Chargers Confirm Henning : Given ‘Another Chance,’ He Signs for Five Years
The Chargers hired Washington Redskins assistant Dan Henning Thursday to run a football team that might be better served in its immediate future by Doug Henning.
Dan Henning is a football coach who compiled a four-year, 22-41-1 record in Atlanta during his only previous experience as a head coach. Doug Henning is a magician who once made an elephant disappear on television.
“Statistics,” Dan Henning said, defending his record in Atlanta, “ . . . You can do anything you want with them. That statistic does not mean I’m not a good football coach.”
Age, injuries, the end of quarterback Steve Bartkowski’s career and inconsistent ownership provided by the Rankin Smith family prevented Henning from doing much of anything with the Falcons. The circumstances he inherited virtually assured his failure in Atlanta.
“Let’s just say Dan Henning has another chance,” said Steve Ortmayer, the Chargers’ director of football operations and the man who recommended Henning to owner Alex Spanos after a job search that lasted more than seven weeks.
Henning’s first task with the Chargers will be to pull a quarterback out of his hat and turn a 6-10 team into a playoff contender. The Chargers have given him a five-year contract to do so. But if he doesn’t make significant progress before then, he will disappear just like his predecessor, Al Saunders.
Significant progress on the fly won’t be easy. The Chargers’ first-string quarterback at the moment is Mark Malone, who compiled the lowest listed quarterback rating in the AFC each of the past two seasons. The most valuable member of the Charger defense is its coordinator, Ron Lynn.
Lynn, one of the finalists to replace Saunders, will remain as defensive coordinator. Henning had little choice in the matter. Ortmayer and Spanos mandated the Lynn decision in the interest of “continuity.”
Henning said Lynn’s assistants--Gunther Cunningham (line) and Mike Haluchek (linebackers) will “probably” stay, too. Cunningham, though, has talked with other NFL teams. Lynn said Thursday it was not certain Cunningham would return.
Prefacing his introduction of Henning at a stadium press conference, Ortmayer said life in the NFL is “a vicious struggle to be the best, to be No. 1. Every time somebody wins, somebody else loses. We need an edge.”
That didn’t deter Spanos from gushing that Henning will “be the man to take us all the way--lead us to success.”
Henning, 46 and the son of a late New York City detective, was realistic about the job at hand and his lack of marquee value to the followers of a franchise that drew 26,339 for its last 1988 home game in a stadium that seats 60,750.
“They’re going to be from Missouri,” Henning said, referring to a dwindling Charger fan base that still longs for the days of Dan Fouts and Don Coryell. He is correct in observing he is in a show-me situation.
“They (the fans) are going to read about me, they’re going to talk about me, and they’re going to formulate their opinions about me,” he said. “But they’re going to want to see.”
Henning’s field of expertise is on the offensive side. He has coached Don Strock, Bob Griese, Joe Namath and Joe Theismann, among others, in a career that began as an assistant at Florida State in 1968 and included two stops at Virginia Tech and NFL jobs in Houston, New York, Miami, Washington (twice) and Atlanta.
His trademarks are a ravenous appetite for work during the season, a dry wit, a craving for cigarettes and an undying appreciation for a well-spun yarn. His speaking accent is part Queens (where he grew up) and part Virginia (where he was tutored in the early ‘60s as William and Mary’s quarterback by a skinny backfield coach named Lou Holtz).
Asked what learned as a head coach in Atlanta, Henning said, “that your check is bigger than when you’re an assistant.”
Henning says he will be a players’ coach to the ones who like him. And he says he will be a hands-on coach who won’t blame mistakes on his assistants or players.
Theismann says the Chargers have made a “wise” choice in Henning. And his favorite Dan Henning story is one he tells on himself.
Seems it was late in the strike-torn season of 1982, a season the Redskins salvaged by winning the Super Bowl. Theismann’s habit of coaching his teammates during practice was getting out of hand one day when Henning sidled up to him quietly.
“You know, Joe,” Henning said, “we’ve got a lot of coaches.”
Henning paused.
“What we’re looking for,” he added, “is players.”
It was vintage Theismann and Henning. “I’m thinking of having what he said put on my tombstone,” Theismann said Thursday.
Henning won the Charger job over a group of candidates that included Lynn, former California and Illinois Coach Mike White, Chicago Bears assistant Johnny Roland and Wayne Sevier, the Chargers’ special teams coach.
“He was the right man for the job,” Ortmayer said. “The continuity factor was a big factor, and his previous head coaching experience in the NFL was very important to me.”
So was Henning’s compatibility. “I feel I relate with Dan Henning very well,” Ortmayer said. Ortmayer and Saunders’ failure to relate with each other was the principal reason Spanos fired Saunders’ Dec. 19.
Ortmayer was especially enamored of Henning’s contribution as an offensive assistant to the 1982 Washington Super Bowl victory. Henning left to coach the Falcons, got fired after four seasons and returned to the Redskins in 1987. Washington celebrated immediately with its second Super Bowl victory.
“That’s a most pertinent observation,” Ortmayer said. “I have large respect for people who have scaled that mountain.”
Most of the current Charger players know little about Henning.
“I’m just glad to see them get it over with and and finally get it done,” said linebacker Billy Ray Smith. “It was kind of dragging on for a while.”
Henning will have input in the Chargers’ draft selections, but Ortmayer will have final say. Ortmayer will have input on roster cuts, but Henning will have final say in that area.
The top priority continues to be the quarterback situation. Malone regained his starting position last season only after a knee injury to Mark Vlasic, who had been 2-0 as a starter before the injury. His availability for 1989 is still uncertain.
“Malone is going to be the guy we start out with right now,” Henning said. “But that doesn’t mean we’re going to stand pat with the quarterback situation. I don’t think you can ever diminish the importance of having a quarterback.”
DAN HENNING’S RECORD
Year Team Position Held Head Coach 1968 Florida State QBs/receivers Bill Peterson 1969 Florida State QBs/receivers Bill Peterson 1970 Florida State Offensive chief Bill Peterson 1971 Virginia Tech Offensive coordinator Charley Coffey 1972 Houston Oilers QBs/receivers Bill Peterson 1973 Virginia Tech Offensive coordinator Charley Coffey 1974 Florida State Offensive coordinator Darrell Mudra 1975 Worked for security firm 1976 New York Jets QBs/receivers Lou Holtz 1977 New York Jets Receivers Walt Michaels 1978 New York Jets Receivers Walt Michaels 1979 Miami Dolphins QBs/receivers Don Shula 1980 Miami Dolphins QBs/receivers Don Shula 1981 Washington Redskins Assistant head coach Joe Gibbs 1982 Washington Redskins Assistant head coach Joe Gibbs 1983 Atlanta Falcons Head coach Henning 1984 Atlanta Falcons Head coach Henning 1985 Atlanta Falcons Head coach Henning 1986 Atlanta Falcons Head coach Henning 1987 Washington Redskins Offensive assistant Joe Gibbs 1988 Washington Redskins Offensive assistant Joe Gibbs
Year Quarterback Record 1968 Bill Cappleman 8-2-0 1969 Bill Cappleman 6-3-1 1970 Gary Huff 7-4-0 1971 Don Strock 4-7-0 1972 Dan Pastorini 1-13-0 1973 Rick Popp 2-9-0 1974 Ron Coppess 1-10-0 1975 1976 Joe Namath 3-11-0 1977 Richard Todd 3-11-0 1978 Richard Todd 8-8-0 1979 Bob Griese 10-6-0 1980 Bob Griese 8-8-0 1981 Joe Theisman 8-8-0 1982 Joe Theisman 8-1-0 1983 Steve Bartkowski 7-9-0 1984 Steve Bartkowski 4-12-0 1985 David Archer 4-12-0 1986 David Archer 7-8-1 1987 Schroeder/Williams 11-4-0 1988 Doug Williams 7-9-0