The 1991 San Diego Chargers season was the franchise's 22nd season in the National Football League (NFL), their 32nd overall and the third and final season under head coach Dan Henning. The team failed to improve on their 6–10 record in 1990, losing eight of their first nine games and finishing at 4–12, their fourth consecutive losing season.
San Diego's poor record contrasted with a roughly average statistical season. They struggled in close games, going 2–8 when the margin was seven points or fewer; during Henning's reign, they were a cumulative 6–22 in such games. The Chargers did manage some good wins, defeating two teamsthe Los Angeles Raiders and the New Orleans Saints who made the playoffs in 1991, and a thirdthe Miami Dolphins who missed the postseason only because of their defeat in San Diego.
Second-year quarterback John Friesz won a preseason battle with Billy Joe Tolliver for the starting role, but struggled throughout the season, throwing more interceptions than touchdowns. The Chargers' passing offense was among the NFL's weakest, but their running game, featuring Marion Butts, Rod Bernstine and Ronnie Harmon, ranked second in the league with over 2,200 yards. San Diego's defense regressed in ranking, dropping from 5th in total yardage the previous year to 19th in 1991. Despite this, Leslie O'Neal, Junior Seau and Gill Byrd again had strong seasons, with Seau voted to the first of 12 consecutive Pro Bowls.
Henning, together with his entire coaching staff, was fired by general manager Bobby Beathard the day after the season ended.
Offseason
Departures and arrivals
Lee Williams ended 1990 as the Chargers' career sack leader since records began in 1982, with 65½ through seven seasons. Williams was displeased at being asked to play defensive tackle, and wanted to renegotiate his contract. He became a holdout, and was threatening legal action to void his existing contract when Beathard opted to trade him to Houston, shortly before the season began. In return, San Diego received the Oilers' 1st-round draft pick in 1992, as well as rookie wide receiver Shawn Jefferson.
Billy Joe Tolliver, who had started fourteen games the previous season, lost a training camp battle with John Friesz for the starting quarterback role. Friesz was named the starter on August 23, in the aftermath of the Chargers' final preseason game. Only five days later, Tolliver was traded to the Atlanta Falcons for their fifth-round pick in the 1992 draft, Another quarterback, Mark Vlasic, was left unprotected from Plan B free agency, and signed for the Kansas City Chiefs in March. Vlasic had started once for the Chargers the previous season, and three times in total. Other offensive departures included wide receiver Quinn Early, a 2nd-round pick in 1988 who was left exposed to Plan B free agency after catching 55 passes in three seasons, and claimed by the New Orleans Saints. Veteran tight end Arthur Cox was released midseason, on October 29. After joining the Chargers as a free agent in 1988, he had been a starter through most of his first three seasons, but had seen less time in 1991. Dan Henning described Cox's performance in practice as "inconsistent", while general manager Bobby Beathard said the player had committed numerous errors.
While the Chargers defense had ranked fifth in the league the previous season, Beathard announced soon after the season ended that starting safety Vencie Glenn would not be retained in 1991. Glenn, a starter in 65 of the previous 67 games, was left unprotected in Plan B free agency, amid rumors of a lack of attention to conditioning, and a failure to report to training camp while negotiating a contract. Linebacker Cedric Figaro was also left unprotected: he had started fourteen games in 1989, but only one in 1990 with rookie Junior Seau preferred. Nose tackle Les Miller, a starter in ten games the previous year, joined Early as a Plan B signing for the Saints.
In total, the Chargers lost a league-high eleven players through Plan B free agency, while signing eight players, none of whom were considered big names. Two of these players would go on to start every game during the Chargers' 1994 Super Bowl run, however. Safety Darren Carrington played in all 64 regular season games during his four years in San Diego, starting 35 and intercepting 19 passes; tackle Harry Swayne had accumulated only three starts in four years in Tampa Bay, but started 74 in six years with the Chargers. They also signed journeyman quarterback Bob Gagliano to compete for the starting job.
Shawn Jefferson, who came to San Diego in the Lee Williams trade, caught only twelve passes in his first season as a Charger, but would increase his production in each of the next four years, and was another 1991 acquisition who went on to start every game in 1994.
NFL draft
The Chargers had the ninth pick in the draft - they used this on Stanley Richard, a safety Beathard described as, "one of the top two football players in the draft," noting that he had the speed to play cornerback as well as safety. Chargers staff expected Richard to start games as a rookie. Despite a lengthy holdout (resolved on August 3), he did, with fourteen starts in 1991. During a four-season stint in San Diego, Richard would go on to start 60 regular season games, including all sixteen during the 1994 Super Bowl run.
San Diego had three 2nd-round selections. With the first of these, they selected defensive tackle George Thornton, who went on to start sixteen games in two seasons with the club. The second, acquired through the previous season's trade of Gary Anderson to Tampa Bay, was used on running back Eric Bieniemy. He scored four touchdowns in four years with the Chargers, backing up Marion Butts and later Natrone Means. Finally, Beathard agreed to a draft-day deal, sending the Chargers' 1992 1st-round pick to Washington in exchange for the Redskins' 2nd-round pick in 1991 and their 5th-round pick in 1992. He selected guard Eric Moten, who spent his six-year career in San Diego, starting 61 games despite a severe knee injury in 1993. Some analysts were surprised by the selection of Bieniemy, the Chargers already having a strong running game, and by the price paid for Moten.
In the later rounds, San Diego selected tight end Duane Young. Primarily a blocker, he had 38 receptions in 64 starts across five seasons with the Chargers. Wide receiver Yancey Thigpen was a Pro Bowler twice in his career. However, he achieved this in Pittsburgh, where he was traded after failing to make an impact during his solitary year in San Diego.
Personnel
Staff
Roster
Preseason
Ronnie Harmon made several big plays as the Chargers won their preseason opener against the Oilers. He was the top receiver in the game for either team, gaining 111 yards on three receptions, including touchdowns catches of 64 and 35 yards from Billy Joe Tolliver. He was also the top rusher, despite having only one carry: a 51-yarder that set up Tolliver's third touchdown pass. Tolliver's main rival for the starting quarterback role, John Friesz, connected with Yancey Thigpen for a touchdown of his own in the second half (neither passer was intercepted). Houston led 29–28 late in the game, but Donnie Elder's interception set up John Carney to hit the winning field goal from 27 yards out with 2:04 to play.
Having scored 31 points in their opener, the Chargers could only manage a total of 23 in their next three games, all losses. Head coach Dan Henning expressed disappointment with the performance of both quarterbacks after neither managed to complete 50% of their passes against the Rams, though Friesz was let down by Anthony Miller dropping a probable touchdown pass. The defense struggled the following week, letting 49ers' quarterback Steve Young break four tackles on a 47-yard touchdown run, and giving up another touchdown on a drive lasting over 12 minutes. Neither quarterback had over 100 passing yards, and rookie Eric Bieniemy scored the Chargers' only touchdown in the 4th quarter.
Friesz won the starting quarterback role in the final preseason game. After Tolliver had struggled, going 7 of 17 attempts for 94 yards, with an interception and a fumble lost, Friesz entered the game and completed 17 of 19 attempts for 210 yards, with a 34-yard touchdown to Miller and no interceptions. Henning said in the aftermath of the game, "We'll give John a chance to keep that spark going."
WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance 1 August 3 Houston Oilers W 31–29 1–0 Jack Murphy Stadium 43,042 2 August 12 at Los Angeles Rams L 3–24 1–1 Anaheim Stadium 41,616 3 August 19 at San Francisco 49ers L 13–24 1–2 Candlestick Park 53,453 4 August 23 Los Angeles Raiders L 7–17 1–3 Jack Murphy Stadium 46,097
Regular season
Overview John Friesz, a sixth-round draft pick for San Diego in 1990, started every game. He was the first Charger quarterback to do this since Dan Fouts in 1982. Friesz threw for 2,896 yards, while throwing 12 touchdowns and 15 interceptions: he had a passer rating of 67.1, falling short of the league average of 76.2. Anthony Miller was the Chargers' leading receiver despite spending the final three weeks of the season in injured reserve; the bulk of his 649 yards came in a run of four games from Weeks 7 through 11. He was supported by 2nd-year wide receiver Nate Lewis (554 yards) and running back Ronnie Harmon (555 yards from a team-high 59 receptions), but the Chargers ranked 24th of 28 in the league for passing yardage.
By contrast, the Chargers' running game was strong, their 2,248 yards ranking second in the league. Marion Butts, who had set a club record with 1,225 the previous season, held out through preseason, trying to force a contract renegotiation he believed Beathard had previously agreed to. On August 26, after accruing fines of approximately $57,000, Butts reported to the Chargers under the advice of his new agent Leigh Steinberg. Having returned, Butts had only 16 carries during the first three weeks of the season, and finished with 72 fewer carries than the previous season. Nonetheless, he led the team with 834 yards. Rod Bernstine saw increased opportunities while Butts was eased back in, rushing for 766 yards despite a three-game midseason stint on injured reserve. He also scored eight touchdowns, a career-high. Harmon added 544 yards at an average of 6.1 yards per carry; this was the league-wide best average yards per carry from any player who gained over 500 yards.
On defense, the Chargers had been the league's 5th-ranked unit the previous year, but slipped to 19th in 1991. Cornerback Gill Byrd led the team with six interceptions, while outside linebacker Leslie O'Neal had the most quarterback sacks with 9. Junior Seau, who made the first of twelve consecutive Pro Bowls, was second with 7 sacks and was credited by the Chargers with a team-leading 129 tackles, ahead of his fellow inside linebacker Gary Plummer with 111.
John Carney had a difficult year as the Chargers' kicker, making 19 of 29 field goals. His 65.5% conversion rate was joint-26th in the league. John Kidd's 40.3 yards per punt ranked 23rd in the league. Nate Lewis had a good year as a kickoff returner, scoring a touchdown and average 25.1 yards per return, second-best in the league. Kitrick Taylor was seventh in the league with 9.6 yards per punt return.
Schedule