Tweet
Dan Fouts wished he had more time to mentor Herbert. Even though I don't know why he just doesn't do it anyways via Zoom. You can still reach out to him Dan and mentor him.
In the summer of 1973, Dan Fouts was a wide-eyed 22-year-old rookie quarterback embarking on what would become a Hall of Fame career. Earlier that year, the San Diego Chargers drafted Fouts out of Oregon in the third round, 64th overall. He joined a roster that included a 40-year-old Johnny Unitas, who, at that juncture, was unquestionably the greatest quarterback ever. The Chargers traded for Unitas after he spent the first 17 years of his career with the Baltimore Colts, for whom he threw for 39,768 yards and won three titles, including Super Bowl V.
Unitas was well past his prime in 1973. But his quarterbacking knowledge was virtually unparalleled.
And that year, Fouts found himself at a bar with Unitas, and the two chatted about football over beers.
“Just a lot of nuances of playing the position,” Fouts recalled of that drinking session with Unitas in an interview with The Athletic. “About reading coverages and getting a pre-snap read. It’s like in a poker game where you’re looking for a tell, and you find the tell through your film study and your scouting reports, and then by watching a guy and what you might know about his background. All of that goes into where you’re going to throw the damn ball.”
Unitas spilled the secrets. Fouts soaked them up. He still remembers that evening nearly 50 years later.
“I had to buy a lot of beer,” Fouts quipped. “But it was fun. I learned a lot.”
Now Fouts is anxious to pay those lessons forward to the new face of the Chargers — a wide-eyed 22-year-old rookie quarterback, drafted out of Oregon, now ready to embark on his own NFL career.
Yes, that would be Justin Herbert.
Fouts had planned to be a part of the broadcast team for the Chargers’ preseason games, but those have been canceled because of the pandemic. Fouts laments the missed time. He wants to do for Herbert what Unitas did for him, and to be the through-line from one of the game’s most iconic players to the future of the organization he represented so admirably for 15 seasons.
“I was hoping to spend a lot of time with him. But that’s all gone,” Fouts said of Herbert. “I missed out there, and I feel bad about that, because there’s a lot I want to share with him about just playing the position.”
Publicly, the organization has branded 2020 as A New Era Of Chargers Football. And to some degree, that rings true. Philip Rivers, the team’s starting quarterback for the past 14 seasons — and a player just as synonymous with the Chargers as Fouts — is gone, having signed with the Colts as a free agent. The Chargers are moving into a new stadium, finally cementing their transition from San Diego to Los Angeles. And now here is Herbert, with his flowing golden locks and West Coast vibes, to carry the Chargers into this self-proclaimed new era.
And yet the ties to the past are undeniable. The young man tasked with starting this next chapter in franchise history is inseparable from that history, so much so that Herbert, in many ways, has always been destined to be in this spot, with this franchise, writing this future.
Fouts was close friends with Herbert’s grandfather, Rich Schwab, an Oregon legend who played receiver for the Ducks in the early 1960s. Schwab died unexpectedly in January 2018.
“Just a fucking great guy,” Fouts said of Herbert’s grandfather. “You say the word ‘Schwabby’ around Oregon, everybody knows who you’re talking about.”
So Fouts always had an eye on Herbert, even if he didn’t officially meet him until a “couple years ago” when Herbert was at Oregon.
“Just watching Justin through the years from high school on through his years at Oregon,” Fouts said, “there’s been a real interest obviously and a connection there.”
The connection has only deepened now that Herbert is following Fouts’ footsteps even further into life and into the NFL.
“I’m a proud Duck,” Fouts said. “And I’m really excited to watch Justin play.”
“Mr. Fouts is an incredible person,” Herbert said after the draft. “To know that he was such a great man and such a great football player, it’s really cool. It’s a really special opportunity.”
The Chargers ties run even deeper, though.
Growing up in Eugene, Ore., Herbert and his two brothers had no NFL team to root for. So they settled on the Chargers. Herbert specifically mentioned LaDainian Tomlinson as a reason why they gravitated toward the San Diego team.
Herbert would often wear a Chargers T-shirt when he was a kid. And after Herbert was drafted, a Reddit user who claimed to have gone to elementary school with Herbert posted a photo of the new Chargers QB wearing the shirt. Herbert later confirmed it was him in the photo.
“I actually wore that shirt a lot,” Herbert said in May. “Kind of funny how it worked out.”
It is kind of funny, isn’t it?
Or destiny, depending on your perspective.
Herbert grew up a Chargers fan.
In an elementary school worksheet, Herbert predicted he would be playing professional football in Los Angeles.
Herbert went to Oregon, same as Fouts, the Chargers’ first homegrown Hall of Fame quarterback.
And same as Fouts, Herbert got drafted by the Chargers at age 22.
It all seems meant to be.
The last link to complete the full circle is that conversation with Fouts — for the Chargers wisdom of yesteryear to find a new home in the mind of the team’s bright future.
“There’s a lot that I have to share, and I’m anxious to do that,” Fouts said. “At some point, I will.”
Unitas was well past his prime in 1973. But his quarterbacking knowledge was virtually unparalleled.
And that year, Fouts found himself at a bar with Unitas, and the two chatted about football over beers.
“Just a lot of nuances of playing the position,” Fouts recalled of that drinking session with Unitas in an interview with The Athletic. “About reading coverages and getting a pre-snap read. It’s like in a poker game where you’re looking for a tell, and you find the tell through your film study and your scouting reports, and then by watching a guy and what you might know about his background. All of that goes into where you’re going to throw the damn ball.”
Unitas spilled the secrets. Fouts soaked them up. He still remembers that evening nearly 50 years later.
“I had to buy a lot of beer,” Fouts quipped. “But it was fun. I learned a lot.”
Now Fouts is anxious to pay those lessons forward to the new face of the Chargers — a wide-eyed 22-year-old rookie quarterback, drafted out of Oregon, now ready to embark on his own NFL career.
Yes, that would be Justin Herbert.
Fouts had planned to be a part of the broadcast team for the Chargers’ preseason games, but those have been canceled because of the pandemic. Fouts laments the missed time. He wants to do for Herbert what Unitas did for him, and to be the through-line from one of the game’s most iconic players to the future of the organization he represented so admirably for 15 seasons.
“I was hoping to spend a lot of time with him. But that’s all gone,” Fouts said of Herbert. “I missed out there, and I feel bad about that, because there’s a lot I want to share with him about just playing the position.”
Publicly, the organization has branded 2020 as A New Era Of Chargers Football. And to some degree, that rings true. Philip Rivers, the team’s starting quarterback for the past 14 seasons — and a player just as synonymous with the Chargers as Fouts — is gone, having signed with the Colts as a free agent. The Chargers are moving into a new stadium, finally cementing their transition from San Diego to Los Angeles. And now here is Herbert, with his flowing golden locks and West Coast vibes, to carry the Chargers into this self-proclaimed new era.
And yet the ties to the past are undeniable. The young man tasked with starting this next chapter in franchise history is inseparable from that history, so much so that Herbert, in many ways, has always been destined to be in this spot, with this franchise, writing this future.
Fouts was close friends with Herbert’s grandfather, Rich Schwab, an Oregon legend who played receiver for the Ducks in the early 1960s. Schwab died unexpectedly in January 2018.
“Just a fucking great guy,” Fouts said of Herbert’s grandfather. “You say the word ‘Schwabby’ around Oregon, everybody knows who you’re talking about.”
So Fouts always had an eye on Herbert, even if he didn’t officially meet him until a “couple years ago” when Herbert was at Oregon.
“Just watching Justin through the years from high school on through his years at Oregon,” Fouts said, “there’s been a real interest obviously and a connection there.”
The connection has only deepened now that Herbert is following Fouts’ footsteps even further into life and into the NFL.
“I’m a proud Duck,” Fouts said. “And I’m really excited to watch Justin play.”
“Mr. Fouts is an incredible person,” Herbert said after the draft. “To know that he was such a great man and such a great football player, it’s really cool. It’s a really special opportunity.”
The Chargers ties run even deeper, though.
Growing up in Eugene, Ore., Herbert and his two brothers had no NFL team to root for. So they settled on the Chargers. Herbert specifically mentioned LaDainian Tomlinson as a reason why they gravitated toward the San Diego team.
Herbert would often wear a Chargers T-shirt when he was a kid. And after Herbert was drafted, a Reddit user who claimed to have gone to elementary school with Herbert posted a photo of the new Chargers QB wearing the shirt. Herbert later confirmed it was him in the photo.
“I actually wore that shirt a lot,” Herbert said in May. “Kind of funny how it worked out.”
It is kind of funny, isn’t it?
Or destiny, depending on your perspective.
Herbert grew up a Chargers fan.
In an elementary school worksheet, Herbert predicted he would be playing professional football in Los Angeles.
Herbert went to Oregon, same as Fouts, the Chargers’ first homegrown Hall of Fame quarterback.
And same as Fouts, Herbert got drafted by the Chargers at age 22.
It all seems meant to be.
The last link to complete the full circle is that conversation with Fouts — for the Chargers wisdom of yesteryear to find a new home in the mind of the team’s bright future.
“There’s a lot that I have to share, and I’m anxious to do that,” Fouts said. “At some point, I will.”
Comment