1978 San Diego Chargers season

1978 San Diego Chargers season
Owner	Gene Klein (Since 1966)
General manager	Johnny Sanders (Since 1976)
Head coach	Tommy Prothro (weeks 1-4) (5th season) Don Coryell (weeks 5-16) (1st season)
Home field	San Diego Stadium
Results
Record	9–7
Division place	3rd AFC West
Playoff finish	did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	3 WR John Jefferson T Russ Washington DT Louie Kelcher
AP All-Pros	3 WR John Jefferson T Russ Washington DT Louie Kelcher

The 1978 San Diego Chargers season was the team's 19th season, and 9th in the National Football League.

The Chargers improved on their 7–7 record in 1977. This season included the "Holy Roller" game. It was Don Coryell's first season as the team's head coach, replacing Tommy Prothro after four games, and the team's first 16-game schedule.

Said the 2006 edition of Pro Football Prospectus, "The Chargers were one of the worst franchises in the NFL before they hired Don Coryell four games into the 1978 season. The Chargers were 1–3 at the time, but finished 8–4 under Coryell, winning seven of their last eight games for the franchise's first winning record since 1969. Blessed with Hall of Famer Dan Fouts, the creative Coryell always designed potent offenses, but the San Diego Defense didn't catch up until 1979...."

1978 NFL Draft

Main article: 1978 NFL Draft

1978 San Diego Chargers draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	14	John Jefferson *	Wide receiver	Arizona State
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 3, 1978	at Seattle Seahawks	W 24–20	55,778
2	September 10, 1978	Oakland Raiders	L 21–20	51,653
3	September 17, 1978	at Denver Broncos	L 27–14	74,983
4	September 24, 1978	Green Bay Packers	L 24–3	42,755
5	October 1, 1978	at New England Patriots	L 28–23	60,781
6	October 8, 1978	Denver Broncos	W 23–0	50,077
7	October 15, 1978	Miami Dolphins	L 28–21	50,637
8	October 22, 1978	at Detroit Lions	L 31–14	54,031
9	October 29, 1978	at Oakland Raiders	W 27–23	52,612
10	November 5, 1978	Cincinnati Bengals	W 22–13	43,639
11	November 12, 1978	Kansas City Chiefs	W 29–23	41,395
12	November 19, 1978	at Minnesota Vikings	W 13–7	38,859
13	November 26, 1978	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 23–0	26,248
14	December 4, 1978	Chicago Bears	W 40–7	48,492
15	December 10, 1978	Seattle Seahawks	W 37–10	49,975
16	December 17, 1978	at Houston Oilers	W 45–24	49,554

Standings

AFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Denver Broncos(3)	10	6	0	.625	7–1	8–4	282	198	L1
Oakland Raiders	9	7	0	.563	3–5	5–7	311	283	W1
Seattle Seahawks	9	7	0	.563	4–4	6–6	345	358	W1
San Diego Chargers	9	7	0	.563	5–3	7–5	355	309	W3
Kansas City Chiefs	4	12	0	.250	1–7	4–10	243	327	L2

Roster

1978 San Diego Chargers Team Starters
Rookies in italics

Offense

14   Dan Fouts          QB
26   Lydell Mitchell    RB
33   Don Woods          FB
83   John Jefferson     WR
18   Charlie Joiner     WR
84   Bob Klein          TE

66   Billy Shields      LT
63   Doug Wilkerson     LG
62   Don Macek          C
67   Ed White           RG
70   Russ Washington    RT

Defense

68   Leroy Jones       LDE
74   Louie Kelcher     LDT
79   Gary Johnson      RDT
71   Fred Dean         RDE

50   Don Goode         LB
55   Bob Horn          LB
51   Woodrow Lowe      LB

45   Hal Stringert     LCB
29   Mike Williams     RCB
42   Mike Fuller       SS/PR
44   Pete Shaw         FS

Kicking Team

6   Rolf Benirschke   K
8   Jeff West         P
85  Artie Owens       KR