The 1989 San Diego Chargers season was the franchise's 20th season in the National Football League (NFL), its 30th overall and the first season under head coach Dan Henning, whose predecessor, Al Saunders, had been fired shortly after the previous season.
The team matched their 6–10 record from 1988. Their season followed a similar pattern to the previous year, with their six wins arriving in three pairs. San Diego brought in a high-profile free agent in quarterback Jim McMahon, but it was their defensive unit that saw a big improvement, ranking sixth in the league, and never conceding more than 26 points in a game after week 2.
On the field, McMahon's form was indifferent; off it, he repeatedly clashed with journalists. He was released shortly after the season finished. Second-year receiver Anthony Miller had a strong year with 1,252 yards. The running game lost Gary Anderson to a holdout, which lasted the entire season; one of his replacements, 7th-round draft pick Marion Butts, was the only player from San Diego's 1989 draft class to make the Pro Bowl during his career.
The combination of a strong defense and mediocre offense led to several close finishes - thirteen games were decided by seven points or fewer, including the last twelve in a row. Before the NFL adopted the two-point conversion in 1994, this was tied for the most one-score games in a single season.
Offseason
Head coaching change
Al Saunders was fired the day after the 1988 season ended, after two-and-a-half seasons in charge. He had compiled a 17–22 record, with no playoff appearances. Saunders had publicly criticised the personnel decisions of Steve Ortmayer, the Chargers' director of football operations, creating personal friction that potentially accelerated his departure.
Marty Schottenheimer, who had recently resigned as Cleveland Browns head coach, was among those interviewed for the San Diego vacancy. Schottenheimer signed for the Chiefs instead, though he would become the Chargers' head coach 13 years later. Other candidates included Chicago assistant Johnny Roland, Washington assistant Dan Henning, Illinois head coach Mike White, and the Chargers' own defensive coordinator, Ron Lynn.
On February 9, Henning was named to the role, bringing an end to a long search - the Chargers had been the first in the league to fire their previous head coach, but the last to appoint a replacement. While serving as an offensive assistant with Washington, Henning's teams had won Super Bowls in 1982 and 1987. He had struggled as a head coach in between those jobs, compiling a record of 22-41-1 in Atlanta from 1983 to 1986, with a losing record in each of the four seasons. Ortmayer spoke of Henning's Super Bowl rings as a factor in the hire, as well as his willingness to retain the incumbent Chargers assistant coaches.
Henning had previously been in San Diego as a quarterback, in 1966, when he made his solitary appearance for a professional team.
Departures and arrivals
Having passed for 2,388 yards the previous season, third worst in the league, San Diego sought a new quarterback during the offseason. Chargers' owner Alex Spanos had mentioned Jim McMahon as a possible acquisition as early as March. McMahon had won a Super Bowl ring four seasons previously, but had proven injury-prone since then. San Diego were still linked with McMahon during the draft, and eventually worked out a deal on August 18, with McMahon's relationship with Chicago head coach Mike Ditka having deteriorated substantially. Chicago received a conditional pick in the following year's draft. This proved to be a second-round pick. Two quarterbacks from the previous season, meanwhile, left the team. Babe Laufenberg, who had started the first six games, was released in April; Mark Malone, starter in eight games, was re-signed in July but released in August after McMahon was acquired.
The running back position also saw significant upheaval, prompted by Gary Anderson's season-long holdout. Anderson, who was coming off a 1,000-yard season, asked that his wages be increased from $400,000 per season to $1 million. The Chargers' highest offer was $700,000. As the holdout dragged on, San Diego made lower offers, while refusing Anderson's trade requests. By October 21, the player had sold his home in San Diego, resolving not to play there again. After sitting out the entire year, he signed for the Buccaneers in April 1990. Also at the running back position, the versatile Lionel James was cut shortly before the season started, backup Barry Redden was traded to Cleveland, and former Super Bowl winner Timmy Smith came in as a free agent only to be cut. 8th-year running back Darrin Nelson came in as a mid-season trade. He arrived from Dallas in exchange for a mid-round draft pick, after stating he'd sooner retire than play for the Cowboys.
Wide receiver Phil McConkey, a former Super Bowl winner, was another mid-season pickup - his five games in San Diego proved to be the last of his NFL career.
There were also significant changes in the offensive line. Ken Dallafior (traded to Detroit) and Dan Rosado (waived) left after starting a combined 24 games in 1988, while Dennis McKnight, who had started every non-strike game since 1984, missed the entire season after rupturing a tendon in his knee in the final preseason game, and didn't play for the Chargers again. Newcomers to the line included tackles Joel Patten and Brett Miller, who were picked up from the Colts and Falcons respectively.
On defense, 1988 holdout Chip Banks went to Indianapolis, and Keith Browner was released after failing a drug test. Browner had started 15 games at linebacker in 1988. The Chargers added Jim Collins, a former Pro Bowl linebacker.
The Chargers also released punter Ralf Mojsiejenko and kickers Steve DeLine and Vince Abbott. Fourteen-year veteran Chris Bahr beat out DeLine and Abbott for the kicking job in training camp, while Lewis Colbert lasted only two games as the new punter before being replaced by CFL veteran Hank Ilesic.
NFL draft
San Diego made ten selections in the 1989 draft. Their first pick (eighth overall) was defensive end Burt Grossman, from the University of Pittsburgh, described by Henning as "the best downline pass rusher in this draft". The Chargers came close to timing out and forfeiting their pick, as several possible deals to trade down fell through - San Diego were trying to obtain a free agent quarterback, with both McMahon and Washington backup Stan Humphries mentioned as possibilities. Humphries would become a Charger four years later. Grossman held out until August 25, but ultimately signed a five-year deal worth over $3 million.
In the second round, San Diego picked center Courtney Hall. Long-time center Don Macek had missed the final 11 games of the previous season through injury; Hall was inserted into the starting line-up in week 1, and didn't miss a game until 1994. With McMahon not yet acquired, the Chargers gave up three picks to select a quarterback. They worked a trade with the Giants, swapping a third-, fourth- and seventh-round pick for New York's second-round choice. With this, they selected Billy Joe Tolliver from Texas Tech.
Further down in the draft, San Diego found a future Pro Bowler in running back Marion Butts. With Anderson holding out, Butts was pressed into immediate action in 1989, and finished as the Chargers' top rusher. He would gain over 4,000 yards in 5 seasons with the team. During training camp, eighth-round pick Dana Brinson made a sufficiently good impression as a runner and receiver that he took Lionel James' spot on the roster.
Personnel
Staff
Roster
Preseason San Diego struggled to a 20–3 defeat in their preseason opener, turning the ball over five times against the Cowboys. Quarterbacks Billy Joe Tolliver, David Archer and Mark Malone combined for 20 completions from 42 attempts, for 198 yards. The Chargers managed only a Chris Bahr field goal, wasting a strong defensive performance that saw Dallas gain only 206 yards. Rookie Marion Butts led all rushers with 12 carries for 61 yards. Jim McMahon joined the Chargers the day before their second game, which was against his old club, Chicago. McMahon featured only briefly, with Tolliver throwing two touchdown passes in a 24–7 win. McMahon saw more extensive action in the next game, a 17–14 loss to the defending Super Bowl champions, San Francisco. He struggled, completing 7 of 13 passes for 26 yards and an interception. Tolliver again threw two touchdowns, with Butts and Anthony Miller scoring after the 49ers went 17–0 ahead. Steve DeLine was short on a potentially game-tying 53-yard field goal try late in the game.
The final preseason game had a dramatic finish. Despite a 49-yard touchdown pass from McMahon to Miller, the Chargers trailed 20–7 after a Cardinals' field goal with 9:38 to play. Tolliver then led a 65-yard touchdown drive, with Butts scoring from a yard out. Bahr, who had earlier missed two field goals, then recovered his own onside kick, but Tolliver was intercepted. After forcing a punt, San Diego took over on their own 39 with 1:49 to play, and began a 15-play drive that saw Tolliver convert two fourth downs, before breaking a collarbone while scrambling out of bounds at the Phoenix 4 yard line with a second left. McMahon came back in and found Quinn Early for the game-winner as time expired. As well as Tolliver, offensive lineman Dennis McKnight ruptured during a tendon in his knee during the game, and missed the whole regular season.
WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance 1 August 13 Dallas Cowboys L 3–20 0–1 Jack Murphy Stadium 40,203 2 August 19 at Chicago Bears W 24–7 1–1 Soldier Field 60,167 3 August 23 at San Francisco 49ers L 14–17 1–2 Candlestick Park 54,471 4 September 1 Phoenix Cardinals W 21–20 2–2 Jack Murphy Stadium 41,453
Regular season
Overview
Jim McMahon struggled at quarterback, and was benched for five games, including the final four of the year. He passed for under 100 yards in three of his eleven starts, and finished the year with 2,132 yds, 10 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. His relations with the media were frequently frosty: when asked by a reporter whether he was in pain, McMahon responded, "Only when I look at you". On another occasion, he blew his nose in the direction of a reporter who had brought up San Diego's two-minute offense. Dan Henning released McMahon shortly after the season ended. Rookie backup Billy Joe Tolliver won two of his five starts, but his passer rating of 57.9 was well below the league average of 75.6. Despite the indifferent quarterbacking play, second-year wide receiver Anthony Miller performed well enough that his teammates voted him the Chargers' MVP for the season; he had 75 catches for 1,252 yards and 10 touchdowns, ranking at least eleventh in the league in each statistic. His mark for receptions was twice what any of his teammates posted, his yardage triple any teammate, and his touchdown tally was double the combined total of every other Charger.
While Gary Anderson's holdout meant that the running game had lost a 1,000-yard rusher from 1988, rookie Marion Butts proved a pleasant surprise for his head coach, scoring seven touchdowns in his first six games. He had a scoring drought mid-season, and missed time through injury, but still led the team with 683 yards at 4 yards per carry, while his total of nine rushing touchdowns ranked seventh in the league. Tim Spencer added 521 yards, and the team ranked near the middle of the league overall.