Coryell Says He’s Not Making Excuses, Then Puts Blame on Officials

The game had been over for 24 hours, but Don Coryell was still wearing his game face Monday.

Coryell had that look of intensity that has become synonymous with his appearance on football sidelines. The “enemy” this time was the officials, not the Minnesota Vikings.

On the day after Sunday’s 21-17 loss at Minnesota, Coryell was enraged by several calls.

“The thing that irritates me is players get blamed for penalties and are criticized and chastised by everyone,” Coryell said. “In some cases, they’re not at fault. When an official is at fault, he goes unnamed. Players get blamed, coaches get blamed and officials go unnamed. When they may a mistake, they say ‘I’m sorry.’ I think officials should be criticized publicly. We are; why shouldn’t they be?”

It seems Coryell’s anger toward officials has been building for three games. Evidence:

--Against Seattle, Wes Chandler was denied an apparent second-quarter touchdown when he was ruled out of bounds on a reception. The Chargers lost, 26-21.

--Against Kansas City, replays indicated a Chiefs’ runner did not score on a fourth-down play when he was awarded a touchdown. The Chargers went on to win, 31-20.

--Against Minnesota, the most blatant call appeared to be a pass interference against the Chargers’ Danny Walters in the end zone. When the replay was shown, television commentator Reggie Rucker even said, ‘That was a bad call.”’

And so it has gone.

“There’s no recourse at all,” Coryell said. “If you ask the league, you get an interpretation. They’ll say they were wrong, it was a questionable call or it was a penalty.

“When you lose a game, you lose a game. There’s nothing you can do . . . I hate to have three games in a row go like this.”

Coryell told the media several times that he was not trying to make excuses. He said the Chargers needed to play better to overcome what he considers erratic officiating.

Against Minnesota, there were three calls, in particular, that irked Coryell. One was the pass interference against Walters that led to a touchdown. Another was a roughing-the-passer penalty against Linden King on a Jeffrey Dale interception. And another was a fourth-down ball placement on Minnesota’s winning drive.

Though King’s late hit did not lead to a Minnesota score, it deprived the Chargers of the ball. Gene Leff, the team’s director of photography, said game films showed King hit Tommy Kramer just after he released the ball.

“Did you see that roughing-the-passer?” Coryell asked in anger. “Take a look at it. It’ll be on some replay.”

The television replay did not show the alleged late hit against King.

However, replays did show that the ball may have been marked too far ahead on the critical fourth down play. Though Minnesota’s Allen Rice appeared to be stopped before he reached the 34-yard line, the ball was placed beyond the hashmark. According to an incensed Coryell, it was the difference between first-down Vikings and first-down Chargers.

“That’s a damn joke,” Coryell said, his veins bulging. “That’s the ballgame.”

It went down as another loss for the Chargers (3-4), who trail the division-leading Raiders and Broncos by two games. The Chargers play the Raiders in Los Angeles next Monday.

Coryell was asked if he thought the Chargers were still in the race. His answer made it clear that he thought the Chargers should have been 5-2 and tied for the lead. . . . if not for questionable calls in the Seattle and Minnesota games.

“We’d be in pretty darn good shape with those two under our belt,” Coryell said. “I’m not making any excuses. I’m bitter.”