Dan Fouts

Dan Fouts

No. 14
Quarterback
Personal information
Date of birth: June 10, 1951 (1951-06-10) (age 60) San Francisco, California
Career information
College: Oregon
NFL Draft: 1973 / Round: 3 / Pick: 64
Debuted in 1973 for the San Diego Chargers
Last played in 1987 for the San Diego Chargers
Career history
San Diego Chargers (1973-1987)
Career highlights and awards
3× First-team All-Pro selection (1979, 1982, 1985) 1× Second-team All-Pro (1980) 6× Pro Bowl selection (1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985) NFL 1980s All-Decade Team 1982 NEA NFL MVP 2× PFWA NFL MVP (1979, 1982) 1982 NFL Offensive Player of the Year 2× UPI AFL-AFC Player of the Year (1979, 1982) 1983 Pro Bowl MVP San Diego Chargers #14 retired
Stats at NFL.com
Pro Football Hall of Fame

Daniel Francis Fouts (born June 10, 1951) is a retired Hall of Fame American football quarterback in the National Football League. Fouts played his entire professional career with the San Diego Chargers from 1973 through 1987. He was one of the most prolific passing quarterbacks during the Golden Age of the 1970s and 1980s, but the Chargers were unable to make it to the Super Bowl during his fifteen-year career. He is currently a color commentator for NFL games on CBS. Dan is the son of Bay Area Radio Hall of Famer Bob Fouts.^[1]

High school and college career

Fouts went to Marin Catholic High School, which is located just north of San Francisco in Kentfield, CA for his two first years of High School, and was starting for the varsity team by his sophomore year. He decided to transfer to St. Ignatius College Preparatory (San Francisco, CA) for his final two years of high school.

Fouts was somewhat of an unknown when he accepted the scholarship offer from the University of Oregon. Things were quite different after the All-Pac 8 quarterback's career where he set 19 school records, including those for career passing yardage (5,995) and total offense (5,871).^[2][3] He was inducted into the University of Oregon Hall of Fame in 1992.^[4]

Pro football career

Drafted in the third round out of the University of Oregon in 1973, Fouts helped lead the Chargers to the playoffs from 1979 to 1982 and twice to the AFC title game (1980 and 1981). He led the league four times in passing yards; ending his career with over 40,000, the third player to surpass that landmark. Fouts was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993.

Fouts was a 6-time Pro Bowl selection (1979-1983 & 1985) and compiled passer ratings over 90.0 for a 3-year stretch (1981–83). Fouts threw for over 4,000 yards for 3 consecutive seasons (1979–81), led the NFL in passing yards in 4 consecutive seasons(1979–1982) and 6 times eclipsed the 20-touchdown mark with a career high 33 in 1981. His career high of 4,802 passing yards during the 1981 season was an NFL record at the time.

In 1982, a season shortened to 9 games because of a strike, Fouts averaged what is still a record of 320 yards passing per game.^[5] Highlights that season included back-to-back victories against the 1981 Super Bowl teams San Francisco (41-37) and Cincinnati (50-34) in which Fouts threw for over 400 yards in each game to lead the Chargers to shootout victories.^[6]

Fouts garnered All-Pro selections in both 1979 and 1982, while also being named 2nd Team All-Pro in 1980 and 1985. In addition Fouts was also named 2nd Team All-AFC in 1981 and 1983. However, Fouts and the Chargers lost both AFC Championship Games in which they played.

Fouts's first few years in the league were inauspicious, but with the arrival of head coach Don Coryell in 1978 the Chargers' fortunes turned. Yet it was actually two years earlier, with the arrival of Joe Gibbs as the Charger's offensive coordinator, that the seeds of success were planted. Under Coryell, the Chargers were known as Air Coryell for the deep passing game and the involvement of the tight end as a key receiver. This required a tough, intelligent quarterback with a strong arm. Fouts fit the bill.

Fouts was not a mobile quarterback and the deep passing game led to many hits. Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh, a Chargers assistant coach in 1976, said "Dan Fouts had a cool, steel-like nerve and courage ... He took a lot of beatings, a lot of pounding, but continued to play, hurt or otherwise. He played more physical football than anybody on his team, including the linebackers".^[7] Rarely using the shotgun, Fouts would drop back from center and look for one of a bevy of great receivers. Wide receiver Charlie Joiner and tight end Kellen Winslow were the most famous, both now in the Hall of Fame, but John Jefferson and Wes Chandler, among others, were also key. Fouts's passing enabled Winslow to lead the NFL in receptions twice (1980,1981), while Winslow (1982) and Lionel James (1985) led the AFC in receptions on another 2 combined occasions.^[8] James, in fact, set the NFL record (since broken) in 1985 for receiving yards by a running back at 1,027.^[9] Jefferson became the first receiver to have 1,000 yards receiving in each of his first three seasons in the NFL. Both Jefferson (1980) and Chandler (1982) led the NFL in receiving yards.^[10] Chandler's 129 yards receiving per game average in 1982 is still a league record.^[11] Both Jefferson (1978, 1980) and Chandler (1982) led the NFL in receiving TDs. In 1980, Winslow, Jefferson and Joiner became the first trio on the same team to have 1,000 yards receiving in a season. When he retired after 1986, Joiner was the NFL's all-time leader in receptions with 750.^[12]

Pass protection was also critical for such an offense. The Chargers had an excellent offensive line which protected Fouts well, and included 4 time Pro Bowler Ed White, 5 time Pro Bowler Russ Washington, 3 time Pro Bowler Doug Wilkerson, Billy Shields and Don Macek. The Chargers led the league in passing yards an NFL record 6 consecutive years from 1978–1983 and again in 1985 under Fouts.^[13] They also led the league in total yards in offense 1980-1983 and 1985.

Despite going to the playoffs from 1979 through 1982 and playing in 2 AFC Championship Games, the Chargers never went to the Super Bowl under Fouts (although they went 7 years after his retirement). Usually this is attributed to poor defense and their unwillingness to run the ball. In Fouts's prime the defense was not as stellar, but the running game became far better with the addition of Chuck Muncie, traded from New Orleans in 1980, and the drafting of James Brooks from Auburn in 1981. It is believed the defense had little opportunity to improve as the offense often scored quickly, leaving the defense to spend far too much time on the field. It also hurt that Fred Dean, an All-Pro sack specialist, was traded away to the San Francisco 49ers in 1981 in a contract dispute,^[14] and Dean would win UPI NFC Defensive Player of the Year (while playing in only 11 games) that year en route to a Super Bowl victory and help the 49ers to another Super Bowl title three years later. Dean would later be inducted into the Hall of Fame.^[15]

"I can't say how much it affected us, because we did make it to the AFC championship game," said Chargers' All-Pro defensive lineman Gary "Big Hands" Johnson of the loss of Dean. "But I could say if we had more pass rush from the corner, it might've been different."^[16]

Overall, the Chargers achieved three wins against four losses in the playoffs under Fouts, who threw for over 300 yards in all but two of those games. One of their more notable wins was the 1982 playoff game known in NFL Lore as The Epic in Miami, where Fouts led his team to a 41-38 victory by completing 33 of 53 passes for a franchise record 433 yards and 3 touchdowns on the hot and humid day. His completions, attempts, and yards in the game were all NFL postseason records at the time. The following week in the AFC championship game in Cincinnati, there was a 144 °F drop in temperature compared to the previous week in Miami,^[17] and the Chargers lost 27-7 in what is known as the Freezer Bowl.

The following season, he threw for 333 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 31-28 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC divisional playoff round.

Honors

Fouts finished his 15 NFL seasons with 3,297 of 5,604 completions for 43,040 yards and 254 touchdowns, with 242 interceptions. He also rushed for 476 yards and 13 touchdowns

Dan Fouts is one of only seven quarterbacks in NFL history who have achieved two consecutive 30-touchdown passing seasons. The others are Steve Bartkowski, Brett Favre, Dan Marino, Jeff Garcia, Peyton Manning, and Y.A. Tittle. He was also the third quarterback in NFL history to pass for 40,000 yards, after fellow Hall of Famers Johnny Unitas and Fran Tarkenton, and the first quarterback ever to throw for over 4,000 yards in back-to-back seasons.

Fouts' jersey number, 14, is one of only two numbers retired by the San Diego Chargers (the other being Lance Alworth's 19).

In 1989, Fouts was also inducted by the San Diego Hall of Champions into the Breitbard Hall of Fame honoring San Diego's finest athletes both on and off the playing surface.^[18]

In 1999, he was ranked number 92 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.

In 1992, he was inducted into the University of Oregon and State of Oregon Sports Halls of Fame.

Fouts was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993, his first year of eligibility.

In 2009, he was picked by the fans as the "Greatest Charger Of All Time" for the Chargers 50th anniversary year.

In 2010, he received the Davey O'Brien Legends Award during Colt McCoy's award ceremony.

After pro football

In 1988 through 1993, Fouts started his career as an analyst on NFL on CBS. He worked with variety of play-by-play announcers including Dick Stockton, James Brown, Verne Lundquist, Brad Nessler, Jim Nantz, Jack Buck, and Tim Ryan.

Fouts's post-NFL career included a well-received commentator role on ABC's Monday Night Football, alongside famed MNF anchor Al Michaels and comedian Dennis Miller. He also served as a college football analyst alongside Brent Musburger and Keith Jackson (after Fouts's MNF departure). He was also a sports anchor for KPIX-TV in his hometown of San Francisco from 1994-1997.

In 1998 Fouts made his big-screen debut, portraying himself in the football comedy "The Waterboy," starring Adam Sandler. Fouts and Musberger appeared late in the film as ESPN's broadcast team for the fictitious New Year's Day "Bourbon Bowl" game.

After Jackson's retirement from ABC in 2006, Fouts became a play-by-play announcer, adding his own commentary on the game at times since he was a former player and analyst. His broadcast partner for 2006 and 2007 was Tim Brant^[19] now that Jackson has opted to permanently retire. (Jackson previously said he was going to retire after the 1998 college football season, but elected to stay on to call Pac-10 games for ABC, including the annual Rose Bowl.

On February 11, 2008, ESPN announced they weren't re-signing Fouts or his partner Tim Brant^{[citation needed]}.

It was reported in USA Today on August 20, 2008 that Fouts was returned to CBS for NFL games^[20][21] with a variety of play-by-play announcers including Don Criqui, Bill Macatee, and Dick Enberg.

In 2009, he was moved to partner with Dick Enberg as the #3 broadcasting team for the NFL on CBS.^[22] Following Enberg's retirement after the 2009 season, Fouts presently teams with Ian Eagle. He also calls the occasional game for Westwood One radio.

Fouts also did color commentary for the football video game NFL GameDay 2004. He partnered with long-time announcer Dick Enberg.

Every game with two 400 or more yard quarterbacks

Rank	Quarterback	Date	Game	Attempts	Comp	Yards	TDs	INTs	Rating
1	Tom Brady Chad Henne	9/12/2011	New England Patriots: 38 Miami Dolphins: 24	48 49	32 30	517 416	4 2	1 1	121.6 93.6
Total:			62 Points	97	62	933	6	2
2	Ken O'Brien Dan Marino	9/21/1986	New York Jets: 51 Miami Dolphins: 45	43 50	29 30	479 448	4 6	1 2	126.0 112.3
Total:			96 Points	93	59	927	10	3
3	Matt Schaub Donovan McNabb	9/19/2010	Houston Texans: 30 Washington Redskins: 27	52 38	38 28	497 426	3 1	1 0	114.0 119.0
Total:			57 Points	90	66	923	4	1
4	Dan Marino Drew Bledsoe	9/4/1994	Miami Dolphins: 39 New England Patriots: 35	42 51	23 32	473 421	5 4	1 2	124.3 96.6
Total:			74 Points	93	55	894	9	3
5	Jim Kelly Steve Young	9/13/1992	Buffalo Bills: 34 San Francisco 49ers: 31	33 37	22 26	403 449	3 3	1 1	126.2 127.0
Total:			65 Points	70	48	852	6	2
6	Dan Fouts Ken Anderson	12/20/1982	San Diego Chargers: 50 Cincinnati Bengals: 34	40 56	25 40	435 416	1 2	2 1	87.0 97.0
Total:			84 Points	96	65	851	3	3
7	Dan Fouts Don Strock	1/2/1982	San Diego Chargers: 41 Miami Dolphins: 38	53 43	33 29	433 403	3 4	1 1	116.2 118.7
Total:			79 Points	96	62	836	7	2

See also

• Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame

References

1. ^ Bob Fouts - KSFO/49ers Photograph - Circa 1958
2. ^ Oregon Hall of Fame
3. ^ Pro Football Hall of Fame
4. ^ Oregon Hall of Fame Inductees
5. ^ NFL Single-Season Passing Yards per Game Leaders | Pro-Football-Reference.com
6. ^ Dan Fouts: Game Logs
7. ^ Jaworski, Ron (2010). The Games That Changed the Game: The Evolution of the NFL in Seven Sundays. Random House. p. 88. ISBN 9780345517951. 
8. ^ NFL.com History
9. ^ Neville, David (March 31. 2003). "Little Big Man". chargers.com. San Diego Chargers. Archived from the original on February 3, 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5wEU69pg9. Retrieved February 3, 2011. 
10. ^ NFL.com History
11. ^ NFL Single-Season Receiving Yards per Game Leaders | Pro-Football-Reference.com
12. ^ http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.jsp?player_id=107
13. ^ NFL.com History
14. ^ CNN. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/news/2001/02/28/sayitaintso_chargers/#49ers. Retrieved April 30, 2010. 
15. ^ http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.jsp?player_id=261
16. ^ Thomas, Jim. 2008. Fred Dean: Situational pass-rusher made most of his opportunities. Canton Repository, July 28 (accessed October 19, 2008).
17. ^ http://www.inhistoric.com/2010/1/11/1245534/today-in-sports-history-january
18. ^ http://www.sdhoc.com/awards/hall-of-fame/football/dan-fouts/
19. ^ [1]^{[dead link]}
20. ^ Hiestand, Michael (August 19, 2008). "Fouts, Sapp deepen CBS' analyst bench". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/hiestand-tv/2008-08-19-hiestand_N.htm. Retrieved April 30, 2010. 
21. ^ CBS Sports TV Team - CBSSports.com
22. ^ CBS Sports to air two NFL preseason games this weekend - CBSSports.com

External links

• Official website
• Pro Football Hall of Fame: Member profile
• pro-football-reference.com:" Career stats and more

Preceded by Johnny Unitas

San Diego Chargers Starting Quarterbacks 1973 -1987

Succeeded by Babe Laufenberg

Persondata
Name	Fouts, Dan
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	June 10, 1951
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death