Legendary head coach Don Coryell has passed away on Thursday at the age of 85.

A native of Seattle, Washington, Coryell played football at the University of Washington before embarking on a coaching career that began at Whittier College in 1957, and ended with the San Diego Chargers in 1986.

In between, Coryell coached at San Diego State, leading the Aztecs to a 104-19-2 mark, buoyed by a 32-game win streak between 1967-70. Overall, Coryell won 129 games as a college coach before entering the NFL coaching ranks in 1972.

Coryell was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999.

Coryell began his NFL coaching career with the St. Louis Cardinals. In five seasons, Coryell's Cardinals teams went 69-56, winning the NFC East in 1974 and 1975, but losing both playoff games.

Four games into the 1978 season, Coryell replaced Tommy Prothro as the head coach of the San Diego Chargers, and behind his "Air Coryell" offense, led the team to an 8-4 record down the stretch. Though the Chargers failed to reach the playoffs, they carried that momentum into the 1979 season, going 12-4 and winning their first of three straight AFC West titles.

In nine seasons in San Diego, Coryell's teams lead the NFL in passing six times, and total yardage on five occasions, including four straight seasons (1980-83. The Chargers went 42-27-1, won 3 division titles, and were 3-4 in the post-season.

Though Coryell unfortunately remains out of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, three members of those Chargers teams--quarterback Dan Fouts, wide receiver Charlie Joiner, and tight end Kellen Winslow--have all been inducted to the Hall, thanks largely to the innovative offensive mind of their head coach.

Coryell also gave starts to Hall of Fame head coaches John Madden and Joe Gibbs.