1991 San Diego Chargers season

1991 San Diego Chargers season
Head coach	Dan Henning
General manager	Bobby Beathard
Owner	Alex Spanos
Home field	Jack Murphy Stadium
Results
Record	4–12
Division place	5th AFC West
Playoff finish	did not qualify

The 1991 San Diego Chargers season began with the team trying to improve on their 6–10 record in 1990. It was Dan Henning's final season as the team's head coach. It equaled their worst season in 15 years.

Statistics site Football Outsiders remarked on San Diego's surprisingly poor record, given that they were about average, statistically:^[1] "The Chargers went a horrifying 2–8 in games decided by a touchdown or less. (They were 2–1 in games decided by eight points, but in 1991 that didn't count as a touchdown or less because there was no two-point conversion.) They didn't have particularly bad luck on fumbles, and their schedule was ninth [most difficult] in the league, so it wasn't all about opponent strength. They just kept losing close games. Part of San Diego's problem was a significantly unbalanced offense, which ranked second in rushing [efficiency] and 19th in passing [efficiency]. That made it tough for them to come back from a deficit, and they just happened to end up with more fourth-quarter deficits that needed erasing than fourth-quarter leads that needed protecting."

Offseason

NFL Draft

1991 San Diego Chargers draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	9	Stanley Richard	Defensive back	Texas
2	36	George Thornton	Defensive tackle	Alabama
2	39	Eric Bieniemy	Running back	Colorado
2	47	Eric Moten	Guard	Michigan State
4	90	Yancey Thigpen *	Wide receiver	Winston-Salem State
5	123	Duane Young	Tight end	Michigan State
5	127	Floyd Fields	Defensive back	Arizona State
6	150	Jimmy Laister	Offensive tackle	Oregon Tech
7	177	David Jones	Tight end	Delaware State
7	192	Terry Beauford	Guard	Florida A&M
9	230	Andy Katoa	Linebacker	Southern Oregon
10	254	Ronald Poles	Running back	Tennessee
10	257	Mike Heldt	Center	Notre Dame
11	290	Joachim Weinberg	Wide receiver	Johnson C. Smith
12	317	Chris Samuels	Running back	Texas
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[2]

Personnel

Staff

1991 San Diego Chargers staff
	Front office Chairman of the Board and President – Alex Spanos Vice Chairman – Dean Spanos General Manager – Bobby Beathard Assistant General Manager – Dick Daniels Director of Player Personnel – Billy Devaney Director of Pro Personnel – Rudy Feldman Director of College Scouting – John Hinek Coordinator of Football Operations – Marty Hurney Head coaches Head Coach – Dan Henning Offensive coaches Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator – Ted Tollner Offensive Backs – Bobby Jackson Receivers – Charlie Joiner Tight Ends – Ed White Offensive Line – Alex Gibbs Offensive Assistant – Jack Reilly			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Ron Lynn Defensive Line – Chuck Clausen Linebackers – Mike Haluchak Secondary – Jim L. Mora Special teams coaches Special Teams Coordinator – Larry Pasquale Special Teams Assistant – LeCharls McDaniel Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – John Dunn

Roster

1991 San Diego Chargers final roster
	Quarterbacks 17 John Friesz 16 Bob Gagliano Running backs 82 Rod Bernstine TE/FB 32 Eric Bieniemy KR 35 Marion Butts 33 Ronnie Harmon WR 34 Steve Hendrickson FB/ILB 20 Chris Samuels Wide receivers 80 Shawn Jefferson 81 Nate Lewis KR 83 Anthony Miller 85 Kitrick Taylor PR 84 Yancey Thigpen Tight ends 88 Arthur Cox 31 Craig McEwen FB 81 Mark Walczak 89 Derrick Walker 87 Duane Young		Offensive linemen 63 Frank Cornish C/G 61 Eric Floyd G/T 67 Leo Goeas G/T 53 Courtney Hall C 73 Mark May G/T 77 Eric Moten G 65 David Richards G 72 Harry Swayne T 76 Broderick Thompson T 70 Mike Zandofsky G Defensive linemen 95 Mitchell Benson NT 92 Burt Grossman DE 97 George Hinkle DE 98 Skip McClendon DE 75 Joe Phillips NT 93 George Thornton NT/DE		Linebackers 59 Greg Clark ILB 58 David Grayson OLB 94 Randy Kirk OLB/ILB 91 Leslie O'Neal OLB 50 Gary Plummer ILB 57 Henry Rolling OLB 55 Junior Seau ILB 54 Billy Ray Smith, Jr. OLB 56 Galand Thaxton ILB/OLB 90 Mike Wilcher OLB Defensive backs 44 Martin Bayless SS 37 Anthony Blaylock CB 22 Gill Byrd CB 29 Darren Carrington SS/FS 28 Donnie Elder CB/KR 26 Floyd Fields SS 27 Donald Frank CB 47 Cedric Mack CB 24 Stanley Richard FS 30 Sam Seale CB 23 Anthony Shelton FS Special teams  3 John Carney K 10 John Kidd P 64 Mark Rodenhauser LS/C		Reserve lists Practice squad Rookies in italics Active, Inactive, Practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 1, 1991	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 26–20	55,848
2	September 8, 1991	at San Francisco 49ers	L 34–14	60,753
3	September 15, 1991	Atlanta Falcons	L 13–10	44,804
4	September 22, 1991	at Denver Broncos	L 27–19	73,258
5	September 29, 1991	Kansas City Chiefs	L 14–13	44,907
6	October 6, 1991	at Los Angeles Raiders	W 21–13	42,787
7	October 13, 1991	at Los Angeles Rams	L 30–24	47,433
8	October 20, 1991	Cleveland Browns	L 30–24	48,440
9	October 27, 1991	at Seattle Seahawks	L 20–9	58,025
10	Bye
11	November 10, 1991	Seattle Seahawks	W 17–14	43,597
12	November 17, 1991	New Orleans Saints	W 24–21	48,420
13	November 24, 1991	at New York Jets	L 24–3	59,025
14	December 1, 1991	Los Angeles Raiders	L 9–7	56,780
15	December 8, 1991	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 20–17	73,330
16	December 15, 1991	Miami Dolphins	W 38–30	47,731
17	December 22, 1991	Denver Broncos	L 17–14	51,449

Standings

AFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
^(2) Denver Broncos	12	4	0	.750	304	235	W4
^(4) Kansas City Chiefs	10	6	0	.625	322	252	W1
^(5) Los Angeles Raiders	9	7	0	.563	298	297	L3
Seattle Seahawks	7	9	0	.438	276	261	W1
San Diego Chargers	4	12	0	.250	274	342	L1

References

1. Football Outsiders: 1991 DVOA Ratings and Commentary
2. "1991 San Diego Chargers Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 1, 2014.