Daniel Francis Fouts (born June 10, 1951) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League (NFL) throughout his 15-season career (1973–1987). After a relatively undistinguished first five seasons in the league, Fouts came to prominence as an on-field leader during the Chargers' Air Coryell period. He led the league in passing yards every year from 1979 to 1982, throwing for over 4,000 yards in the first three of these—no quarterback had previously posted consecutive 4,000-yard seasons. Fouts was voted a Pro Bowler six times, first-team All-Pro twice, and in 1982 he was the Offensive Player of the Year. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993, his first year of eligibility.
Fouts played college football for the Oregon Ducks, where he broke numerous records, and was later inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame and the University of Oregon Hall of Fame. He was a third-round draft pick by the Chargers in 1973. Fouts struggled during his first three seasons in the league. His form began to improve in 1976, but he was discontented over the direction of the team and the restrictions of the NFL's free agency rules so he refused to play during the majority of the 1977 season.
Early in 1978, Don Coryell became the head coach of the Chargers and he instituted the pass-oriented Air Coryell offensive scheme, allowing Fouts to throw the ball with unprecedented frequency. He led the NFL in passing yards for four straight years from 1979 to 1982 (still a consecutive-years record), and he became the first player in league history to throw for 4,000 yards in three straight seasons, breaking the NFL single-season record for passing yards each time. Fouts' performance was rewarded by 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 Associated Press (AP) Offensive Player of the Year and Pro Football Writers Association (PFWA) NFL Most Valuable Player honors.
Fouts led the Chargers to three consecutive AFC West division titles – 1979, 1980 and 1981 – and a playoff appearance in 1982. He was the winning quarterback of the Epic in Miami, when he broke the league playoff single-game record by passing for 433 yards. The Chargers advanced to the AFC Championship Game twice during his career, but never reached the Super Bowl. Fouts was the first quarterback to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame without appearing in either the Super Bowl or an NFL championship game.
After retiring from the league, 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
Dan Fouts was born in San Francisco on June 10, 1951, His father was a sports broadcaster who commentated for the San Francisco 49ers in the National Football League (NFL) for over 20 years. As a child, Dan acted as a stats-keeper for Bob and worked for the 49ers as a ballboy. One of his first sports heroes was John Brodie, the 49ers' starting quarterback at that time. At the age of 11, when 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. He played Pop Warner football for the Drake Junior Pirates, where his coach described him as an "outstanding quarterback" in 1964.
Fouts attended Marin Catholic High School, located just north of San Francisco in Kentfield, California, for his first two years of high school football and had his first starts as a sophomore in 1966. He temporarily lost his starting position after his play was described as "extremely jittery" by the local San Rafael Daily Independent Journal, but an end of season report from the same paper stated that he should improve with better protection. The team had a record of 0–6 and Fouts finished the season with nine interceptions and only one touchdown. While at Marin Catholic, he also played varsity basketball as a forward.
Fouts transferred to St. Ignatius College Preparatory, also in San Francisco<!--, CA-->, for his final two years of high school. 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. In 1967, Fouts' junior year, St. Ignatius was the champion of the West Catholic Athletic League with a 6–0 record, and Fouts was named to the WCAL All-Star first-team. He nearly reversed his touchdown to interceptions ratio, with 16 touchdowns and two interceptions. St. Ignatius went 5–1 in Fouts' senior year but he passed much less as his team focused more on their running game. It was the only offer from a major college that he received. Fouts did not play for the main Ducks team during his first year at Oregon (1969); instead he started for the freshman team, composed of first-year players.
In the 1970 season, he began as a backup to established passer Tom Blanchard. In the opening game, a 31–24 victory over California, Fouts came off the bench and threw 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 that day. Fouts got his first chance to start two weeks later when Blanchard was out due to injury. He kept the role for the rest of the season and the Ducks finished 6–4–1. Fouts went on to set Oregon single-game records for the most attempts, completions and yards, and single-season records for completions and touchdowns. His 16 touchdowns ranked second in the Pac-8, while his 212.1 yards of total offense per game were tenth in the nation. United Press International (UPI) named him as an honorable mention in their season-ending all-coast team. The Salem Capital Journal described Fouts as a sophomore with "the poise of a senior".
Fouts entered the 1971 season as an established and highly rated starter. He missed two and a half games of the Ducks' 5–6 season due to knee ligament damage, but he still ranked third in the Pac-8 for passing yards. When Oregon replaced their head coach Jerry Frei at the end of the year, Fouts was one of seven players on the committee of fifteen who chose the replacement, Dick Enright.
Fouts broke the Oregon record for career passing yardage early in the 1972 season, which ended with a 4–7 record. 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. At the end of the season, Fouts ranked second in the Pac-8 for passing yards and touchdowns behind Mike Boryla of Stanford. The Capital Journal compared the two quarterbacks, stating that Fouts faced "trying conditions" with a relative lack of support on offense. He was named to the All-Pac-8 team as chosen by the conference's coaches, as well as the UPI All-Coast team and the Associated Press (AP) All-West Coast team. Fouts was invited to the East–West Shrine Bowl (which he missed due to a foot injury), the Senior Bowl, and the Coaches All-America Game (where he broke his collarbone on his first play from scrimmage).
At the end of his college career, Fouts' career passing yardage ranked No.1 in Oregon history, No. 2 in the Pac-8 and No. 7 in the NCAA. He set 19 Oregon records, including career passing yardage (5,995) and total offense (5,871), and he was inducted into the university's<!-- of Oregon--> hall of fame as part of the inaugural 1992 class.
Professional career
1973–1978: Early career
1973 season
Fouts was selected in the third round of the 1973 NFL draft by the San Diego Chargers; he was the sixth quarterback taken and 64th overall. At the time he was drafted, NFL scouts questioned Fouts' durability, arm strength and athleticism. He was brought in to back up one of his childhood idols, Johnny Unitas, who had joined the Chargers during the off-season after 17 years with the Baltimore Colts. Unsigned at the time, Fouts broke his collarbone in the Coaches All-America Game on June 23; the Chargers management had not wanted him to play in the game because of the risk of injury. Fouts missed the start of training camp while holding out for more money, then missed the first three preseason games while recovering from his injury. Head coach Harland Svare described Fouts as "about a year behind" in August, and Fouts himself did not anticipate much play as a rookie. His first appearance came in week 4, when he entered 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 fourth quarter (a 13-yarder to Jerry LeVias), led two further touchdown drives, and the game finished 38–21. He made his first NFL start the following week, throwing two touchdowns in a 27–17 loss to the Oakland Raiders. United Press International described his performance as that of a "bona fide NFL quarterback." He struggled in his next game, where he was 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."
Fouts finished the season ranked twelfth by passer rating in the 13-team American Football Conference (AFC). 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. Speaking in 1985, Fouts described the 1973 Chargers as a team in "turmoil, total disarray", and criticized the coaches for not letting him work with Unitas and benefit from his knowledge.
1974 season
Unitas announced his retirement before the 1974 season, leaving Fouts to compete with rookie Jesse Freitas for the starting job. New head coach Tommy Prothro singled out Fouts as giving the only good performance during a preseason loss, and he began the regular season as the starter.
San Diego lost their first regular season game, but Fouts got his first career win in week 2, leading a 98-yard 4th quarter drive for the winning touchdown. The Chargers lost their next five games, culminating in a 24–14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in which Fouts threw two interceptions and lost a fumble, prompting his home fans to start chanting for Freitas to play. 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."
Fouts ranked 11th in the AFC for passer rating. 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 intentions with regard to Fouts and Freitas, except to say that he had no plans to draft another quarterback. Both struggled in preseason, and the Chargers added veteran quarterback Virgil Carter to their roster. All three quarterbacks played in the regular season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers, generating only 145 yards of offense in a 37–0 defeat. Two weeks later, Fouts was the only quarterback Prothro used against the Oakland Raiders. His home crowd booed him when he was announced before kickoff and he completed 3 of 13 passes for 29 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions, while getting sacked five times for the loss of 51 yards. The Chargers lost 6–0. San Diego went on to lose their first eleven games while Fouts missed playing time with a sore ankle and a concussion. He sustained a total of seven injuries during the course of the year. The Chargers avoided a winless season when Fouts led them to a pair of victories in December.
With only two touchdown passes all season, Fouts finished with the 12th best passer rating in the AFC. 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."
1976 season
thumb|upright|Fouts in 1976
Starting in February 1976, Fouts worked out three times a week with Bill Walsh, who spent that year as the Chargers' offensive coordinator. 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." Fouts was the league's No. 1 rated passer at that stage, though the defenses he had faced were not highly regarded. His performances worsened as the season went on, and fans were calling for backup Clint Longley to have more playing time entering the week 10 game with the Denver Broncos. Fouts was again booed by his home crowd in the Broncos game, a 17–0 defeat. Longley did start one game late in the season, but was benched for Fouts after failing to produce any points in the first half. The Chargers eventually finished with a 6–8 record.
Fouts finished with the eighth-best passer rating in the AFC, and led the conference in both pass attempts (359) and completions (208). 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.
1977 season: 125-day holdout
San Diego acquired quarterback James Harris from the Los Angeles Rams during the off-season, with head coach Tommy Prothro stating that he wanted depth at the injury-prone position. There was speculation in the media that Harris' contract was worth approximately $170,000, compared to Fouts' $82,500. The following month, Fouts was one of 17 players who testified against the NFL in an antitrust settlement. Fouts expressed a desire to leave San Diego, and complained about the new collective bargaining agreement which said that the Chargers had to only match the offer of another team to prevent him from leaving. 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. 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." Harris became the new starting quarterback. 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 turn out for San Diego. Fouts filed a grievance against the Chargers in October, seeking to be granted free agent status by the NFL. On November 15, the NFL grievance committee rejected Fouts' attempt to become a free agent. Klein said that Fouts had been given bad advice by his lawyer, and would be welcomed back to the team. Fouts reported to the Chargers on November 17, 125 days late, having accrued $62,500 in fines. He declined to comment on his holdout to the press. Chargers player representative Pat Curran stated that the team welcomed Fouts back, suggesting that his criticisms of Prothro and the quality of his teammates were a "smoke-screen" to support his attempt to become a free agent.
The 1977 Chargers were a 5–5 team when Fouts returned, and they had recently lost Harris to injury. Fouts won praise from Prothro when he won his first two games back, and described the team as the best of his Chargers career. He lost the next two games, struggling in both. The Escondido Times Advocate said of the finale that Fouts was "his vintage horrid self of all his bad games of the past."
1978 season
thumb|upright|left|alt=Picture of Don Coryell|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 off-season, and was selected as the starter ahead of Harris. He sustained a jammed thumb early in the 1978 season and did not 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.
Prothro resigned after the Green Bay defeat with the team's record at 1–3; his replacement, Don Coryell, would be a key figure in Fouts' career. Coryell was an offensive-minded coach who favored the passing game. 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." 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."
San Diego lost three of Coryell's first four games, then won their next four to preserve a small chance of making the playoffs. Fouts missed the next game because of an ankle injury, and San Diego lost 23–0. Coryell, who had made few changes to the Chargers' offense up to that point, began to emphasize the passing game more during the last three games of the season. He passed for 369 yards in the season finale, tying Tobin Rote's franchise record.
Fouts finished with the third-best passer rating in the league (83.2) and the fourth-most touchdown passes (24). He had 2,999 passing yards, accounting for the bulk of San Diego's league-leading 3,375 yards. 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. He finished the season with 4,082 yards passing, breaking Joe Namath's NFL record of 4,007.