1989 San Diego Chargers season

1989 San Diego Chargers season
Head coach	Dan Henning
General manager	Steve Ortmayer
Owner	Alex Spanos
Home field	Jack Murphy Stadium
Results
Record	6–10
Division place	5th AFC West
Playoff finish	did not qualify

The 1989 San Diego Chargers season began with the team trying to improve on their 6–10 record in 1988. It was Dan Henning's first season as the teams head coach.

Personnel

Staff

1989 San Diego Chargers staff
	Front office Chairman of the Board and President – Alex Spanos Vice Chairman – Dean Spanos Director of Football Operations – Steve Ortmayer Director of Player Personnel – Chet Franklin Director of Pro Personnel – Rudy Feldman Head coaches Head Coach – Dan Henning Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line – Larry Beightol Assistant Head Coach/Quarterbacks – Ted Tollner Offensive Backs – Bobby Jackson Receivers – Charlie Joiner Tight Ends – Ed White			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Ron Lynn Defensive Line – Gunther Cunningham Linebackers – Mike Haluchak Secondary – Jim L. Mora Special teams coaches Special Teams – Joe Madden Coaching Assistant – LeCharls McDaniel

Regular season

After a falling out with Head Coach Mike Ditka, Jim McMahon was traded from the Chicago Bears to San Diego. He started 11 games for a dreadful 6–10 Chargers team in 1989. He went 4–7 in the games he started, though the team lost 4 of those games by a combined 11 points in spite of his spotty play at times. He only had 4 games over 200 yds, but had 389 yds against the Houston Oilers in a Week 2 loss. He also had a falling out with team players, management and Coach Dan Henning in his year with San Diego with his lackluster play and ego. He was benched for the final four games and finished the year with 2,132 yds, 10 TDs and 10 INTs. He was released and moved on to backup Randall Cunningham on the Philadelphia Eagles in 1990.

During the season, the Chargers started playing a non-disco cover version of their fight song, "San Diego Super Chargers".^[1]

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 10, 1989	at Los Angeles Raiders	L 40–14	40,237
2	September 17, 1989	Houston Oilers	L 34–27	42,013
3	September 24, 1989	Kansas City Chiefs	W 21–6	40,128
4	October 1, 1989	at Phoenix Cardinals	W 24–13	44,201
5	October 8, 1989	at Denver Broncos	L 16–10	75,222
6	October 15, 1989	Seattle Seahawks	L 17–16	50,079
7	October 22, 1989	New York Giants	L 20–13	48,566
8	October 29, 1989	at Seattle Seahawks	L 10–7	59,691
9	November 5, 1989	Philadelphia Eagles	W 20–17	47,019
10	November 12, 1989	Los Angeles Raiders	W 14–12	59,151
11	November 19, 1989	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 20–17	44,203
12	November 26, 1989	at Indianapolis Colts	L 10–6	58,822
13	December 3, 1989	New York Jets	L 20–17	38,954
14	December 10, 1989	at Washington Redskins	L 26–21	47,693
15	December 17, 1989	at Kansas City Chiefs	W 20–13	40,623
16	December 24, 1989	Denver Broncos	W 19–16	50,524

Standings

AFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Denver Broncos^(1)	11	5	0	.688	6–2	9–3	362	226	L1
Kansas City Chiefs	8	7	1	.531	3–5	6–7–1	318	286	W1
Los Angeles Raiders	8	8	0	.500	3–5	6–6	315	297	L2
Seattle Seahawks	7	9	0	.438	4–4	7–5	241	327	L1
San Diego Chargers	6	10	0	.375	4–4	4–8	266	290	W2

Awards and honors

• Leslie O'Neal, Pro Bowl Selection^[2]
• Lee Williams, Pro Bowl Selection^[2]

References

1. Stetz, Michael (January 13, 2007). "Still a superstar after 27 seasons". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved September 9, 2011. Ultimately, it was brought back, but with a more modern sound. The Chargers hired a local producer, Bo Donovan, to update the song in 1989.
2. 1989 NFL Pro Bowlers – Pro-Football-Reference.com