A LOOK AT THIS WEEK’S CHARGERT AND RAIDER OPPONENTS : GONE TO KANSAS CITY : Former Charger Coach Saunders Comes Back as a Visitor

No, Al Saunders isn’t bitter about being fired as coach of the Chargers last December. At least he says he isn’t.

No, Saunders doesn’t feel sorry for himself after taking a downward step to coaching wide receivers for the Kansas City Chiefs.

But yes, Saunders thinks he deserved to keep his job with the Chargers after leading one of the NFL’s weaker teams to a 6-10 record a year ago. The Chargers won four of their final six games under his direction, losing only to Super Bowl-bound San Francisco and Cincinnati.

Saunders talked about his enforced change of jobs in a telephone interview before returning to San Diego with the Chiefs for Sunday’s game against the Chargers at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

“I would say I’m more disappointed than anything else,” Saunders said. “I’m disappointed that we didn’t have the opportunity to finish what we started in San Diego.

“Basically, we had philosophical differences. I have a great deal of respect for everybody in the Charger organization, and I hold no animosity toward anybody. It’s just part of the business. I know we as a staff did a fine job of coaching and left the organization going in the right direction.”

Saunders pointed out that many of the Chargers’ longtime key players had departed during his 2 1/2 seasons as Don Coryell’s successor.

“The program was going through a period of tremendous transition,” Saunders said. “To lose players like Charlie Joiner, Dan Fouts, Kellen Winslow, Wes Chandler, Pete Holohan and Jim Lachey created a situation that was truly a rebuilding environment.

“It takes a while to come back from that, yet we far exceeded expectations in the number of games we won. We felt that we got the most out of the people we had.”

Saunders replaced Coryell midway through the 1986 season, which ended at 4-12. The Chargers went 8-7 in 1987, running off an eight-game winning streak that included three strike games, but finishing with a six-game losing streak.

“We made terrific improvement on the field,” Saunders said. “We achieved as much as we could possibly achieve under the circumstances.”

Asked about the current Chargers, who have lost their first two games under Dan Henning, Saunders said, “We left them with a good foundation, and time will tell.”

Some of Saunders’ critics accused him of being a politician when he coached the Chargers. He was asked why he had never replied to these charges. In fact, he had never talked publicly after his dismissal.

“I don’t know what (being a politician) means,” Saunders said. “I just feel that you should treat people the way you want to be treated yourself.”

It was no secret that Saunders didn’t get along with Steve Ortmayer, the Chargers’ director of football operations. That being the case, chances are that nothing short of an 8-8 record would have saved his job.

Now 42, Saunders became the NFL’s youngest head coach when he took over from Coryell three years ago. He also became the first and only foreign-born head coach in league history, having been born in London.

Reminiscing about some of the best of his times with the Chargers, Saunders had special words for Charlie Joiner and Lionel James.

Joiner has been the Chargers’ receivers coach since his retirement after the 1986 season.

“Nobody is like Charlie Joiner,” Saunders said. “He’s the greatest receiver I ever coached. He’s in a class by himself, the consummate professional. He’s also one of the finest people I’ve ever been around.”

James was recently released by the Chargers, then picked up by the Chiefs, only to fail their physical because of an arthritic hip.

“And when you consider everything that goes into the makeup of a football player,” he said, “my all-time favorite is Lionel James. He was too small, but he played the game the way it was meant to be played. He had courage, and he was very humble. They put the biggest heart in the littlest player.”

Understandably, he would like another chance to be a head coach some day, but he isn’t pining away for it.

“I’m extremely happy in Kansas City,” Saunders said. “The reason I got into coaching was to teach, and the best way to do that is to be an assistant. It’s fun for me again. I love working on the field with the players.

“The head coach wears a lot of different hats and has administrative duties and obligations other than coaching. As an assistant, I’m doing the most enjoyable part of being involved in sports, the actual coaching and dealing with players on a daily basis.”

Saunders works so hard in coaching the Chiefs’ wide receivers that he often plays the role of a defensive back in practice.

Shortly after the Chiefs’ training camp opened, Randy Covitz wrote in the Kansas City Star, “Saunders thinks nothing of sticking his nose into a receiver’s facemask and covering him one-on-one in a passing drill.”

Carlos Carson, twice an all-pro wide receiver with the Chiefs, said of Saunders, “Well, he tries to cover us. He has taught me some new techniques on how to escape from the bump and run.”

Considering that Carson is in his 10th NFL season and is a two-time all-pro, his words say a lot about Saunders’ work ethic.

Charger wide receiver Jamie Holland said that Saunders also found time to do his share of teaching in San Diego, even though burdened with the head coaching duties.

“He paid close attention to the receivers,” Holland said of Saunders. “He spent a lot of time with us, teaching us precise routes, getting off the press and just being consistent. He was like a second receivers coach.”

Holland and other Charger veterans said they planned to seek out Saunders and shake hands with him before the kickoff Sunday.

One Charger player who developed particular respect for Saunders over the years was outside linebacker Billy Ray Smith.

“I never had a problem with Al and he never had a problem with me,” Smith said. “As far as I’m concerned, our only problem was that we didn’t win the games we should have won. Al was a very organized guy. I think that was one of his main fortes. He’s a good coach.”

As soon as Saunders got the ax from the Chargers, he started making phone calls to other NFL clubs. One of the calls was to Dave Adolph, the Cleveland Browns’ defensive coordinator, who had been a member of the Chargers’ staff in 1985.

Marty Schottenheimer, now the Chiefs’ head coach, was still coaching the Browns then and was in Adolph’s office when Saunders called.

“This was a day or two after Al was fired,” Schottenheimer recalled. “Al said he wanted to coach again, and I liked that. If a guy still wants to coach in light of what had just happened, that shows me something.”

Once Schottenheimer left the Browns and began putting together a new staff with the Chiefs, he quickly hired Saunders.

“Al is one of the finest coaches I’ve ever known,” Schottenheimer said. “He’s extremely diligent, and his players are always well prepared. He’s a great teacher and a has a great ability to communicate. Thanks to him, our young receivers are performing at the optimum level at this point in their careers.

“He has every quality you’re looking for in a football coach, and I haved no doubt that he’ll get another opportunity as a head coach. He’s entitled to it.”

Although Saunders has spent most of his life in California--he attended San Jose State as an undergraduate and received a master’s degree from Stanford--he hasn’t lost any sleep about leaving the land of sunshine.

“Of course, I’m sorry to leave San Diego,” he said. “We loved it. We had a wonderful time there, and I have fond memories. I grew up there, I played Little League baseball there, and I coached in the NFL there. I have dear friends in the city and dear friends in the organization.

“But I’m very, very happy with the circumstances in Kansas City. The quality of life in the Midwest is outstanding, and the equity from selling our home in San Diego (Scripps Ranch) made it easy to move. We’re building a home in the suburb of Overland Park.

“Our three children love it. They play soccer and Little League, and when they see horses and cows in the farmland, they expect to run into Dorothy and Toto.”

And so this is a weekend business trip.

“In reality,” he said, “I’m not going home. I’m just going back to the place where I used to live. My home now is Kansas City, and I’m pleased to be a part of it.”

RAMS’ OPPONENT--Majkowski puts Packer legends to rest--for now. Page 17.