to be the last playoff game of his career, meaning that he had thrown five interceptions in both his first and final playoff games.[206]

1983–1987: Later career edit

1983 season edit

Fouts was a free agent in 1983. While negotiating with the Chargers, he also considered an offer to play for a proposed San Diego-based franchise in the new USFL.[208] Ultimately, Fouts opted to sign a six-year contract with the Chargers, stating that he wanted to win a Super Bowl. The contract was reported to pay upward of $1 million per year, making it one of the most lucrative in pro football.[209] Fouts played for five more seasons, but missed time through injury in each of those, and would not return to the playoffs.[1]

In 1983, the Chargers went 6–10 while conceding the most points in the league.[210] Fouts started the first seven games, throwing for at least 300 yards in five of them,[211] but was kept out of the next five by a shoulder injury, ending a run of consecutive starts that stretched back to 1978.[212] After returning for three games, Fouts reaggravated the injury and missed the finale.[213] He went 5–5 as a starter, led the league in yards per game for the fifth straight year with 297.5, and made his fifth straight Pro Bowl. He threw 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions and produced a career-high 8.8 yards per attempt, while his completion percentage (63.2%) and passer rating (92.5) were both the second best marks of his career.[1]

1984 season edit

San Diego started 4–2 in 1984, but faded from that point, finishing 7–9.[214] Fouts had his fourth career 400-yard game in a week 8 loss to the Raiders.[215] In week 12, he set career highs for attempts and completions,[159] going 37 of 56 for 380 yards, 4 touchdowns and 1 interception while leading the Chargers back from a 28–14 4th quarter deficit to a 34–28 overtime upset of Dan Marino and the previously unbeaten Miami Dolphins.[216] Fouts started the first thirteen games of the season, before injuring his groin and missing the remaining three.[217] He went 6–7 as a starter, with 19 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. His yards per attempt slipped to 7.4, while his passer rating of 83.4 was his worst since 1979.[1] Fouts still averaged 287.7 yards per game, but was eclipsed by Marino, who surpassed Fouts' single-season record with 5,084 passing yards[218] and his run of five straight Pro Bowl appearances came to an end.[1]

1985 season edit

In 1985, the Chargers finished 8–8. The contrast between their offense and defense was stark, as they led the league in points scored, yards gained, first downs, passing yards and passing touchdowns, but were last in yards conceded, first downs conceded and passing yards conceded.[219] As a result, Fouts took part in numerous high-scoring shootouts. In week 2, he threw for 440 yards and 4 touchdowns; his backup Mark Herrmann added a further touchdown pass, but Seattle had 5 of their own and won 49–35.[220] The following week, Fouts passed for 344 yards and a further 4 touchdown, which was enough for a 44–41 win over Cincinnati.[221] Fouts was knocked out of a week 4 game in Cleveland with knee ligament damage, and underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair it.[222] On his third start after returning, Fouts threw for 436 yards and 4 touchdowns in a 40–34 overtime win against the Raiders. It was the sixth 400-yard game of his career, a new NFL record.[223] Fouts started the final game on the bench with a cracked fibula,[224] though he did have a one-play cameo appearance, coming on to hand the ball off while Herrmann was winded.[225] Fouts went 7–5 as a starter. Despite throwing no passes in his final appearance, he topped the league in yards per game for the sixth time in his career, with 259.9. His yards per attempt rebounded to 8.5, and he led the league in that category for the third time. He posted the best touchdown percentage in the league for the only time in his career, with 6.3% of his passes going for touchdowns. His touchdowns to interceptions ratio (27–20) and passer rating (88.1) were both improved after the previous year, and he earned a sixth Pro Bowl berth, as well as 2nd-Team All-Pro honors.[1] Fouts nearly had three 1,000 receivers again, as Chandler and running back Lionel James both reached the mark, while Joiner was short by 68 yards.[219]

1986 season edit

1986 began well for the Chargers, who defeated Miami 50–28, with Fouts throwing 3 touchdowns and no interceptions.[226] This was to prove both the last 3-touchdown game of Fouts' career, and the last win of the Don Coryell era. The Chargers lost their next seven games, with Fouts throwing 6 touchdowns and 19 interceptions before being sidelined by a pair of concussions.[159][227] Coryell, who had been expected to stand down at the end of the season, instead announced his resignation on October 29, amid rumors that he had been pressured into the decision. Assistant coach Al Saunders was promoted to take his place.[228] Fouts missed three games due to the concussions, and one more with a sore shoulder;[229] he finished the season 3–9 as a starter, and saw a major drop in statistical performance. His touchdown total was less than his interception total (16–22) for the first time since 1977, his completion percentage of 58.6% was his worst since 1976, and his passer rating dropped to 71.4, his worst since 1975 and below the NFL average of 74.1.[230]

1987: Final season and retirement edit

 
Fouts c. 1987

Fouts played one full season after Coryell's resignation. He entered 1987 without his longest serving receiver, Joiner retiring as the record-holder in career receptions and yards.[231] The Chargers lost their first game and won their second before the season was interrupted by a players strike, which caused the week 3 games to be canceled and the following three weeks to feature teams made up largely of replacement players.[232] While Fouts was not part of the players union and did not picket with his teammates, he nonetheless refused to play for the Chargers while the strike was ongoing, noting that he would be risking injury behind an inexperienced offensive line.[233] The replacement Chargers won all three of their games, meaning that Fouts and the other regulars came back to a 4–1 team, standing atop the AFC West.[234]

In his first game back, Fouts completed 24 of 34 for 293 yards, 2 touchdowns and no interceptions as San Diego beat the Chiefs 42–21.[235] Three narrow victories followed, and the Chargers had a league-best 8–1 record.[236] However, they lost all six of their remaining games while scoring only five offensive touchdowns, and missed the playoffs.[232] Fouts played only briefly in the first of these defeats due to a calf injury,[237] and missed the finale with a slightly torn rotator cuff.[238] His 254th and final touchdown pass came in week 14, a 15-yarder to James in the final quarter of a 20–16 loss to Pittsburgh,[239] while posting his 51st and final 300-yard game, a record at the time and almost double the next highest.[240] The following week, he played his final game, a 20–7 home defeat to the Indianapolis Colts.[159] Fouts completed 22 of 37 passes for 257 yards, no touchdowns and 3 interceptions. He scored the only Chargers touchdown of the game himself, on a 1-yard run.[241]

Statistically, Fouts had a similar campaign to the previous year. He was 5–5 as a starter, throwing 10 touchdowns and 15 interceptions, while his passer rating dropped slightly to 70.0. He was sacked significantly more frequently, with 24 sacks occurring on 6.2% of pass attempts, his highest percentage since 1977.[1]

Fouts announced his retirement on March 24, 1988, at his home in Rancho Santa Fe. He cited the wear and tear on his body as the main reason.[240] He was 36 years old at the time, and second only to Fran Tarkenton in terms of NFL career passing yards, trailing by about 4,000 yards despite attempting 863 fewer passes. Fouts ranked fourth in career passing touchdowns with 254. Reflecting on his career, he said, "We had so much confidence in what we were doing and we had a lot of fun."[242]

Legacy and playing style edit

Fouts threw for 43,040 yards and 254 touchdowns while starting 171 games over fifteen seasons in San Diego. He rushed for 476 yards and 13 touchdowns.[1] The Chargers retired his No. 14 jersey during a ceremony at Jack Murphy Stadium on November 27, 1988, during halftime of a game against San Francisco.[243] At the time, he was the only Charger to have his number retired.[243] At the time of his retirement, Fouts was credited with 42 team records, as well as seven league records.[243] San Diego found Fouts difficult to replace, as they made 14 quarterback changes in barely five seasons before settling on Stan Humphries as a long-term starter.[244][199] Several of Fouts' club records lasted well into the 21st century: Philip Rivers broke his career passing touchdowns record in 2015 and career passing yardage record in 2016,[245][246] while Justin Herbert surpassed Fouts' 1981 single season passing yardage record 40 years later with the benefit of one extra regular season game.[247]

While he played five full seasons before the arrival of Coryell in San Diego, and a further one after he left, Fouts is primarily remembered as the quarterback of the Air Coryell offense, which led the league in passing yards seven times in an eight season span (1978–1983, 1985).[248] When Fouts was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993, he chose Coryell to present him, and stated during his acceptance speech that he would not have become a Hall of Fame quarterback without his former coach.[249]

Coryell described Fouts as a superior quarterback, writing "He had quick feet and could get back and make decisions. He wasn't afraid to pull the trigger and let the ball go."[250] Fouts was able to make up to five reads before deciding on a pass target.[251] Bill Walsh, who went on to be a Hall of Fame head coach after leaving San Diego, said "Dan Fouts had a cool, steel-like nerve and courage ... He took a lot of beatings, a lot of pounding, but continued to play, hurt or otherwise. He played more physical football than anybody on his team, including the linebackers".[252] Fouts rarely used the shotgun, feeling more able to read defenses at the line.[253] After taking the snap, he would drop back a shorter distance than most quarterbacks and often delay until the last second to give his receivers time to get open, tendencies that led him to take a number of hits throughout his career.[253]

Despite going to the playoffs from 1979 through 1982 and playing in two AFC championship games, the Chargers never went to the Super Bowl under Fouts. He frequently appears on lists of the best quarterbacks not to win a Super Bowl or play in one.[254] The San Diego defense was often blamed for their defeats.[255] While Fouts' offense remained consistently strong under Coryell, leading the league in total yardage five times in eight seasons from 1978 to 1985, the defense dropped from 6th in 1980 to 27th in 1981, and remained in the bottom five for the next four seasons.[199] This slump coincided with the trade of Dean, an All-Pro sack specialist, to the San Francisco 49ers in a contract dispute.[256] Dean would win UPI NFC Defensive Player of the Year (while playing in only 11 games) that year en route to a Super Bowl victory and help the 49ers to another Super Bowl title three years later, and later be inducted into the Hall of Fame.[257] "I can't say how much it affected us, because we did make it to the AFC championship game," said Chargers' All-Pro defensive lineman Gary "Big Hands" Johnson of the loss of Dean. "But I could say if we had more pass rush from the corner, it might've been different."[258] U-T San Diego in 2013 called the trade "perhaps the biggest blunder in franchise history."[259]

NFL career statistics edit

Legend
NFL Offensive Player of the Year
Led the league
Bold Career high

Regular season edit

Year Team Games Passing Rushing Sacked Fum
GP GS Record Cmp Att Pct Yds Y/A Y/G Lng TD Int Rtg Att Yds Y/A Lng TD Sck SckY
1973 SD 10 6 0–5–1 87 194 44.8 1,126 5.8 112.6 69 6 13 46.0 7 32 4.6 16 0 14 129 2
1974 SD 11 11 3–8 115 237 48.5 1,732 7.3 157.5 75 8 13 61.4 19 63 3.3 16 1 12 99 4
1975 SD 10 9 2–7 106 195 54.4 1,396 7.2 139.6 57 2 10 59.3 23 170 7.4 32 2 25 197 3
1976 SD 14 13 5–8 208 359 57.9 2,535 7.1 181.1 81 14 15 75.4 18 65 3.6 13 0 39 220 8
1977 SD 4 4 2–2 69 109 63.3 869 8.0 217.3 67 4 6 77.4 6 13 2.2 11 0 10 77 4
1978 SD 15 14 9–5 224 381 58.8 2,999 7.9 199.9 55 24 20 83.0 20 43 2.2 22 2 22 130 10
1979 SD 16 16 12–4 332 530 62.6 4,082 7.7 255.1 65 24 24 82.6 26 49 1.9 26 2 28 195 13
1980 SD 16 16 11–5 348 589 59.1 4,715 8.0 294.7 65 30 24 84.7 23 15 0.7 9 2 32 210 11
1981 SD 16 16 10–6 360 609 59.1 4,802 7.9 300.1 67 33 17 90.6 22 56 2.5 13 0 19 134 9
1982 SD 9 9 6–3 204 330 61.8 2,883 8.7 320.3 44 17 11 93.3 9 8 0.9 9 1 12 94 2
1983 SD 10 10 5–5 215 340 63.2 2,975 8.8 297.5 59 20 15 92.5 12 −5 −0.4 3 1 14 107 5
1984 SD 13 13 6–7 317 507 62.5 3,740 7.4 287.7 61 19 17 83.4 12 –29 −2.4 3 0 29 228 8
1985 SD 14 12 7–5 254 430 59.1 3,638 8.5 259.9 75 27 20 88.1 11 −1 −0.1 7 0 18 135 13
1986 SD 12 12 3–9 252 430 58.6 3,031 7.0 252.6 65 16 22 71.4 4 −3 −0.8 0 0 21 173 4
1987 SD 11 10 5–5 206 364 56.6 2,517 6.9 228.8 46 10 15 70.0 12 0 0.0 2 2 24 176 10
Career 181 171 86−84−1 3,297 5,604 58.8 43,040 7.7 237.8 81 254 242 80.2 224 476 2.1 32 13 319 2,304 106

Postseason edit

Year Team Games Passing Rushing Sacked Fum
GP GS Record Cmp Att Pct Yds Y/A Y/G Lng TD Int Rtg Att Yds Y/A Lng TD Sck SckY
1979 SD 1 1 0–1 25 47 53.2 333 7.1 333.0 34 0 5 36.3 0 0 — 0 0 2 16 0
1980 SD 2 2 1–1 44 82 53.7 650 7.9 325.0 55 4 3 80.8 3 −4 −1.3 2 0 4 26 0
1981 SD 2 2 1–1 48 81 59.3 618 7.6 309.0 47 4 3 84.3 3 16 5.3 8 0 4 30 1
1982 SD 2 2 1–1 42 76 55.3 524 6.9 262.0 33 4 5 67.0 2 3 1.5 3 0 3 23 0
Career 7 7 3–4 159 286 55.6 2,125 7.4 303.6 55 12 16 70.0 8 15 1.9 8 0 13 95 1

Accomplishments edit

Honors edit

 
Fouts c. 1982

Fouts' jersey number 14 retired by the Chargers in 1988. At the time, he was the only Charger to have his number retired.[e]

He has been inducted into numerous halls of fame in the years following his retirement. This began in 1989, when the San Diego Hall of Champions placed him in the Breitbard Hall of Fame, which honors San Diego's finest athletes both on and off the playing surface.[261] In 1992, he was inducted into the University of Oregon Hall of Fame as one of the inaugural class,[262][263] then the State of Oregon Sports Hall of Fame.[264] Fouts was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993, his first year of eligibility.[265] Later that year, he was inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame, together with Joiner.[266]

Fouts was named the 2nd-team quarterback for the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team in 1990, receiving 1 full vote out of 26.[f] In 1999, he was ranked number 92 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.[268] He was one of the twenty quarterbacks listed as finalists for the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team,[269] though he was not among the ten who made the team.[270] In 2009, Fouts was named by fans as the "Greatest Charger Of All Time" in voting for the Chargers 50th anniversary team.[271]

NFL records edit

Following are NFL records set by Fouts, both active records and those since broke. Records highlighted in gold are still standing. Note that the succeeding record holder may not be the current holder.

Record Previous holder Fouts Succeeding holder Ref
Most attempts, playoff game Richard Todd – 51 (wild card playoffs, 1981) 53 (divisional playoffs, 1981) Bernie Kosar – 64 (divisional playoffs, 1986) [272][273][274]
Most completions, playoff game Richard Todd – 28 (wild card playoffs, 1981) 33 (divisional playoffs, 1981) Warren Moon – 36 (wild card playoffs, 1992) [272][273][275]
Most yards, playoff game Daryle Lamonica – 401 (AFL championship, 1968) 433 (divisional playoffs, 1981) Bernie Kosar – 489 (divisional Playoffs, 1986) [273][274]
Most consecutive 300-yard games Multiple players – 3 4 (weeks 6–9, 1979) Joe Montana – 5 (weeks 2–14, 1982) [142][276]
Most consecutive 300-yard games, playoffs Multiple players – 2 4 (1979–81) Record stands as of 2024 [277][278]
Most consecutive 400-yard games Multiple players – 1 2 (weeks 14–15, 1982) Ryan Fitzpatrick – 3 (weeks 1–3, 2018) [198][279]
Most attempts, season Steve DeBerg – 578 (1979) 589 (1980)
then 609 (1981)		 Dan Marino – 623 (1986) [280][281][282]
Most completions, season Steve DeBerg – 347 (1979) 348 (1980)
then 360 (1981)		 Dan Marino – 362 (1984) [280][281][283]
Most yards, season Joe Namath – 4,007 (1967) 4,082 (1979)
then 4,715 (1980)
then 4,802 (1981)		 Dan Marino – 5,084 (1984) [5][280][281][283]
Most 300-yard games, season Joe Namath – 6 (1967) 8 (1980) Dan Marino – 9 (1984) [280][283]
Most consecutive seasons leading league, passing yards Multiple players – 2 4 (1979–82) Record stands as of 2024 [284][285]
Most 300-yard games, career Johnny Unitas – 26 (1956–72) 52 (1974–87) Dan Marino – 63 (1983–99) [286][159][287][288]
Most 400-yard games, career Sonny Jurgensen – 5 (1961–67) 6 (1980–85) Dan Marino – 13 (1984–95) [289][159][290][288]
Most 4,000-yard seasons, career Joe Namath – 1 (1967) 3 (1979–81) Dan Marino – 6 (1984–86, 88, 92, 94) [5][184][291][288]

Chargers records edit

Following are Chargers franchise records held by Fouts:

  • Passing yards per game, season: 320.3 (1982)[292]
  • Passing touchdowns, game: 6 (11/22/81 vs. Oakland)[178]
  • Passer rating, game (min 15 attempts): 158.3 (9/26/76 vs. St. Louis)[293]
  • Passing touchdowns, playoff game: 3 (twice, tied with Philip Rivers)[294]
  • Passing yards, playoff game: 433 (1/2/82 vs. Miami, also 2nd, 3rd and 4th places with 336 and 333 (twice))[295]
  • Passing attempts, playoff game: 53 (1/2/82 vs. Miami)[296]
  • Completions, playoff game: 33 (1/2/82 vs. Miami)[297]
  • Interceptions, career: 242[298]

Broadcasting edit

Television edit

While announcing his retirement, Fouts stated his desire to work as a commentator, starting from the upcoming 1988 season.[299] He did an audition tape for CBS, working with Dick Stockton,[299] and officially joined the NFL on CBS team as an analyst in March of that year.[300] Over the course of the next six seasons, he was primarily partnered with Verne Lundquist.[301] CBS were outbid by Fox and lost their NFL coverage rights in 1994. Fouts then switched to the CBS-affiliated KPIX-TV in his hometown of San Francisco, where he worked as the sports director and a sports anchor.[302] In the fall of 1997, Fouts returned to network television as an analyst, this time working college football games for ABC Sports alongside play-by-play man Brent Musburger.[301]

In 2000, Fouts moved into a commentary role on ABC's Monday Night Football, alongside MNF anchor Al Michaels and comedian Dennis Miller.[303] He had a three-year contract, but ABC dropped both Fouts and Miller from the show in 2002, after only two seasons. Fouts stayed with ABC, returning to college football and working alongside acclaimed veteran announcer Keith Jackson.[304] After Jackson's retirement from ABC in 2006, Fouts partnered with Tim Brant.[305]

ABC declined to renew the contracts of either Fouts or Brant in 2008.[306] It was reported in USA Today later that year that Fouts was returning to CBS for NFL games, where he would work with a variety of play-by-play announcers including Don Criqui, Bill Macatee and Dick Enberg.[307] In 2009, he was moved to partner with Enberg as the number 3 broadcasting team for the NFL on CBS.[308] Ian Eagle replaced Enberg as Fouts' partner the following season,[309] and the new pair remained in the number three slot until 2014, when they were elevated to the number two team behind Jim Nantz and Phil Simms (and later, Tony Romo).[310] Eagle and Fouts were often called "The Bird and the Beard".[311] While with CBS, Fouts also covered Chargers preseason games carried throughout Southern California.[312]

In April 2020 it was announced that CBS had parted ways with Fouts.[313]

Other media edit

In 1998, Fouts made his big-screen debut, portraying himself in the football comedy The Waterboy, starring Adam Sandler. Fouts and Musburger appeared late in the film as ABC Sports' broadcast team for the fictitious New Year's Day "Bourbon Bowl" game.[314]

Fouts did color commentary for the football video game NFL GameDay 2004, released in 2003. He partnered with long-time announcer Enberg.[315]

During his second stint at CBS, Fouts also called NFL games for Westwood One radio, including Super Bowl 50.[316]

Life outside football edit

Fouts married his first wife, public health major Julianne Mehl, in 1977. The pair had met at the University of Oregon.[317] They later divorced, and Fouts was married for the second time in 1994, to Jeri Martin. He had two children from the first marriage and two from the second.[318][319] His first son Dominic died of cancer in 2012. The family set up the Dominic Fouts Memorial Cancer Fund, with Dan Fouts as an adviser.[319]

He lives with his wife in Oregon,[319] the state of his alma mater, in a two-story home he had constructed from logs in the 1970s. The house is situated in the mountains near Sisters.[320][321]

Described as a private person away from football,[166] Fouts enjoyed fishing, skiing and racquetball during his playing career.[322] He is also a keen golfer,[319] who has appeared at numerous charity events.[323][324]

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ On July 23, Fouts signed a three-year contract worth a total of $93,000, equivalent to $638,312 in 2023.[56][57]
  2. ^ Namath's total came from 14 regular season games, while Fouts had 16.[141]
  3. ^ Jefferson had 1,090 yards and Joiner 1,008. The New York Jets had the previous such pairing with George Sauer and Don Maynard.
  4. ^ Due to an error in the gamebook (a Muncie catch was recorded as 0 yards instead of −6) Fouts was originally reported to have thrown for 450 yards.[196] This was subsequently corrected to 444 yards.[197]
  5. ^ Ron Mix had his No. 74 retired in 1969 but un-retired in 1971.[260]
  6. ^ Joe Montana won with 24+1⁄2 votes.[267]

References edit

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  4. ^ Hoffarth, Tom (August 4, 2019). "Dan Fouts mourns the death of his dad, Bob, a renowned broadcaster in his own right". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
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External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dan Fouts.
  • Official website
  • Career statistics and player information from NFL.com · Pro Football Reference
  • Pro Football Hall of Fame: Member profile

January 01, 1970
fouts, daniel, francis, fouts, born, june, 1951, american, former, professional, football, quarterback, played, diego, chargers, national, football, league, throughout, season, career, 1973, 1987, after, relatively, undistinguished, first, five, seasons, leagu. Daniel Francis Fouts born June 10 1951 is an American former professional football quarterback who played for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League NFL throughout his 15 season career 1973 1987 After a relatively undistinguished first five seasons in the league Fouts came to prominence as the on field leader during the Chargers Air Coryell period He led the league in passing every year from 1979 to 1982 passing for over 4 000 yards in the first three of these no previous quarterback had posted consecutive 4 000 yard seasons Fouts was voted a Pro Bowler six times first team All Pro twice and Offensive Player of the Year in 1982 He was named a member of the NFL 1980s All Decade Team and elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993 his first year of eligibility Dan FoutsFouts in 2012No 14Position QuarterbackPersonal informationBorn 1951 06 10 June 10 1951 age 72 San Francisco California U S Height 6 ft 3 in 1 91 m Weight 204 lb 93 kg Career informationHigh school Marin Catholic Kentfield California St Ignatius San Francisco California College Oregon 1969 1972 NFL draft 1973 Round 3 Pick 64Career historySan Diego Chargers 1973 1987 Career highlights and awardsNFL Offensive Player of the Year 1982 2 First team All Pro 1979 1982 2 Second team All Pro 1980 1985 6 Pro Bowl 1979 1983 1985 4 NFL passing yards leader 1979 1982 2 NFL passing touchdowns leader 1981 1982 NFL completion percentage leader 1979 NFL 1980s All Decade Team San Diego Chargers 50th Anniversary Team Los Angeles Chargers Hall of Fame Los Angeles Chargers No 14 retired First team All Pac 8 1972 Career NFL statisticsPassing attempts 5 604Passing completions 3 297Completion percentage 58 8 TD INT 254 242Passing yards 43 040Passer rating 80 2Rushing yards 476Rushing touchdowns 13Player stats at NFL com PFRPro Football Hall of Fame Fouts played college football for the Oregon Ducks breaking numerous records and later being inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame and the University of Oregon Hall of Fame He was a third round draft pick of the Chargers in 1973 brought in to back up veteran Johnny Unitas Fouts struggled during his first three season in the league while playing for losing teams His form began to improve in 1976 when Bill Walsh spent a year in San Diego as his offensive coordinator but discontentment over the direction of the team and the restrictions of the NFL s free agency rules led Fouts to refuse to play through the majority of 1977 Early in 1978 Don Coryell became the new head coach of the Chargers and installed the pass oriented offensive scheme that would become known as Air Coryell Fouts given license to throw with an unprecedented frequency produced record breaking numbers during the rest of his career He led the NFL in passing yards four straight years from 1979 to 1982 still a record and became the first player in history to throw for 4 000 yards in three consecutive seasons breaking the NFL single season record for passing yards each time He set career records for the most 300 yard games and 400 yard games Fouts was rewarded with six Pro Bowl selections 1979 1983 amp 1985 and four All Pro selections first team in 1979 and 1982 second team in 1980 and 1985 In the strike shortened 1982 season he passed for 2 883 yards in only nine games winning the AP Offensive Player of the Year and PFWA NFL MVP honors Fouts led the Chargers to three consecutive AFC West division titles 1979 1981 and a further playoff appearance in 1982 He was the winning quarterback in the Epic in Miami game breaking a playoff record with 433 passing yards The Chargers advanced to the AFC championship game twice during his career but never reached the Super Bowl Fouts is widely considered among the best quarterbacks in NFL history to never reach a Super Bowl Fouts was a color analyst for NFL games on CBS television and Westwood One radio He is the son of Bay Area Radio Hall of Famer Bob Fouts Contents 1 Early life and high school career 2 College career 2 1 Statistics 3 Professional career 3 1 1973 1978 Early career 3 1 1 1973 season 3 1 2 1974 season 3 1 3 1975 season 3 1 4 1976 season 3 1 5 1977 season 125 day holdout 3 1 6 1978 season 3 2 1979 1982 Four time passing yardage leader 3 2 1 1979 season 3 2 2 1980 season 3 2 3 1981 season 3 2 4 1982 season Offensive Player of the Year 3 3 1983 1987 Later career 3 3 1 1983 season 3 3 2 1984 season 3 3 3 1985 season 3 3 4 1986 season 3 3 5 1987 Final season and retirement 3 4 Legacy and playing style 4 NFL career statistics 4 1 Regular season 4 2 Postseason 5 Accomplishments 5 1 Honors 5 2 NFL records 5 3 Chargers records 6 Broadcasting 6 1 Television 6 2 Other media 7 Life outside football 8 See also 9 Notes 10 References 11 External linksEarly life and high school career editDan Fouts was born in San Francisco on June 10 1951 1 to Julie and Bob Fouts the fourth of five children 2 His father was a sports broadcaster who commentated on games for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League NFL for over 20 years 3 As a child Dan acted as a stat keeper for Bob and worked for the 49ers as a ballboy 4 One of his first sporting heroes was John Brodie the 49ers starting quarterback of that time 5 When at the age of 11 Fouts asked his parents permission to play football they told him that he would have to be a quarterback as he had shown a good throwing arm while playing Little League baseball 6 7 He played Pop Warner football for the Drake Junior Pirates where his coach described him as an outstanding quarterback in 1964 8 Fouts attended Marin Catholic High School located just north of San Francisco in Kentfield California for his two first years and started some games as a sophomore in the fall of 1966 While he temporarily lost the starting job after play described as extremely jittery by the local San Rafael Daily Independent Journal 9 an end of season report from the same paper stated that he should improve with better protection 10 Fouts playing on an 0 6 team finished the season with nine interceptions and only one touchdown 11 While at Marin Catholic he also played varsity basketball as a forward 12 Fouts transferred to St Ignatius College Preparatory San Francisco for his final two years of high school 13 Explaining the switch to St Ignatius in 2013 he said My dad told me you re not going to get a scholarship at Marin Catholic you re going to get it at St Ignatius 14 In 1967 St Ignatius were champions of the West Catholic Athletic League with a 6 0 record and Fouts was named to the WCAL All Star first team 15 He nearly reversed his touchdown to interceptions ratio with 16 touchdowns and two interceptions 16 St Ignatius went 5 1 in Fouts senior year he passed much less as his team focused more on their running game 17 18 College career editFouts was somewhat of an unknown when he accepted a scholarship offer from the University of Oregon to play for the Ducks in Eugene 18 It was the only offer from a major college that he received 19 Fouts didn t feature for the Ducks during his first year at Oregon 1969 instead starting for the freshman team 20 In 1970 he began the season as a backup to veteran passer Tom Blanchard 21 In the opening game a 31 24 victory over California Fouts came off the bench and completed 12 of 19 passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns including the game winner in the final two minutes Fouts and Blanchard combined to set a new Pacific 8 Conference Pac 8 record with 424 passing yards on the day 22 Fouts got his first chance to start two weeks later with Blanchard out injured 23 and kept the role for the rest of the season 24 25 He went on to set single game records for most attempts completions and yards 26 and single season records for completions and touchdowns 27 His 16 touchdowns ranked second in the Pac 8 28 while his 212 1 yards of total offense per game were tenth in the nation 29 UPI named him as an honorable mention in their season ending all coast team 30 The Salem Capital Journal described Fouts as a sophomore with the poise of a senior 31 Fouts entered 1971 as an established and highly rated starter 32 He missed two and a half games with knee ligament damage 33 34 but still ranked third in the Pac 8 for passing yards 35 When Oregon changed their head coach at the end of the year Fouts was one of seven players on the committee of fifteen who chose his replacement 36 Fouts broke the Oregon record for career passing yardage early in the 1972 season 37 In his last game as a Duck he threw a 65 yard touchdown pass and Oregon beat Oregon State for the first time in nine years 38 At the end of the season Fouts ranked second in the Pac 8 for passing yards and touchdowns behind Mike Boryla of Stanford comparing the two passers the Capital Journal stated that Fouts faced trying conditions with a relative lack of support on offense 39 He was named to the All Pac 8 team as chosen by the conference s coaches 40 as well as the United Press International UPI All Coast team and the Associated Press AP All West Coast team 39 41 Fouts was invited to the East West Shrine Bowl which he missed due to a foot injury 42 the Senior Bowl 43 and the Coaches All America Game at which he broke his collarbone on his first play from scrimmage 44 At the time of his graduation Fouts career passing yardage ranks were No 1 in Oregon history No 2 in the Pac 8 and No 7 in the NCAA 45 He set 19 Oregon records including those for career passing yardage 5 995 and total offense 5 871 46 47 and was inducted into the university s hall of fame in 1992 48 Statistics edit Season Passing Cmp Att Pct Yds Avg TD Int Rtg 1970 188 361 52 1 2 390 6 6 16 24 109 0 1971 123 247 49 8 1 564 6 3 9 11 106 1 1972 171 348 49 1 2 041 5 9 12 19 98 9 Career 49 482 956 50 4 5 995 6 3 37 54 104 6Professional career edit1973 1978 Early career edit 1973 season edit Fouts was selected in the third round of the 1973 NFL draft by the San Diego Chargers he was the sixth quarterback taken in the draft and the 64th selection overall 50 51 At the time he was drafted NFL scouts questioned Fouts durability arm strength and athleticism 52 53 He was brought in to back up his childhood idol Johnny Unitas who had joined the Chargers during the offseason after 17 years with the Baltimore Colts 54 Fouts broken collarbone in the Coaches All America Game happened after he was drafted Chargers management had not wanted him to play in the game because of the risk of injury 55 Fouts missed the start of training camp while holding out for more money a then missed the first three preseason games while recovering from his injury 58 Head coach Harland Svare described Fouts as about a year behind in August and Fouts himself did not anticipate much play as a rookie 55 Once the 1973 season began Unitas soon picked up a career ending shoulder injury causing Fouts to see far more play than expected 54 His first appearance came in week 4 entering a game at Pittsburgh at the start of the second half with the Chargers trailing 38 0 Fouts threw his first career touchdown in the 4th quarter a 13 yarder to Jerry LeVias 59 led two further touchdown drives and the game finished 38 21 60 He made his first start the following week throwing two further touchdowns in a 27 17 loss to the Oakland Raiders 61 United Press International described his performance as that of a bona fide NFL quarterback 62 He struggled in his next game intercepted four times during a 41 0 home loss to Atlanta with the Associated Press reporting that he frequently threw off balance and into a crowd of defenders 63 Fouts finished the season ranked 12th by passer rating in the 13 team American Football Conference AFC 64 He was benched in favor of Wayne Clark for four weeks late in the season as the Chargers struggled to a 2 11 1 record 65 66 Speaking in 1985 Fouts described the 1972 Chargers as a team in turmoil total disarray and criticized the coaches for not letting him work with Unitas and benefit from his knowledge 67 1974 season edit Unitas announced his retirement before the 1974 season 68 leaving Fouts to compete with rookie Jesse Freitas for the starting job 69 New head coach Tommy Prothro singled out Fouts as giving the only good performance during a preseason loss 70 he began the regular season as the starter 71 San Diego lost their first game but Fouts got his first career win in week 2 leading a 98 yard 4th quarter drive for the winning touchdown 72 The Chargers lost their next five games culminating in a 24 14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in San Diego Fouts threw two interceptions and lost a fumble prompting his home fans to start chanting for Freitas to play 73 In the same game Fouts argued with wide receiver Harrison Davis who he felt did not try hard enough to prevent an interception of an underthrown ball Davis commented to the media Not much I could do about it Fouts can yell that s his privilege but it was a bad pass Fouts said He s got to fight for the ball That s gold out there 73 He threw four touchdowns the following week and continued to start until week 11 when a broken thumb ended his season 74 75 Fouts ranked 11th in the AFC for passer rating 76 Freitas started the final three games and contributed two of the Chargers five wins on the season Prothro declined to comment when asked about his future plans for Fouts and Freitas except to say that he had no plans to draft another quarterback 76 1975 season edit Fouts and Freitas continued to vie for the starting position entering the 1975 season 77 Both struggled in preseason and the Chargers added veteran quarterback Virgil Carter to their roster 78 All three quarterbacks played in the regular season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers generating only 145 yards of offense in a 37 0 defeat 79 Two weeks later Fouts was the only quarterback Prothro used against the Oakland Raiders 80 His home crowd booed him when he was announced before kickoff he went on to complete 3 of 13 passes for 29 yards no touchdowns and two interceptions while getting sacked five times for the loss of 51 yards 81 The Chargers lost 6 0 82 San Diego went on to lose their first eleven games while Fouts missed playing time with a sore ankle and a concussion 83 84 he had seven injuries in total during the course of the year 85 The Chargers avoided a winless season with a pair of victories in December with Fouts the quarterback both times 86 87 With only two touchdown passes all season Fouts finished with the 12th best passer rating in the AFC 88 64 The following year he said the Chargers had been running a very basic antiquated offense in 1974 and 1975 89 Reflecting on his first three seasons in a 1983 interview he added We really didn t have an offensive coordinator or quarterback coach so I had to fall back on what I d learned from John Robinson my offensive coordinator at Oregon 90 1976 season edit Starting in February Fouts worked out three times a week with Bill Walsh who spent a year as the Chargers offensive coordinator 91 92 Fouts would later describe the sessions He showed me how to set up how to hold the ball where to throw and why That s a large part of my success 67 He also praised Walsh for introducing a more complex offensive system 89 Fouts and the Chargers began the 1976 season in good form they reached a 3 0 record with a 43 24 victory over the St Louis Cardinals in which Fouts threw four touchdown passes 93 Fouts was the league s No 1 rated passer at that stage though the defenses he had faced were not highly rated 94 His performances worsened as the season went on and fans were calling for backup Clint Longley to have more playing time entering a week 10 game with the Denver Broncos 95 Fouts was again booed by his home crowd in the Broncos game a 17 0 defeat 96 Longley did start one game late in the season 97 but was benched for Fouts after failing to produce any points in the first half 98 Fouts finished with the eighth best passer rating in the AFC and led the conference in both pass attempts 359 and completions 208 64 99 San Diego sports journalist Jack Murphy described 1976 as a year of much growth for Fouts and the departing Walsh predicted that he would have a fine career in the league 100 1977 season 125 day holdout edit San Diego acquired quarterback James Harris from the Los Angeles Rams during the offseason with head coach Tommy Prothro stating that he wanted depth at the injury prone position 101 Harris s contract was speculated in the media to pay him approximately 170 000 compared to 82 500 for Fouts 102 The following month Fouts was one of 17 players testifying against the NFL in an antitrust settlement 103 Fouts expressed a desire to leave San Diego and complained at a new collective bargaining agreement which meant the Chargers had only to match the offer of another team to prevent him from leaving 102 Prothro speculated that Fouts was disgruntled due to Harris s signing and contract 104 105 but Fouts himself said that he wanted to play in a Super Bowl and that the Chargers were not of that caliber he stated that he would retire if he was not allowed to leave San Diego 106 He also attacked Prothro as the farthest thing from a head coach you ll ever find he s snowing people into thinking he knows what he s doing 102 Fouts refused to report to training camp in July and was placed on the reserve list by the Chargers the following month 107 108 Harris became the new starting quarterback 109 Owner Gene Klein stated publicly that he would not trade Fouts and that he would not play in the NFL again if he refused to report 110 Fouts filed a grievance against the Chargers in October seeking to be granted free agent status by the NFL 111 On November 15 the NFL grievance committee rejected an attempt by Fouts to become a free agent Chargers Owner Gene Klein said that Fouts had been given bad advice by his lawyer 112 and would be welcomed back to the team 113 Fouts reported to the team on November 17 125 days late having accrued 62 500 in fines 114 He declined to comment on his holdout to the press 115 Chargers player representative Pat Curran stated that the team welcomed him back suggesting that his criticisms of Prothro and the quality of the team were a smoke screen to support his attempt to become a free agent 116 117 The 1977 Chargers were a 5 5 team when Fouts returned and had recently lost Harris to injury 118 He won praise from Prothro while winning his first two games back and described the team as the best of his Chargers career 119 He lost the next two games struggling in both 120 The Escondido Times Advocate said of the finale that Fouts was his vintage horrid self of all his bad games of the past 121 1978 season edit nbsp The arrival of head coach Don Coryell in 1978 spurred Fouts transformation into a record breaking quarterback Fouts signed a new five year contract with the Chargers during the offseason 122 and was installed as the starter ahead of Harris 123 He sustained a jammed thumb early in the 1978 season and didn t start in week 4 against the Green Bay Packers instead coming off the bench and throwing two of the Chargers five interceptions in a 24 3 defeat 124 Prothro resigned after the Green Bay defeat with the team s record at 1 3 125 his replacement Don Coryell would be a key figure in Fouts career 126 Coryell was an offensively minded coach who favored the passing game 127 128 He later wrote of Fouts The first few times I saw him throw the ball I knew that he would be our quarterback and that he would be a great one 129 Recalling Coryell s first team talk Fouts said I went home that day and I had the biggest canary eating grin on He talked about fun passing moving the ball flying around the field hitting people All the things I wanted to hear 130 San Diego lost three of Coryell s first four games then won their next four to preserve a small chance of making the playoffs 131 Fouts missed the next game with an ankle injury 132 and San Diego lost 23 0 133 Coryell who had made few changes to the Chargers offense up to that point began to emphasise the passing game more during the last three games of the season 130 Fouts responded with a total of 917 yards and 9 touchdowns as the Chargers won all three giving him seven consecutive victories as a starter 134 135 He passed for 369 yards in the season finale tying Tobin Rote s franchise record 136 Fouts finished with the third best passer rating in the league 83 2 and the fourth most touchdown passes 24 137 138 He had 2 999 passing yards accounting for the bulk of San Diego s league leading 3 375 yards 139 140 A later Chicago Tribune article noted the last three games of 1978 as the start of the unprecedented passing attack known as Air Coryell which Fouts led for several years without further injuries 130 1979 1982 Four time passing yardage leader edit 1979 season edit San Diego went 12 4 in 1979 winning the AFC West and reaching the playoffs for the first time in Fouts career 141 He finished the season with 4 082 yards passing breaking Joe Namath s NFL record of 4 007 b He set an NFL record with a run of four consecutive 300 yard games 142 while his total of six such games tied Joe Namath s league record 143 With 332 completions from 530 attempts Fouts completion percentage of 62 2 led the league 144 while his passer rating of 82 6 was the best in the AFC and third best in the NFL 145 146 His leading receivers John Jefferson and Charlie Joiner were the first pair of teammates to each surpass 1 000 receiving yards in a season since 1968 c Fouts said of his record breaking season I m in the game for one thing to get to the Super Bowl The records will come because of our style of play 147 In the end of season awards Fouts finished second behind Earl Campbell for both AP NFL MVP outvoted 34 27 and AP Offensive Player of the Year outvoted 39 34 148 149 He was named a Pro Bowler and an AP first team All Pro 150 151 Other organizations to select him as their All NFL quarterback included UPI Pro Football Weekly and the Professional Football Writers of America 152 San Diego s return to the playoffs ended in disappointment losing 17 14 at home to the wildcard Houston Oilers Fouts completed 25 of 47 passes for 333 yards no touchdowns and five interceptions Fouts said after the game We just made too many mistakes that s all We didn t play very well and they did 153 It was revealed after the game that Houston defensive coordinator Ed Biles had managed to crack the code San Diego used to signal their offensive plays to Fouts giving them prior warning of the coming plays and potentially accounting in part for Fouts struggles 154 1980 season edit San Diego repeated as division champions in 1980 with an 11 5 record Fouts had an eventful game in the week 2 matchup with Oakland He turned the ball over on five consecutive possessions in the 3rd quarter with four interceptions and a fumble that was run back for a touchdown but eventually threw a 24 yard touchdown to Jefferson in overtime as the Chargers won 30 24 155 Fouts finished the game with 29 completions from 44 attempts for 387 yards with 3 touchdowns and 5 interceptions 156 The 387 yards were a new single game franchise record for the Chargers 155 Fouts himself would break the record once more four weeks later with 388 yards in a 38 24 loss to the Raiders 157 the following week he broke it again this time passing for 444 yards in a 44 7 victory over the Giants 158 This last total would prove to be the joint most of his career 159 San Diego and Oakland had a tight race for the AFC West title which the Chargers eventually edged on tiebreakers 160 For the second consecutive season Fouts broke the passing yardage record finishing with 4 715 yards over 500 ahead of his nearest rival 161 This time he also broke Namath s yards per game record by averaging 294 7 162 His marks for attempts 589 and completions 348 were NFL records 163 and he posted a new personal best with 30 touchdowns against 24 interceptions and with a passer rating of 84 7 1 He had eight 300 yard passing games breaking a record he d tied the previous season 163 Fouts was voted a 2nd team All Pro and made his second Pro Bowl 1 Jefferson Winslow and Joiner his leading receivers dominated the receiving yardage charts finishing 1st 2nd and 4th respectively with over 1 100 yards each Jefferson led the league in touchdown catches and Winslow came top in receptions 164 They were the first trio of teammates to each have 1 000 receiving yards in the same season 165 Joiner said of Fouts at this point Dan has definitely matured over the last four years His quickness of release is better he s improved at reading defenses he s better at going to the receiver who s open 166 San Diego was again the No 1 seed in the AFC playoffs and hosted the Buffalo Bills in the divisional playoffs The Chargers trailed 14 3 early in the game and 14 13 with a little over two minutes to play facing a 3rd and 10 at midfield Fouts then found little used wide receiver Ron Smith for what would prove to be the game winning touchdown 167 Fouts finished 22 of 37 for 314 yards 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions 168 Jefferson and Joiner were among those praising his leadership and toughness after the come from behind win 166 The following week San Diego hosted Oakland for their third meeting of the season with a place in the Super Bowl at stake Fouts had a mixed first half as he threw two touchdown passes to Joiner and two red zone interceptions Joiner s second touchdown began a comeback attempt from 28 7 behind that eventually fell short Oakland won 34 27 and went on to triumph in Super Bowl XV 169 Fouts finished the game having completed 22 of 45 passes for 336 yards 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions 170 1981 season edit While San Diego won their third consecutive division title in 1981 they had to contend with early season unrest with both Jefferson and key defensive end Fred Dean holding out for better pay Both players were traded early in the season to the disapproval of numerous other Chargers 171 Jefferson s replacement Wes Chandler 172 had made one Pro Bowl with the New Orleans Saints and would go on to make three more with the Chargers 173 Without Dean the defense slipped from 6th to 27th in the 28 team league leaving Fouts and the offense as the unit more likely to lead San Diego to victories Fouts began the season by posting a near perfect passer rating of 157 1 completing 19 of 25 for 330 yards 3 touchdowns and no interceptions in an easy 44 14 win over Cleveland 174 The Chargers reached a 6 3 record before back to back one sided defeats left them two games off the division lead 175 In week 12 the Chargers went to Oakland and beat the defending Super Bowl champions 55 21 176 Fouts threw touchdown passes on six consecutive drives including four to Winslow in a ten minute period sandwiching halftime 177 The six touchdown passes were the most of Fouts s career 159 and remain a Chargers record as of 2024 update 178 The win was the first of four over the final five weeks of the regular season as the Chargers recovered to take the division title on tiebreakers over Denver with a 10 6 record 179 nbsp Fouts led the Chargers to a victory in the storied Epic in Miami 1981 AFC divisional playoff game setting several postseason passing records Fouts was consistent passing for between 252 and 352 yards in every regular season game bar the finale 180 With 4 802 yards nearly 900 yards ahead of his nearest rival 181 he broke the single season record for the 3rd consecutive season as well as breaking the records for yards per game 300 1 attempts 609 and completions 360 for the second time He posted the best touchdown to interception ratio of his career 33 17 led the league in touchdown passes for the first time and made his third Pro Bowl 1 At this point Fouts was responsible for over half of the five 4 000 yard passing seasons in NFL history posting his third in a row 182 Fouts again had three 1 000 yard receivers with Joiner Chandler including his yards with the Saints before he was traded and Winslow again the league s leader in receptions all crossing the mark 183 He benefitted from a stable veteran offensive line Billy Shields Doug Wilkerson Don Macek Ed White and Russ Washington 184 who enabled Fouts to be sacked on a career low 3 of his pass attempts 1 185 San Diego faced the Dolphins in the divisional playoffs winning the Epic in Miami 41 38 In a dominant 1st quarter the Chargers led 24 0 when Fouts threw an 8 yard touchdown pass to James Brooks Miami scored 24 points of their own to tie the score in the 3rd quarter before Fouts restored the lead with a 25 yard touchdown to Winslow The Dolphins responded with the next 14 points and were close to scoring again when they lost a fumble at the San Diego 18 with five minutes to play Fouts completed 7 of 8 passes for 75 yards on the ensuing drive ending with a 9 yard touchdown pass that was intended for Winslow but caught instead by Brooks with 58 seconds to play The game went into overtime where Fouts completed back to back passes of 20 yards to Chandler and 39 yards to Joiner and Benirschke won the game with a 29 yard field goal nearly 14 minutes into the extra period 186 Fouts who described the game as the best he d ever played in 187 finished with 33 completions from 53 attempts for 433 yards all setting new NFL playoff records with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception 188 The Epic in Miami set playoff records for the most combined points yards passing yards and completions and is widely considered one of the greatest NFL games played 189 190 The Chargers faced the Bengals in Cincinnati in the AFC championship game The game known as the Freezer Bowl was played in frigid conditions with a temperature of 9 F 22 8 C in contrast to the 88 F 31 1 C conditions in Miami the previous week 191 Fouts struggled to grip the ball completing 15 of 28 passes for 185 yards 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions as the Chargers were defeated 27 7 missing out on a Super Bowl appearance by one game for the second consecutive season 192 1982 season Offensive Player of the Year edit nbsp Fouts tied his career high with 444 passing yards as San Diego defeated the 49ers 41 37 In 1982 the Chargers started 1 1 before an NFL players strike interrupted the regular season and reduced it to nine games in total when it resumed in November 193 Fouts did not support the strike action before it began but trained extensively with his teammates while it was ongoing 194 When play resumed the Chargers lost their first game back then won their next two going into a road meeting with the defending Super Bowl champion 49ers In a passing duel with Joe Montana Fouts threw five touchdowns including a game winner to running back Chuck Muncie with three minutes left The Chargers won 41 37 Fouts finished with 33 completions from 48 attempts for 444 yards tying his career high 159 5 touchdowns and no interceptions The teams set an NFL record with 65 completions while combining for 810 passing yards 195 d The following week San Diego faced the other participant from the previous Super Bowl beating Cincinnati 50 34 at Jack Murphy Stadium Fouts went 25 of 40 for 435 yards 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions He become the first player in NFL history to post back to back 400 yard games The teams combined for 66 completions breaking the NFL record set in the Chargers previous game and 883 passing yards setting a new record 198 The Chargers eventually qualified for the playoffs for the fourth straight year with a 6 3 record 199 While the truncated season prevented Fouts from again breaking the passing yardage record in 1982 he did set a new yards per game record for the third consecutive year this time with 320 3 per game He led the league in passing yards 2 883 touchdowns 17 tied with Montana and yards per attempt 8 7 which would prove to be the best of his career His passer rating of 93 3 second best in the league would stand as a career high and he was named 1st team All Pro for the second time as well as being voted to a fourth successive Pro Bowl 1 200 Fouts won the Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year Award with 43 of the available 80 votes but finished runner up in NFL MVP voting with 33 two behind Washington kicker Mark Moseley 201 He did win a league MVP award from the PFWA as well as the player awarded Jim Thorpe Trophy 202 Fouts was again well protected by the same quintet of offensive linemen as the previous year This time none of the five missed a game and Fouts was sacked on 3 5 of pass plays 203 200 From Fouts receivers Winslow caught the second most passes in the league while Chandler despite missing a game finished as the only 1 000 yard receiver in the league 204 San Diego traveled to Pittsburgh in the first round of the playoffs The Steelers led 28 17 in the final quarter but Fouts finished consecutive drives with touchdown passes to Winslow the first coming on 4th down the second with one minute to play These were enough to give the Chargers a 31 28 victory 205 Fouts completed 27 of 43 passes for 333 yards 3 touchdowns and no interceptions producing a passer rating of 112 5 his best in a playoff game 206 In the second round of the playoffs the Chargers faced the Dolphins in the Orange Bowl the same venue as their famous match from the previous season The rematch proved to be one sided with Miami winning 34 13 Fouts completed 15 of 34 passes for 191 yards 1 touchdown and 5 interceptions 207 This proved to be the last playoff game of his career meaning that he had thrown five interceptions in both his first and final playoff games 206 1983 1987 Later career edit 1983 season edit Fouts was a free agent in 1983 While negotiating with the Chargers he also considered an offer to play for a proposed San Diego based franchise in the new USFL 208 Ultimately Fouts opted to sign a six year contract with the Chargers stating that he wanted to win a Super Bowl The contract was reported to pay upward of 1 million per year making it one of the most lucrative in pro football 209 Fouts played for five more seasons but missed time through injury in each of those and would not return to the playoffs 1 In 1983 the Chargers went 6 10 while conceding the most points in the league 210 Fouts started the first seven games throwing for at least 300 yards in five of them 211 but was kept out of the next five by a shoulder injury ending a run of consecutive starts that stretched back to 1978 212 After returning for three games Fouts reaggravated the injury and missed the finale 213 He went 5 5 as a starter led the league in yards per game for the fifth straight year with 297 5 and made his fifth straight Pro Bowl He threw 20 touchdowns and 15 interceptions and produced a career high 8 8 yards per attempt while his completion percentage 63 2 and passer rating 92 5 were both the second best marks of his career 1 1984 season edit San Diego started 4 2 in 1984 but faded from that point finishing 7 9 214 Fouts had his fourth career 400 yard game in a week 8 loss to the Raiders 215 In week 12 he set career highs for attempts and completions 159 going 37 of 56 for 380 yards 4 touchdowns and 1 interception while leading the Chargers back from a 28 14 4th quarter deficit to a 34 28 overtime upset of Dan Marino and the previously unbeaten Miami Dolphins 216 Fouts started the first thirteen games of the season before injuring his groin and missing the remaining three 217 He went 6 7 as a starter with 19 touchdowns and 17 interceptions His yards per attempt slipped to 7 4 while his passer rating of 83 4 was his worst since 1979 1 Fouts still averaged 287 7 yards per game but was eclipsed by Marino who surpassed Fouts single season record with 5 084 passing yards 218 and his run of five straight Pro Bowl appearances came to an end 1 1985 season edit In 1985 the Chargers finished 8 8 The contrast between their offense and defense was stark as they led the league in points scored yards gained first downs passing yards and passing touchdowns but were last in yards conceded first downs conceded and passing yards conceded 219 As a result Fouts took part in numerous high scoring shootouts In week 2 he threw for 440 yards and 4 touchdowns his backup Mark Herrmann added a further touchdown pass but Seattle had 5 of their own and won 49 35 220 The following week Fouts passed for 344 yards and a further 4 touchdown which was enough for a 44 41 win over Cincinnati 221 Fouts was knocked out of a week 4 game in Cleveland with knee ligament damage and underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair it 222 On his third start after returning Fouts threw for 436 yards and 4 touchdowns in a 40 34 overtime win against the Raiders It was the sixth 400 yard game of his career a new NFL record 223 Fouts started the final game on the bench with a cracked fibula 224 though he did have a one play cameo appearance coming on to hand the ball off while Herrmann was winded 225 Fouts went 7 5 as a starter Despite throwing no passes in his final appearance he topped the league in yards per game for the sixth time in his career with 259 9 His yards per attempt rebounded to 8 5 and he led the league in that category for the third time He posted the best touchdown percentage in the league for the only time in his career with 6 3 of his passes going for touchdowns His touchdowns to interceptions ratio 27 20 and passer rating 88 1 were both improved after the previous year and he earned a sixth Pro Bowl berth as well as 2nd Team All Pro honors 1 Fouts nearly had three 1 000 receivers again as Chandler and running back Lionel James both reached the mark while Joiner was short by 68 yards 219 1986 season edit 1986 began well for the Chargers who defeated Miami 50 28 with Fouts throwing 3 touchdowns and no interceptions 226 This was to prove both the last 3 touchdown game of Fouts career and the last win of the Don Coryell era The Chargers lost their next seven games with Fouts throwing 6 touchdowns and 19 interceptions before being sidelined by a pair of concussions 159 227 Coryell who had been expected to stand down at the end of the season instead announced his resignation on October 29 amid rumors that he had been pressured into the decision Assistant coach Al Saunders was promoted to take his place 228 Fouts missed three games due to the concussions and one more with a sore shoulder 229 he finished the season 3 9 as a starter and saw a major drop in statistical performance His touchdown total was less than his interception total 16 22 for the first time since 1977 his completion percentage of 58 6 was his worst since 1976 and his passer rating dropped to 71 4 his worst since 1975 and below the NFL average of 74 1 230 1987 Final season and retirement edit nbsp Fouts c 1987 Fouts played one full season after Coryell s resignation He entered 1987 without his longest serving receiver Joiner retiring as the record holder in career receptions and yards 231 The Chargers lost their first game and won their second before the season was interrupted by a players strike which caused the week 3 games to be canceled and the following three weeks to feature teams made up largely of replacement players 232 While Fouts was not part of the players union and did not picket with his teammates he nonetheless refused to play for the Chargers while the strike was ongoing noting that he would be risking injury behind an inexperienced offensive line 233 The replacement Chargers won all three of their games meaning that Fouts and the other regulars came back to a 4 1 team standing atop the AFC West 234 In his first game back Fouts completed 24 of 34 for 293 yards 2 touchdowns and no interceptions as San Diego beat the Chiefs 42 21 235 Three narrow victories followed and the Chargers had a league best 8 1 record 236 However they lost all six of their remaining games while scoring only five offensive touchdowns and missed the playoffs 232 Fouts played only briefly in the first of these defeats due to a calf injury 237 and missed the finale with a slightly torn rotator cuff 238 His 254th and final touchdown pass came in week 14 a 15 yarder to James in the final quarter of a 20 16 loss to Pittsburgh 239 while posting his 51st and final 300 yard game a record at the time and almost double the next highest 240 The following week he played his final game a 20 7 home defeat to the Indianapolis Colts 159 Fouts completed 22 of 37 passes for 257 yards no touchdowns and 3 interceptions He scored the only Chargers touchdown of the game himself on a 1 yard run 241 Statistically Fouts had a similar campaign to the previous year He was 5 5 as a starter throwing 10 touchdowns and 15 interceptions while his passer rating dropped slightly to 70 0 He was sacked significantly more frequently with 24 sacks occurring on 6 2 of pass attempts his highest percentage since 1977 1 Fouts announced his retirement on March 24 1988 at his home in Rancho Santa Fe He cited the wear and tear on his body as the main reason 240 He was 36 years old at the time and second only to Fran Tarkenton in terms of NFL career passing yards trailing by about 4 000 yards despite attempting 863 fewer passes Fouts ranked fourth in career passing touchdowns with 254 Reflecting on his career he said We had so much confidence in what we were doing and we had a lot of fun 242 Legacy and playing style edit Fouts threw for 43 040 yards and 254 touchdowns while starting 171 games over fifteen seasons in San Diego He rushed for 476 yards and 13 touchdowns 1 The Chargers retired his No 14 jersey during a ceremony at Jack Murphy Stadium on November 27 1988 during halftime of a game against San Francisco 243 At the time he was the only Charger to have his number retired 243 At the time of his retirement Fouts was credited with 42 team records as well as seven league records 243 San Diego found Fouts difficult to replace as they made 14 quarterback changes in barely five seasons before settling on Stan Humphries as a long term starter 244 199 Several of Fouts club records lasted well into the 21st century Philip Rivers broke his career passing touchdowns record in 2015 and career passing yardage record in 2016 245 246 while Justin Herbert surpassed Fouts 1981 single season passing yardage record 40 years later with the benefit of one extra regular season game 247 While he played five full seasons before the arrival of Coryell in San Diego and a further one after he left Fouts is primarily remembered as the quarterback of the Air Coryell offense which led the league in passing yards seven times in an eight season span 1978 1983 1985 248 When Fouts was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993 he chose Coryell to present him and stated during his acceptance speech that he would not have become a Hall of Fame quarterback without his former coach 249 Coryell described Fouts as a superior quarterback writing He had quick feet and could get back and make decisions He wasn t afraid to pull the trigger and let the ball go 250 Fouts was able to make up to five reads before deciding on a pass target 251 Bill Walsh who went on to be a Hall of Fame head coach after leaving San Diego said Dan Fouts had a cool steel like nerve and courage He took a lot of beatings a lot of pounding but continued to play hurt or otherwise He played more physical football than anybody on his team including the linebackers 252 Fouts rarely used the shotgun feeling more able to read defenses at the line 253 After taking the snap he would drop back a shorter distance than most quarterbacks and often delay until the last second to give his receivers time to get open tendencies that led him to take a number of hits throughout his career 253 Despite going to the playoffs from 1979 through 1982 and playing in two AFC championship games the Chargers never went to the Super Bowl under Fouts He frequently appears on lists of the best quarterbacks not to win a Super Bowl or play in one 254 The San Diego defense was often blamed for their defeats 255 While Fouts offense remained consistently strong under Coryell leading the league in total yardage five times in eight seasons from 1978 to 1985 the defense dropped from 6th in 1980 to 27th in 1981 and remained in the bottom five for the next four seasons 199 This slump coincided with the trade of Dean an All Pro sack specialist to the San Francisco 49ers in a contract dispute 256 Dean would win UPI NFC Defensive Player of the Year while playing in only 11 games that year en route to a Super Bowl victory and help the 49ers to another Super Bowl title three years later and later be inducted into the Hall of Fame 257 I can t say how much it affected us because we did make it to the AFC championship game said Chargers All Pro defensive lineman Gary Big Hands Johnson of the loss of Dean But I could say if we had more pass rush from the corner it might ve been different 258 U T San Diego in 2013 called the trade perhaps the biggest blunder in franchise history 259 NFL career statistics editLegend NFL Offensive Player of the Year Led the league Bold Career high Regular season edit Year Team Games Passing Rushing Sacked Fum GP GS Record Cmp Att Pct Yds Y A Y G Lng TD Int Rtg Att Yds Y A Lng TD Sck SckY 1973 SD 10 6 0 5 1 87 194 44 8 1 126 5 8 112 6 69 6 13 46 0 7 32 4 6 16 0 14 129 2 1974 SD 11 11 3 8 115 237 48 5 1 732 7 3 157 5 75 8 13 61 4 19 63 3 3 16 1 12 99 4 1975 SD 10 9 2 7 106 195 54 4 1 396 7 2 139 6 57 2 10 59 3 23 170 7 4 32 2 25 197 3 1976 SD 14 13 5 8 208 359 57 9 2 535 7 1 181 1 81 14 15 75 4 18 65 3 6 13 0 39 220 8 1977 SD 4 4 2 2 69 109 63 3 869 8 0 217 3 67 4 6 77 4 6 13 2 2 11 0 10 77 4 1978 SD 15 14 9 5 224 381 58 8 2 999 7 9 199 9 55 24 20 83 0 20 43 2 2 22 2 22 130 10 1979 SD 16 16 12 4 332 530 62 6 4 082 7 7 255 1 65 24 24 82 6 26 49 1 9 26 2 28 195 13 1980 SD 16 16 11 5 348 589 59 1 4 715 8 0 294 7 65 30 24 84 7 23 15 0 7 9 2 32 210 11 1981 SD 16 16 10 6 360 609 59 1 4 802 7 9 300 1 67 33 17 90 6 22 56 2 5 13 0 19 134 9 1982 SD 9 9 6 3 204 330 61 8 2 883 8 7 320 3 44 17 11 93 3 9 8 0 9 9 1 12 94 2 1983 SD 10 10 5 5 215 340 63 2 2 975 8 8 297 5 59 20 15 92 5 12 5 0 4 3 1 14 107 5 1984 SD 13 13 6 7 317 507 62 5 3 740 7 4 287 7 61 19 17 83 4 12 29 2 4 3 0 29 228 8 1985 SD 14 12 7 5 254 430 59 1 3 638 8 5 259 9 75 27 20 88 1 11 1 0 1 7 0 18 135 13 1986 SD 12 12 3 9 252 430 58 6 3 031 7 0 252 6 65 16 22 71 4 4 3 0 8 0 0 21 173 4 1987 SD 11 10 5 5 206 364 56 6 2 517 6 9 228 8 46 10 15 70 0 12 0 0 0 2 2 24 176 10 Career 181 171 86 84 1 3 297 5 604 58 8 43 040 7 7 237 8 81 254 242 80 2 224 476 2 1 32 13 319 2 304 106 Postseason edit Year Team Games Passing Rushing Sacked Fum GP GS Record Cmp Att Pct Yds Y A Y G Lng TD Int Rtg Att Yds Y A Lng TD Sck SckY 1979 SD 1 1 0 1 25 47 53 2 333 7 1 333 0 34 0 5 36 3 0 0 0 0 2 16 0 1980 SD 2 2 1 1 44 82 53 7 650 7 9 325 0 55 4 3 80 8 3 4 1 3 2 0 4 26 0 1981 SD 2 2 1 1 48 81 59 3 618 7 6 309 0 47 4 3 84 3 3 16 5 3 8 0 4 30 1 1982 SD 2 2 1 1 42 76 55 3 524 6 9 262 0 33 4 5 67 0 2 3 1 5 3 0 3 23 0 Career 7 7 3 4 159 286 55 6 2 125 7 4 303 6 55 12 16 70 0 8 15 1 9 8 0 13 95 1Accomplishments editHonors edit nbsp Fouts c 1982 Fouts jersey number 14 retired by the Chargers in 1988 At the time he was the only Charger to have his number retired e He has been inducted into numerous halls of fame in the years following his retirement This began in 1989 when the San Diego Hall of Champions placed him in the Breitbard Hall of Fame which honors San Diego s finest athletes both on and off the playing surface 261 In 1992 he was inducted into the University of Oregon Hall of Fame as one of the inaugural class 262 263 then the State of Oregon Sports Hall of Fame 264 Fouts was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993 his first year of eligibility 265 Later that year he was inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame together with Joiner 266 Fouts was named the 2nd team quarterback for the NFL 1980s All Decade Team in 1990 receiving 1 full vote out of 26 f In 1999 he was ranked number 92 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players 268 He was one of the twenty quarterbacks listed as finalists for the NFL 100th Anniversary All Time Team 269 though he was not among the ten who made the team 270 In 2009 Fouts was named by fans as the Greatest Charger Of All Time in voting for the Chargers 50th anniversary team 271 NFL records edit Following are NFL records set by Fouts both active records and those since broke Records highlighted in gold are still standing Note that the succeeding record holder may not be the current holder Record Previous holder Fouts Succeeding holder Ref Most attempts playoff game Richard Todd 51 wild card playoffs 1981 53 divisional playoffs 1981 Bernie Kosar 64 divisional playoffs 1986 272 273 274 Most completions playoff game Richard Todd 28 wild card playoffs 1981 33 divisional playoffs 1981 Warren Moon 36 wild card playoffs 1992 272 273 275 Most yards playoff game Daryle Lamonica 401 AFL championship 1968 433 divisional playoffs 1981 Bernie Kosar 489 divisional Playoffs 1986 273 274 Most consecutive 300 yard games Multiple players 3 4 weeks 6 9 1979 Joe Montana 5 weeks 2 14 1982 142 276 Most consecutive 300 yard games playoffs Multiple players 2 4 1979 81 Record stands as of 2024 update 277 278 Most consecutive 400 yard games Multiple players 1 2 weeks 14 15 1982 Ryan Fitzpatrick 3 weeks 1 3 2018 198 279 Most attempts season Steve DeBerg 578 1979 589 1980 then 609 1981 Dan Marino 623 1986 280 281 282 Most completions season Steve DeBerg 347 1979 348 1980 then 360 1981 Dan Marino 362 1984 280 281 283 Most yards season Joe Namath 4 007 1967 4 082 1979 then 4 715 1980 then 4 802 1981 Dan Marino 5 084 1984 5 280 281 283 Most 300 yard games season Joe Namath 6 1967 8 1980 Dan Marino 9 1984 280 283 Most consecutive seasons leading league passing yards Multiple players 2 4 1979 82 Record stands as of 2024 update 284 285 Most 300 yard games career Johnny Unitas 26 1956 72 52 1974 87 Dan Marino 63 1983 99 286 159 287 288 Most 400 yard games career Sonny Jurgensen 5 1961 67 6 1980 85 Dan Marino 13 1984 95 289 159 290 288 Most 4 000 yard seasons career Joe Namath 1 1967 3 1979 81 Dan Marino 6 1984 86 88 92 94 5 184 291 288 Chargers records edit Following are Chargers franchise records held by Fouts Passing yards per game season 320 3 1982 292 Passing touchdowns game 6 11 22 81 vs Oakland 178 Passer rating game min 15 attempts 158 3 9 26 76 vs St Louis 293 Passing touchdowns playoff game 3 twice tied with Philip Rivers 294 Passing yards playoff game 433 1 2 82 vs Miami also 2nd 3rd and 4th places with 336 and 333 twice 295 Passing attempts playoff game 53 1 2 82 vs Miami 296 Completions playoff game 33 1 2 82 vs Miami 297 Interceptions career 242 298 Broadcasting editTelevision edit While announcing his retirement Fouts stated his desire to work as a commentator starting from the upcoming 1988 season 299 He did an audition tape for CBS working with Dick Stockton 299 and officially joined the NFL on CBS team as an analyst in March of that year 300 Over the course of the next six seasons he was primarily partnered with Verne Lundquist 301 CBS were outbid by Fox and lost their NFL coverage rights in 1994 Fouts then switched to the CBS affiliated KPIX TV in his hometown of San Francisco where he worked as the sports director and a sports anchor 302 In the fall of 1997 Fouts returned to network television as an analyst this time working college football games for ABC Sports alongside play by play man Brent Musburger 301 In 2000 Fouts moved into a commentary role on ABC s Monday Night Football alongside MNF anchor Al Michaels and comedian Dennis Miller 303 He had a three year contract but ABC dropped both Fouts and Miller from the show in 2002 after only two seasons Fouts stayed with ABC returning to college football and working alongside acclaimed veteran announcer Keith Jackson 304 After Jackson s retirement from ABC in 2006 Fouts partnered with Tim Brant 305 ABC declined to renew the contracts of either Fouts or Brant in 2008 306 It was reported in USA Today later that year that Fouts was returning to CBS for NFL games where he would work with a variety of play by play announcers including Don Criqui Bill Macatee and Dick Enberg 307 In 2009 he was moved to partner with Enberg as the number 3 broadcasting team for the NFL on CBS 308 Ian Eagle replaced Enberg as Fouts partner the following season 309 and the new pair remained in the number three slot until 2014 when they were elevated to the number two team behind Jim Nantz and Phil Simms and later Tony Romo 310 Eagle and Fouts were often called The Bird and the Beard 311 While with CBS Fouts also covered Chargers preseason games carried throughout Southern California 312 In April 2020 it was announced that CBS had parted ways with Fouts 313 Other media edit In 1998 Fouts made his big screen debut portraying himself in the football comedy The Waterboy starring Adam Sandler Fouts and Musburger appeared late in the film as ABC Sports broadcast team for the fictitious New Year s Day Bourbon Bowl game 314 Fouts did color commentary for the football video game NFL GameDay 2004 released in 2003 He partnered with long time announcer Enberg 315 During his second stint at CBS Fouts also called NFL games for Westwood One radio including Super Bowl 50 316 Life outside football editFouts married his first wife public health major Julianne Mehl in 1977 The pair had met at the University of Oregon 317 They later divorced and Fouts was married for the second time in 1994 to Jeri Martin He had two children from the first marriage and two from the second 318 319 His first son Dominic died of cancer in 2012 The family set up the Dominic Fouts Memorial Cancer Fund with Dan Fouts as an adviser 319 He lives with his wife in Oregon 319 the state of his alma mater in a two story home he had constructed from logs in the 1970s The house is situated in the mountains near Sisters 320 321 Described as a private person away from football 166 Fouts enjoyed fishing skiing and racquetball during his playing career 322 He is also a keen golfer 319 who has appeared at numerous charity events 323 324 See also editBay Area Sports Hall of Fame List of National Football League annual pass completion percentage leadersNotes edit On July 23 Fouts signed a three year contract worth a total of 93 000 equivalent to 638 312 in 2023 56 57 Namath s total came from 14 regular season games while Fouts had 16 141 Jefferson had 1 090 yards and Joiner 1 008 The New York Jets had the previous such pairing with George Sauer and Don Maynard Due to an error in the gamebook a Muncie catch was recorded as 0 yards instead of 6 Fouts was originally reported to have thrown for 450 yards 196 This was subsequently corrected to 444 yards 197 Ron Mix had his No 74 retired in 1969 but un retired in 1971 260 Joe Montana won with 24 1 2 votes 267 References edit a b c d e f g h i j k l m Dan Fouts stats pro football reference com Bob Fouts Obituary 1921 2019 legacy com Retrieved January 26 2024 Kroner Steve July 8 2019 Longtime Bay Area broadcaster Bob Fouts dies at 97 San Francisco Chronicle Retrieved February 27 2022 Hoffarth Tom August 4 2019 Dan Fouts mourns the death of his dad Bob a renowned broadcaster in his own right Los Angeles Times Retrieved February 27 2022 a b c Dan Fouts From ballboy to Namath record breaker Fort Worth Star AP December 19 1979 p 1D via Newspapers com Fouts dad steered son Dan to QB Salem Statesman Journal AP October 18 1973 p IV 39 via Newspapers com Dan Fouts Pro Football Hall of Fame Retrieved February 27 2022 Junior football festival starts season today San Rafael Daily Independent Journal September 12 1964 p 11 via Newspapers com Tam cocks rifle aims at Marin Catholic Wildcats San Rafael Daily Independent Journal October 21 1966 p 37 via Newspapers com Tischler Gary November 16 1966 A look ahead to next season San Rafael Daily Independent Journal p 45 via Newspapers com Final Marin League football statistics San Rafael Daily Independent Journal November 15 1966 p 26 via Newspapers com Chatoian Ralph December 27 1966 Rosier cage outlook for Marin Catholic San Rafael Daily Independent Journal p 47 via Newspapers com Chatoian Ralph September 9 1967 Finnegan at Marin again San Rafael Daily Independent Journal p 22 via Newspapers com Lee Emmanuel April 24 2013 Surreal feeling for Fouts in return to St Ignatius San Francisco Examiner p A20 via Newspapers com Cooney Frank November 23 1967 12 S F players All WCAL San Francisco Examiner p 91 via Newspapers com Final league statistics San Francisco Examiner November 23 1967 p 91 via Newspapers com Serra St Francis in WCAL showdown San Francisco Examiner November 22 1969 p 52 via Newspapers com a b Cawood Neil October 29 1970 Recruiting Sixkiller Fouts turned out to be a breeze Eugene Register Guard Oregon p 1D Distel Dave July 15 1979 Fouts set to resume his high profile life Los Angeles Times pp III 10 III 1 via newspapers com Huge Ducklings host Rooks at Autzen Stadium Friday Corvallis Gazette Times October 22 1970 p 14 via Newspapers com Crowd in duck pattern Redding Record Searchlight September 12 1970 p 24 via Newspapers com Explosive UO trips Cal snaps air mark Albany Democrat Herald AP September 14 1970 p 15 via Newspapers com Dan Fouts to go against Jim Plunkett Chico Enterprise Record UPI September 25 1970 p 10A via Newspapers com Lightning strikes Ducks 41 Bruins 40 San Bernardino County Sun AP October 11 1970 p B 2 via Newspapers com Chapin Dwight April 27 1971 Rae crowds Jones for Troy QB starting job Los Angeles Times p III 1 via newspapers com Rodman Bob October 21 1970 Land air battle looming at UO s Autzen Stadium Albany Democrat Herald p 22 via newspapers com Hurd Red April 2 1971 Run pass amp destroy Salem Capital Journal p 14 via newspapers com Much Joe August 31 1971 Oregon scoring machine Pasco Tri City Herald p 18 via newspapers com Walter Carl August 11 1971 Shavins Jackson Clarion Ledger p 21 via newspapers com UPI all coast football team Victorville Daily Press UPI November 30 1970 p 4 via Newspapers com Hurd Red October 8 1970 Roses up Salem Capital Journal p 22 via newspapers com Matthesen Craig September 9 1971 Oregon at Nebraska Alliance Times Herald p 6 via Newspapers com Fouts will miss play against Texas San Angelo Standard Times AP September 28 1971 p 5B via newspapers com Humble Charles August 29 1972 Enright has Ducks excited Albany Democrat Herald p 16 via newspapers com Missildine Harry May 24 1972 Twice over lightly Spokane Spokesman Review p 14 via newspapers com Dick Enberg named Oregon football coach Redlands Daily Facts UPI February 5 1972 p 9 via newspapers com Fouts leads Oregon past Arizona 34 7 Oakland Tribune AP September 17 1972 p 5C via Newspapers com Fast starting Oregon whips Oregon State St Louis Post Dispatch AP November 19 1972 p 7C via Newspapers com a b UPI Coast team lists Fouts Sprecht Brown Capital Journal Salem Oregon UPI November 22 1972 Sect 4 p 26 Retrieved March 5 2022 via Newspapers com Husky Jones 3 year Pac 8 pick Bellingham Herald AP November 26 1972 p 6 via newspapers com Nine Trojans selected Santa Cruz Sentinel AP November 30 1972 p 22 via newspapers com Fouts out of Shrine tilt Corvallis Gazette Times AP December 13 1972 p 17 via newspapers com Quarterbacks named Palm Beach Post December 15 1972 p E2 via newspapers com Mack Charlie August 3 1973 Waiting his turn Escondido Times Advocate p A 16 via newspapers com Rickard Jack November 15 1972 Rick s ramblings Corvallis Gazette Times p 21 via newspapers com Oregon Hall of Fame Archived from the original on March 24 2012 Dan Fouts Pro Football Hall of Fame Official Site Retrieved August 22 2016 Oregon Hall of Fame Inductees GoDucks com The University of Oregon Official Athletics Retrieved August 22 2016 Dan Fouts College Stats sports reference com cfb Sports Reference LLC Retrieved January 11 2019 Janofsky Michael September 4 1983 Fouts Chases Final Goal The New York Times Sect 5 p 1 Retrieved March 5 2022 Oregon QB Dan Fouts picked by San Diego The World UPI January 31 1973 p 18 via Newspapers com Dan Fouts has turned doubters into believers Tampa Tribune AP October 22 1980 p 3 C via newspapers com Olderman Murray February 14 1983 Dan Fouts is NFL player of the year Greenville Daily Advocate NEA p 6 via newspapers com a b Georgatos Dennis December 14 1986 Dan Fouts Is 190 Yards Away From Passing His Idol Johnny Unitas Los Angeles Times Retrieved January 29 2022 a b Mack Charlie August 3 1973 Waiting his turn Daily Times Advocate Escondido California p A 16 Retrieved March 5 2022 via Newspapers com Fouts inks contract sees lots of work Salem Capital Journal AP July 24 1973 p 25 via newspapers com Do the Steelers paychecks match their record Pittsburgh Post Gazette January 2 1978 p 6 via newspapers com Hoff Dave August 27 1973 Chargers find catch to first preseason victory Daily Times Advocate Escondido California pp A 8 A 10 Retrieved March 5 2022 via Newspapers com Lowitt Bruce October 8 1973 Steelers hold off Chargers for 4th win Concord Transcript p 6 via Newspapers com Noll admits his mistake Escondido Times Advocate AP October 8 1973 p A10 via Newspapers com Hoff Dave October 15 1973 Unitas is No 2 again Escondido Times Advocate p A 8 via Newspapers com Means Ray October 15 1973 Stabler leads Raiders Chico Enterprise Record UPI p 1C via Newspapers com Falcons hand Chargers 41 0 loss San Diego fans boo team Svare Los Angeles Times AP October 22 1973 p III 4 via Newspapers com a b c Magee Jerry September 28 1979 Dan Fouts thinks a lot of Dan Fouts Pensacola News Journal Gannett News Service p 10 via newspapers com Egelko Bob December 8 1973 Broncos Chargers have reversed fortunes Greeley Daily Tribune Associated Press p 23 via Newspapers com Unitas to stay Spokane Spokesman Review AP December 28 1973 p 21 via Newspapers com a b Fouts Los Angeles Times July 18 1985 p III 10 via newspapers com New career for Unitas Shreveport Journal AP September 4 1974 p C 2 via Newspapers com Sports capsule Tulare Advance Register August 3 1974 p 4 via newspapers com Littlefield Larry August 26 1974 Color Chargers dull as vets debut lose Escondido Times Advocate p A 9 via newspapers com Pro charts Chico Enterprise Record September 11 1974 p 2B via newspapers com Dim Charger past fades Escondido Times Advocate AP September 23 1974 p A 10 via newspapers com a b Littlefield Larry October 28 1974 Fouts off in 24 14 setback Escondido Times Advocate pp A 9 A 10 via newspapers com Fouts fires 4 TD passes clips Browns Long Beach Press Telegram AP November 4 1974 p C 2 via Newspapers com O Brien Mike November 25 1974 Pack wins 3rd straight Fond du Lac Reporter AP p 13 via Newspapers com a b Littlefield Larry December 16 1974 Chargers dress up season Escondido Times Advocate pp A 9 A 10 via newspapers com Mack Charlie July 11 1975 McNamara not very consistent Escondido Times Advocate p A 11 via newspapers com Fans to avoid Chargers Pomona Progress Bulletin AP August 21 1975 p 22 via newspapers com Chargers vs Oilers San Bernardino County Sun September 26 1975 p 8 via newspapers com Banaszak is hero San Mateo Times October 6 1975 p 21 via newspapers com Raiders edge Chargers on Blanda s FGs 6 0 Miami Herald AP October 6 1975 p 5 C via Newspapers com Charger offense a no show Times Advocate Escondido Times Advocate October 6 1975 pp A 9 A 10 via Newspapers com That empty feeling Long Beach Press Telegram AP October 27 1975 p C 2 via Newspapers com San Diego 2 11 at Cincinnati 10 3 Tampa Bay Times December 20 1975 p 2C via Newspapers com Magee Jerry September 30 1976 San Diego off to startling start Santa Fe New Mexican Gannett News Service p B3 via newspapers com Chargers avoid winless season startle Chiefs Long Beach Independent AP December 8 1975 p C 1 via newspapers com Hoff Dave December 16 1975 Chargers come disguised as winner Escondido Times Advocate pp A 15 A 16 Chargers pop surprises Hartford Courant AP September 28 1976 p 22 via newspapers com a b Maher Charles September 29 1976 Prothro s rebuilding finally plays dividends Los Angeles Times p III 1 III 8 via newspapers com McCarthy Bob April 20 1983 One underpaid QB Fresno Bee p F1 via newspapers com Hoff Dave August 4 1976 New look spawns Charger hopes Escondido Times Advocate p A 17 via Newspapers com Stanford hires Charger coach Reno Gazette Journal AP December 13 1976 p 18 via Newspapers com Chargers stay unbeaten Los Angeles Times AP September 27 1976 pp III 1 III 6 via Newspapers com Mackay Bill October 3 1976 What about these Chargers Sir Wichita Beacon p 3B via Newspapers com Broncos 5 4 at Chargers 4 5 Fort Worth Star Telegram November 14 1976 p 3g via Newspapers com Denver 17 Chargers 0 Miami News November 15 1976 p 7B via newspapers com 49ers 7 5 at Chargers 5 7 Fort Worth Star Telegram December 5 1976 p 3G via newspapers com Chargers upend 49ers in overtime Long Beach Press Telegram AP December 6 1976 p C 2 via newspapers com Zorn makes presence felt in NFL passing Fort Worth Star Telegram AP March 27 1977 p 10E via newspapers com Murphy Jack January 9 1977 Walsh s choice Stanford or the NFL Torrance Daily Breeze p E4 via newspapers com Rams deal QB James Harris to Chargers for draft choices Salem Statesman Journal AP June 15 1977 p 1C via Newspapers com a b c Stellino Vito December 16 1976 Steelers get crack at a spouting Fouts Pittsburgh Post Gazette Pittsburgh Post Gazette p 13 via Newspapers com 17 NFL players to testify Sacramento Bee AP July 6 1977 p G6 via Newspapers com Missing Fouts disgruntled with second rate Chargers Salem Capital Journal AP July 15 1977 p 1D via newspapers com Olderman Murray January 24 1980 Why did NFL clubs ignore Dan Fouts Lompoc Record p 13 via Newspapers com Fouts talks of quitting San Antonio Express AP July 8 1977 p 5 C via Newspapers com Fouts tells Prothro he s not reporting Escondido Times Advocate July 24 1976 p B 2 via Newspapers com Holdout Dan Fouts cut from Chargers Redlands Daily Facts UPI August 10 1977 p B2 via newspapers com Harris is happy with San Diego Bangor Daily News AP September 14 1977 p 22 via newspapers com Colts sign Carr Fouts still out Melville Newsday Combined News Services August 31 1977 p 83 via newspapers com Fouts files grievance Dayton Daily News October 21 1977 p 20 via newspapers com Fouts complaint invalid Appleton Post Crescent AP November 16 1976 p B 7 via Newspapers com Fouts a Charger again Coos Bay World UPI November 17 1976 p 14 via Newspapers com Dan Fouts ends long holdout Tallahassee Democrat AP November 19 1977 p 19 via Newspapers com Fouts back with Chargers but refuses to comment Palm Springs Desert Sun AP November 18 1977 p B14 via newspapers com Fouts back with Chargers but refuses to comment Palm Springs Desert Sun AP November 18 1977 p B14 via newspapers com Forrest Gregg Dead and buried team Fremont News Messenger AP December 5 1977 p 16 via newspapers com Bradley Don November 14 1977 Ex Ram quarterbacks hurt in Charger loss to Denver Progress Bulletin Pomona Progress Bulletin p 8 via Newspapers com Chargers 30 Seahawks 28 San Francisco Examiner November 28 1977 p 46 via newspapers com Broncos 17 Chargers 9 Oakland Tribune December 12 1977 p 26 via newspapers com Michaels Matt December 19 1977 Prothro turns corner Escondido Times Advocate p A 9 via newspapers com Sports shorts Pittsburgh Post Gazette February 3 1978 p 10 via newspapers com Sports digest Lincoln Star August 9 1978 p 39 via newspapers com Chargers help Pack to 24 3 upset win Sheboygan Press AP September 25 1978 p 20 via newspapers com Prothro quits Coryell is in Sacramento Bee AP September 26 1978 p C 1 C 4 via Newspapers com Cermat Brad July 24 1993 Fouts ready for induction Escondido Times Advocate p D2 via newspapers com Oates Bob October 1 1978 Pro football Los Angeles Times p III 2 via newspapers com Air Coryell Pro Football Hall of Fame Retrieved January 30 2022 Tobias Todd 2006 Bombs Away Air Coryell and the San Diego Chargers Bandana p 4 ISBN 0 9785729 0 4 a b c Pierson Don October 23 1981 Air Coryell flying high since taking off on Bears Chicago Tribune pp VI 1 VI 4 via newspapers com Chiefs come alive Modesto Bee AP November 27 1978 p B 2 via Newspapers com Distel Dave November 26 1978 Chargers give it a try without Fouts Los Angeles Times pp III 1 III 9 via newspapers com Chiefs 23 Chargers 0 Pittsburgh Post Gazette Associated Press November 27 1978 p 14 via newspapers com Last minute factors Escondido Times Advocate December 14 1978 p D 4 via Newspapers com Richardson Bill March 29 1979 Levy thinks San Diego will capture division title Kansas City Times p 3E via newspapers com Oiler defense collapses in 45 24 loss to SD Longview News Journal UPI December 18 1978 p 2B via Newspapers com Staubach tops in passing stats Fort Worth Star Telegram AP December 21 1978 p 73 via newspapers com Elko attracts Dan Fouts Reno Gazette Journal May 9 1979 p 39 via newspapers com Maffei John December 27 1978 Chargers end on a high note Escondido Times Advocate pp D 1 via newspapers com Slavin Stewart August 26 1979 5 1 odds to reach Super Bowl Chargers must make playoffs first Provo Daily Herald UPI p 14 via newspapers com a b Chargers the new champions San Francisco Examiner UPI December 18 1979 p 45 via Newspapers com a b Sargis Joe October 26 1979 Raiders crush Chargers 45 22 Chico Enterprise Record p 1B via Newspapers com Distel Dave December 3 1979 Falcons upset the Chargers Los Angeles Times p III 16 via Newspapers com Growing up Dan Fouts got to act out every youngster s fantasy Santa Cruz Sentinel AP December 19 1979 p 22 via newspapers com Slater Chuck December 19 1979 Fouts is no fluke New York Daily News p 88 via newspapers com Swanson Pete March 23 1980 Tri State Oilers saying deal best for both teams Evansville Courier and Press p 7 C via newspapers com Lowitt Bruce November 26 1979 Chargers 28 Chiefs 7 Albany Democrat Herald AP p 18 via newspapers com Campbell named MVP Honolulu Star Bulletin AP December 18 1979 p F1 via newspapers com Campbell gets offensive honor Fort Worth Star Telegram AP December 21 1979 p 5F via newspapers com NFL All Pro selections Fort Worth Star Telegram December 20 1979 p IX 1 via newspapers com Fox Larry December 23 1979 Fouts charges to head of NFL class New York Daily News p Sports 14 via newspapers com Fouts named AFC player of the year St Joseph News Press January 27 1980 p 3E via newspapers com Hurt Oilers stun Chargers Torrance Daily Breeze AP December 30 1979 pp D1 D6 via Newspapers com Collett Ritter January 4 1980 Another controversy for Eddie Biles Dayton Journal Herald p 13 via Newspapers com a b Vyeda Ed September 15 1980 Destiny steps in Chargers win in OT Santa Cruz Sentinel pp 10 11 via Newspapers com Oakland Raiders at San Diego Chargers September 14th 1980 pro football reference com Retrieved February 2 2022 Vyeda Ed October 13 1980 Raiders trounce Chargers 38 24 Santa Cruz Sentinel via Newspapers com Fouts record Bloomington Pantagraph AP October 20 1980 p B 3 via Newspapers com a b c d e f g h Dan Fouts Career Game Log pro football reference com Retrieved January 30 2022 Benirschke Fouts pace Chargers to 26 17 win Sacramento Bee AP December 23 1980 pp C1 C4 via Newspapers com 1980 NFL passing pro football reference com Retrieved February 2 2022 NFL passing yards per game year by year leaders pro football reference com Retrieved February 12 2022 a b Lowe may miss the playoffs Escondido Times Advocate AP December 24 1980 p D 1 via Newspapers com 1980 NFL Receiving pro football reference com Retrieved February 3 2022 Charlie Joiner enjoys his role Palm Springs Desert Sun AP December 22 1980 p B5 via Newspapers com a b c Moore David Leon January 8 1981 Fouts lets his arm do the talking San Bernardino County Sun pp D 1 D 4 via Newspapers com Electric Chargers shock Bills 20 14 Santa Cruz Sentinel AP January 4 1981 pp 47 50 via Newspapers com Divisional Round Buffalo Bills at San Diego Chargers January 3rd 1981 pro football reference com Retrieved February 3 2022 Maffei John January 12 1981 Chargers story ends on super sour note Escondido Times Advocate pp D 1 D 2 via Newspapers com AFC championship Oakland Raiders at San Diego Chargers January 11th 1981 pro football reference com Retrieved February 3 2022 Norcross Don October 30 1981 The trades Escondido Times Advocate p C1 via Newspapers com Distel Dave October 1 1981 As the Chargers turn Los Angeles Times p III 1 via Newspapers com Chandler traded by Saints to San Diego Redlands Daily Facts UPI September 30 1981 p B5 via Newspapers com Wes Chandler stats pro football reference com Retrieved February 3 2022 San Diego Chargers at Cleveland Browns September 7th 1981 pro football reference com Retrieved February 4 2022 Distel Dave November 9 1981 A nickel goes a long way for Bengals 40 17 Los Angeles Times pp III 1 III 10 via Newspapers com Distel Dave November 17 1981 Seahawks join the crowd rout Chargers Los Angeles Times pp III 1 III 5 via Newspapers com Norcross Don November 23 1981 Chargers turn themselves around to rout Oakland Escondido Times Advocate p D1 via Newspapers com 1981 week 12 gamebook Chargers at Raiders November 22 1981 a b Norcross Don November 23 1981 Quotebook Escondido Times Advocate AP p D1 via Newspapers com 2021 NFL record and fact book PDF NFL 2021 p 99 Retrieved March 7 2022 1981 NFL standings amp team stats pro football reference com Retrieved February 4 2022 Dan Fouts 1981 Game Log pro football reference com Retrieved February 5 2022 1980 NFL passing pro football reference com Retrieved February 12 2022 Musick Phil January 7 1982 Fouts no legend to himself Pittsburgh Post Gazette p 14 via Newspapers com 1981 NFL receiving pro football reference com Retrieved February 5 2022 a b Janofsky Michael December 20 1982 Veteran linemen give Fouts protection Fort Worth Star Telegram Fort Worth Star Telegram p 5C via Newspapers com 1981 San Diego Chargers starters roster amp players pro football reference com Retrieved February 5 2022 Maffei John January 3 1982 SD 41 Miami 38 in 73 52 Escondido Times Advocate pp D1 D4 via Newspapers com Chargers edge Miami 41 38 Vidette Messenger AP January 4 1981 p 13 via Newspapers com 1981 divisional playoffs gamebook Chargers at Dolphins January 2 1982 Gavin Mike January 24 2022 Ranking the Greatest Games in NFL Playoff History nbcchicago com Retrieved February 5 2022 Davis Nate NFL s 22 greatest playoff games Where does Bills Chiefs instant classic rank USA today Retrieved February 5 2022 Bengel Chris January 14 2022 A look at the coldest playoff games in NFL history as Patriots Bills set to battle in frigid conditions cbssports com Retrieved February 5 2022 Bengals say cold beat the Chargers Lafayette Journal and Courier AP January 11 1982 p C 1 via Newspapers com Tentative agreement reached NFL to resume play Sunday with nine week abbreviated season Eau Claire Leader Telegram AP February 5 1982 p 1B via Newspapers com Dorman Larry October 20 1981 More NFL teams end workouts Des Moines Register p 2S via Newspapers com Cobbs Chris December 12 1982 Chargers win arms race 41 37 The Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Times p III 4 via Newspapers com 1982 week 6 gamebook Chargers at 49ers December 11 1982 San Diego Chargers at San Francisco 49ers December 11th 1982 pro football reference com Retrieved February 5 2022 a b Dodd Mike December 21 1982 Chargers outduel Bengals 50 34 Ithaca Journal p 17 via Newspapers com a b c Los Angeles San Diego Chargers Franchise Encyclopedia pro football reference com Retrieved January 31 2022 a b 1982 NFL passing pro football reference com Retrieved February 5 2022 1982 awards voting pro football reference com Retrieved February 5 2022 Fouts earns nod as MVP Winnipeg Sun UPI January 20 1983 p 32 via Newspapers com Olderman Murray February 13 1983 Fouts is NFL player of the year Abbeville Meridional NEA p 8 via Newspapers com 1982 San Diego Chargers starters roster amp players pro football reference com Retrieved February 5 2022 1982 NFL receiving pro football reference com Retrieved February 5 2022 Chargers blow by Pittsburgh in opener Redding Record Searchlight AP January 10 1983 p C 1 via Newspapers com a b Dan Fouts Playoffs Game Log pro football reference com Retrieved February 5 2022 Divisional Round San Diego Chargers at Miami Dolphins January 16th 1983 pro football reference com Retrieved February 6 2022 Fouts to meet with USFL s chief Grand Junction Daily Sentinel AP April 7 1983 p 38 via Newspapers com Chargers give Fouts big bucks to sign 6 year pact Tampa Tribune AP June 30 1983 p 1C via Newspapers com 1983 San Diego Chargers statistics amp players pro football reference com Retrieved February 6 2022 Dan Fouts 1983 Game Log pro football reference com Retrieved February 6 2022 Maffei John October 24 1983 Air Coryell shoots blanks Escondido Times Advocate p C1 via Newspapers com Seahawks dump Pats win a wild card berth Raleigh News and Observer News Dispatches December 19 1983 p 2B via Newspapers com 1984 San Diego Chargers statistics amp players pro football reference com Retrieved February 6 2022 Dan Fouts 1984 Game Log pro football reference com Retrieved February 6 2022 Cobb Chris November 19 1984 San Diego OT heroics give Dolphins first loss Sacramento Bee p D1 via Newspapers com Chargers score late to defeat Bears 20 7 Jackson Clarion Ledger AP December 4 1984 p 4C via Newspapers com Dan Marino Pro Football Hall of Fame Retrieved February 6 2022 a b 1985 San Diego Chargers statistics amp players pro football reference com Retrieved February 6 2022 Seattle Seahawks at San Diego Chargers September 15th 1985 pro football reference com Retrieved February 6 2022 San Diego Chargers at Cincinnati Bengals September 22nd 1985 pro football reference com Retrieved February 6 2022 Cleveland outruns San Diego after Fouts injures knee Dayton Journal Herald AP September 30 1985 p 8 via Newspapers com Chargers 40 Raiders 34 Victoria Advocate AP November 11 1985 p 4B via Newspapers com Scouting report Escondido Times Advocate December 22 1985 p D2 via Newspapers com Posner Jay December 23 1985 Chargers notes Escondido Times Advocate p D2 via Newspapers com Air and ground Coryell blast Dolphins San Pedro News Pilot AP September 8 1986 p B5 via Newspapers com Notes Los Angeles Times October 21 1986 p III 8 via Newspapers com Posner Jay October 30 1986 Coryell coaches players say he s no quitter Escondido Times Advocate pp D1 D5 via Newspapers com Chargers troubled Calgary Herald AP November 21 1986 p D3 via Newspapers com NFL Season By Season Passing pro football reference com Too old Joiner retires Sioux Falls Argus Leader Wire reports January 13 1987 p 2B via Newspapers com a b 1987 San Diego Chargers statistics amp players pro football reference com Retrieved February 6 2022 Posner Jay September 23 1987 Fouts avoids pickets as strike continues Escondido Times Advocate pp D1 D4 via Newspapers com Chargers prosper during NFL strike Daily News Leader AP October 20 1987 p B4 via Newspapers com Kansas City Chiefs at San Diego Chargers October 25th 1987 pro football reference com Retrieved February 6 2022 NFL Standings week 10 1987 pro football reference com Retrieved February 6 2022 Scouting report Escondido Times Advocate November 22 1987 p D4 via Newspapers com Broncos seeking AFC West crown best mark Auburn Journal UPI December 27 1987 p B 4 via Newspapers com Dan Fouts career passing touchdowns pro football reference com Retrieved February 6 2022 a b Hewitt Brian March 25 1988 Fouts elects not to push his luck retires Los Angeles Times pp III 1 III 9 via Newspapers com Indianapolis Colts at San Diego Chargers December 20th 1987 pro football reference com Retrieved February 6 2022 Chargers Dan Fouts announces retirement Bedford Times Mail AP March 25 1988 via Newspapers com a b c Gaines Bob November 28 1988 Old No 14 charms fans one last time Escondido Times Advocate p C1 C2 via Newspapers com Pierson Don September 13 1992 Week 2 Chicago Tribune p III 11 via Newspapers com Williams Eric D Philip Rivers passes Dan Fouts on career TD list abcnews com Retrieved March 5 2022 Dan Fouts Reacts to Philip Rivers Breaking His Record chargers com Retrieved March 5 2022 Hayre Chris 10 Insights from Justin Herbert s Second NFL Season chargers com Retrieved March 5 2022 Air Coryell Pro Football Hall of Fame Retrieved March 5 2022 Dan Fouts Pro Football Hall of Fame Retrieved March 5 2022 Tobias Todd 2006 Bombs Away Air Coryell and the San Diego Chargers Bandana p 4 ISBN 0 9785729 0 4 Carroll Bob Gershman Michael Neft David Thorn John 1999 Total Football The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League HarperCollins Publishers p 1800 ISBN 9780062701749 Retrieved June 6 2022 via Internet Archive Jaworski Ron 2010 The Games That Changed the Game The Evolution of the NFL in Seven Sundays Random House p 88 ISBN 978 0 345 51795 1 a b Friend Tom September 12 1987 The end approaches Los Angeles Times p III 14 via Newspapers com Best Quarterbacks in NFL History Without a Super Bowl nbcchicago com August 10 2021 Retrieved March 6 2022 Barnwell ranks the best QBs to never reach a Super Bowl Could Philip Rivers be No 1 espn com November 7 2019 Retrieved March 5 2022 What numbskull thought of this Tampa Bay Times January 27 2014 p 46 via Newspapers com Not quite super Fort Worth Star Telegram January 26 2005 p 6D via Newspapers com Posner Jay September 16 1985 Chargers defense seems very familiar Escondido Times Advocate p C1 via Newspapers com San Diego trades DE Fred Dean to San Francisco for a 2nd round pick in 83 CNN Retrieved April 30 2010 Fred Dean Pro Football Hall of Fame Official Site Retrieved August 22 2016 Thomas Jim July 30 2008 Fred Dean Situational pass rusher made most of his opportunities The State Journal Register Archived from the original on September 19 2016 Krasovic Tom June 5 2013 Chargers had a Fearsome Foursome too San Diego Union Tribune Archived from the original on January 27 2014 Hewitt Brian November 27 1988 Fouts the Charger alum Los Angeles Times p 17A Hall of Fame San Diego Hall of Champions Archived from the original on March 2 2012 Retrieved January 24 2012 Les Tipton honored Longview Daily News November 7 1992 p D4 via Newspapers com Hall of Fame goducks com Retrieved March 9 2022 Legion State playoffs are set Salem Statesman Journal August 1 1992 p 4F via Newspapers com Hall of Fame inductees Miami Herald July 25 1993 p 12D via Newspapers com Hyvonen Gary September 20 1993 Fans receive another look at Fouts Joiner North County Times p C 5 via Newspapers com NFL all decade team Kansas City Star March 15 1990 p D 8 via Newspapers com The Sporting News 100 Greatest Players of All Time futurefootballlegends com Retrieved March 9 2022 NFL announces quarterback finalists for NFL 100 All Time Team nflcommunications com Retrieved August 27 2022 Battista Judy NFL s All Time Team Tom Brady Joe Montana top quarterbacks nfl com Retrieved August 27 2022 Togerson Derek November 18 2009 Top 50 Chargers of All Time Named NBCSanDiego com Retrieved March 3 2022 a b Manahan Kevin December 30 1981 News to note Paterson News p 7 via Newspapers com a b c Maffei John January 4 1982 Records notes and quotes from the Chargers game Escondido Times Advocate p D4 via Newspapers com a b Schudel Jeff January 4 1987 Browns defense was spectacular in overtime win Mansfield News Journal p 3 C via Newspapers com Moon eclipsed Detroit Free Press Free Press wire reports January 4 1993 p 5D via Newspapers com Spander Art December 12 1982 No more Camelot for 49ers San Francisco Examiner p C1 via Newspapers com 2021 NFL record and fact book PDF NFL 2021 p 668 Retrieved February 20 2022 Most consecutive games 300 yards passing playoffs stathead com Retrieved March 7 2022 Hudec Jonathan October 3 2018 Records smashed NFL offense at historic levels through four games espn com Retrieved February 19 2022 a b c d Chargers likely to lose top linebacker for NFL playoffs Baltimore Evening Sun AP December 24 1980 p C6 via Newspapers com a b c Surprise teams in NFL playoffs Alexandria Town Talk UPI December 31 1981 p B 4 via Newspapers com Santoro Joe December 23 1986 Miami finishes Orange Bowl era with 34 27 loss Florida Today p 2C via Newspapers com a b c Dolphins rifle armed Dan Marino is named AP player of the year Escondido Times Advocate AP December 19 1984 p D2 via Newspapers com 2021 NFL record and fact book PDF NFL 2021 p 543 Retrieved February 20 2022 NFL passing yards year by year leaders pro football reference com Retrieved March 7 2022 Fouts guns down a No 19 mark Baltimore Evening Sun AP December 3 1982 p C4 via Newspapers com Milestones Palm Beach Post December 4 1995 p 6C via Newspapers com a b c Marino s NFL records South Florida Sun Sentinel March 14 2000 p 18D via Newspapers com Top passers Chicago Tribune November 11 1985 p III 3 via Newspapers com Dolphins notebook Orlando Sentinel December 15 1986 p D 5 via Newspapers com Marino slows but doesn t silence trade rumors Tallahassee Democrat Democrat news services December 19 1988 p 1D via Newspapers com Most passing yards per game in a season Chargers statmuse com Retrieved August 25 2022 Highest passer rating game Chargers stathead com Retrieved August 25 2022 Most passing touchdowns playoff game Chargers stathead com Retrieved August 25 2022 Most passing yards playoff game Chargers stathead com Retrieved August 25 2022 Most pass attempts playoff game Chargers stathead com Retrieved August 25 2022 Most completions playoff game Chargers stathead com Retrieved August 25 2022 Most interceptions thrown by one Charger statmuse com Retrieved August 25 2022 a b Hewitt Brian March 25 1988 Fouts elects not to push his luck retires Los Angeles Times pp III 1 III 9A via Newspapers com Fouts joins CBS sports La Crosse Tribune May 12 1988 p 27 via Newspapers com a b Martzke Rudy July 23 1997 Fouts quickly moves to college game Salt Lake Tribune p B3 via Newspapers com Fleischman Bill December 31 1994 If Wilt had a son he d play for Bobby Knight Bradenton Herald p Sports 8 via Newspapers com Monday Night Football Fouts Dan www espn com Gintonio Jim December 28 2002 Fouts misses MNF but feels spirit of college Arizona Republic p C14 via Newspapers com Bracht Mel September 15 2006 West Coast TV crew familiar with Oregon Daily Oklahoman p 2C via Newspapers com Jackson Barry February 22 2008 Big Brother watches Miami Herald p 6D via Newspapers com Fouts returns to CBS as an analyst Idaho Statesman USA today August 20 2008 p Sports 2 via Newspapers com CBS Miami Herald September 3 2009 p 7PF via Newspapers com Jackson Barry September 2 2010 Offseason work for analysts Miami Herald p 12PF via Newspapers com CBS Sports 2014 booth pairings Ian Eagle Dan Fouts named No 2 team Saunders Eagle Fouts form dandy duo on CBS Denver Post October 12 2014 Retrieved March 6 2022 Hall of Fame Quarterback Dan Fouts Returns to Chargers Preseason Broadcast Team chargers com Retrieved March 11 2022 Hirschhorn Jason B Chargers Great Dan Fouts Out as CBS NFL Color Analyst Sports Illustrated Retrieved June 6 2022 The Waterboy 1998 IMDb via www imdb com Boho Jonathan October 3 2003 NFL Gameday 2004 Corvallis Gazette Times South Florida Sun Sentinel p 16 via Newspapers com Dan Fouts Westwood One Sports Retrieved March 11 2022 Super Bowl 50 on Westwood One Westwood One Sports Retrieved March 11 2003 Chargers Fouts to marry Fort Worth Star Telegram AP April 15 2022 p 8d via Newspapers com Dan Fouts Bio Career NFL CBS ABC Net Worth Wife amp Kids playersbio com Retrieved March 12 2022 a b c d UO football legend on family philanthropy and personal tragedy uoalumni com Retrieved March 12 2022 Hardt Ulrich H Daniel Francis Fouts Oregon Encyclopedia Retrieved March 11 2022 Oates Bob December 14 1979 San Diego s other mountain man Los Angeles Times pp III 1 III 16 via Newspapers com Distel Dave July 15 1979 Fouts set to resume his high profile life Los Angeles Times p III 1 III 10 via Newspapers com Past events Dominic Fouts memorial cancer fund Retrieved March 12 2022 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic Golf in La Quinta UPI Retrieved March 12 2022 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dan Fouts Official website Career statistics and player information from NFL com Pro Football Reference Pro Football Hall of Fame Member profile Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Dan Fouts amp oldid 1220930543, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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