There Are No Miracles for Henning in San Diego : Pro football: Chargers fire coach after he compiles 16-32 record, has run-in with owner.

Dan Henning got the message after last season: It was going to take a miracle performance in 1991 for him to keep his job.

Henning, who was fired as head coach of the Chargers, along with his staff, Monday after compiling a 16-32 record, said he was put on notice when General Manager Bobby Beathard failed to win him a one-year contract extension from team owner Alex Spanos after the 1990 season.

On Henning’s insistence, his assistant coaches were offered a one-year contract extension beyond 1991 as a hedge against the uncertainty surrounding their jobs.

Henning expected similar consideration from Spanos but was advised there would be no none.

“My coaches had more security than I had,” said Henning, who will receive a lump-sum severance payoff. “I knew it then. . . .”

An 0-5 start in 1991 and a run-in with Spanos in late September sealed Henning’s fate.

Shortly after the Chargers’ 14-13 loss to Kansas City on Sept. 29th, Spanos walked in on a Henning staff meeting and demanded answers for the team’s poor start. When Spanos refused to accept the explanations, Henning advised Spanos that he and his staff had work to do.

Spanos declined comment through a club spokesman Monday, but Henning said that Spanos took offense to his treatment in the meeting, and with the exception of a brief accidental meeting outside the team’s executive offices two weeks ago, that was the last time Spanos talked with him.

“I knew what was going on,” Henning said, “but I was very, very determined to keep everything together and not crack.”

The Chargers did not always win under Henning’s direction, but they did not buckle.

“I hurt because I’ve lost my job, but I hurt more for Dan,” tight end coach Ed White said. “He’s a great guy, and I really feel like he could have been a great coach.”

In Beathard’s final analysis, however, there were not enough victories to reward good effort.

“The bottom line, as is always: if you don’t win, then they make a change,” Henning said. “I think the bottom line is what has come down here, and I have no argument with that: we haven’t won.”

Henning replaced Al Saunders in 1989 and inherited a 6-10 football team. He then went 6-10, 6-10 and 4-12. His downfall: A 6-22 record in games decided by seven or fewer points, including a 17-14 loss to Denver Sunday.

Beathard talked to Henning on the telephone Sunday night, and upon Henning’s prodding, Beathard informed him that he would not be retained.

“He said, ‘Was it your decision or Spanos?’ ” Beathard said. “I said, ‘Mine.’ ”

Henning said he’s not sure he will remain in coaching, but it’s understood he will have the chance to join Bill Parcells, if Parcells accepts the top job in Green Bay or Tampa Bay.

“I will have opportunities to coach,” he said. “But I had one goal when I came here and that was to win as a head football coach. It’s very disappointing to me not to continue to have that opportunity.”

Beathard’s top choice to replace Henning remains Georgia Tech Coach Bobby Ross, but the Chargers have also taken a long look at Miami Coach Dennis Erickson and San Francisco 49ers’ offensive coordinator Mike Holmgren.

Spanos is known to have suggested Florida Coach Steve Spurrier, but Spurrier is locked into an attractive contract.