1994 San Diego Chargers season

1994 San Diego Chargers season
Head coach	Bobby Ross
General manager	Bobby Beathard
Owner	Alex Spanos
Home field	Jack Murphy Stadium
Results
Record	11–5
Division place	1st AFC West
Playoff finish	Won Divisional Playoffs (Dolphins) 22–21 Won Conference Championship (Steelers) 17–13 Lost Super Bowl XXIX (49ers) 49–26

The 1994 San Diego Chargers season was the team's 35th, its 25th in the National Football League (NFL), and its 34th in San Diego.

The 1994 season began with the team trying to improve on their 8–8 record in 1993. They finished the season with an 11–5 record and were crowned AFC West Champions. Their success peaked with a 17–13 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship game. They would advance to Super Bowl XXIX, only to lose to the San Francisco 49ers 49–26, which was played at Joe Robbie Stadium, now known as Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

Offseason

NFL Draft

1994 San Diego Chargers draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
2	43	Isaac Davis	Guard	Arkansas
2	63	Vaughn Parker	Offensive tackle	UCLA
3	70	Andre Coleman	Wide receiver	Kansas State
3	82	Willie Clark	Cornerback	Notre Dame
5	137	Aaron Laing	Tight end	New Mexico State
5	145	Rodney Harrison *	Safety	Western Illinois
5	150	Darren Krein	Defensive end	Miami (FL)
5	160	Tony Vinson	Running back	Towson
7	207	Zane Beehn	Linebacker	Kentucky
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[1]

Personnel

Staff

1994 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 – Bobby Ross Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Ralph Friedgen Quarterbacks – Dwain Painter Offensive Backs – Sylvester Croom Wide Receivers – Jerry Sullivan Tight Ends/H-Backs – Frank Falks Offensive Line – Carl Mauck Offense and Special Teams Assistant – Stan Kwan Quality Control – John Misciagna			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Bill Arnsparger Defensive Line – Dennis Murphy Linebackers – Dale Lindsey Secondary – Willie Shaw Defense Assistant – Kevin O'Dea Special teams coaches Special Teams – Chuck Priefer Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – John Dunn Strength and Conditioning Assistant – Chip Morton

Roster

1994 San Diego Chargers final roster
	Quarterbacks 11 Jeff Brohm 13 Gale Gilbert 12 Stan Humphries Running backs 32 Eric Bieniemy 35 Rodney Culver 33 Ronnie Harmon 20 Natrone Means Wide receivers 85 Johnnie Barnes 83 Andre Coleman KR 80 Shawn Jefferson 81 Tony Martin 82 Mark Seay Tight ends 84 Aaron Laing 89 Shannon Mitchell 86 Alfred Pupunu 87 Duane Young		Offensive linemen 67 Stan Brock T 68 Joe Cocozzo G 73 Isaac Davis G 60 Greg Engel C 53 Courtney Hall C 74 Eric Jonassen T 71 Joe Milinichik G 70 Vaughn Parker T 72 Harry Swayne T 64 Curtis Whitley C/G Defensive linemen 93 Reuben Davis DT 99 Raylee Johnson DE 98 Shawn Lee DT 95 Les Miller DT 94 Chris Mims DE 91 Leslie O'Neal DE 97 John Parrella DT 79 Cornell Thomas DE 90 Reggie E. White DT		Linebackers 58 Lewis Bush ILB 57 Dennis Gibson ILB 92 David Griggs OLB 34 Steve Hendrickson OLB/FB 54 Doug Miller ILB 55 Junior Seau ILB Defensive backs 29 Darren Carrington SS 44 Eric Castle FS 31 Willie Clark CB 21 Darrien Gordon CB/PR 28 Dwayne Harper CB 37 Rodney Harrison SS 24 Stanley Richard FS 25 Sean Vanhorse CB 43 Lonnie Young SS Special teams 50 David Binn LS  3 John Carney K  9 Bryan Wagner P		Reserve lists 66 Ernest Greene OT (IR) 56 Darren Krein LB (IR) 88 Deems May TE (IR) 77 Eric Moten G (PUP) 96 Blaise Winter DT (IR) Practice squad  2 Darren Bennett P 63 Ray Smoot G 17 Chris Thomas WR 30 Tony Vinson RB 59 Glen Young LB Rookies in italics 53 Active, 5 Inactive, 5 Practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance	Location	Record	Network	Announcing Team
1	September 4, 1994	at Denver Broncos	W 37–34	74,032	Mile High Stadium	1–0	TNT	Gary Bender & Pat Haden
2	September 11, 1994	Cincinnati Bengals	W 27–10	53,217	Jack Murphy Stadium	2–0	NBC	Dan Hicks & Bob Golic
3	September 18, 1994	at Seattle Seahawks	W 24–10	65,536	Husky Stadium	3–0	NBC	Jim Lampley & Todd Christensen
4	September 25, 1994	at Los Angeles Raiders	W 26–24	55,385	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	4–0	NBC	Dick Enberg & Bob Trumpy
5	Bye
6	October 9, 1994	Kansas City Chiefs	W 20–6	62,923	Jack Murphy Stadium	5–0	NBC	Charlie Jones & Randy Cross
7	October 16, 1994	at New Orleans Saints	W 36–22	50,565	Louisiana Superdome	6–0	NBC	Marv Albert & Paul Maguire
8	October 23, 1994	Denver Broncos	L 15–20	61,626	Jack Murphy Stadium	6–1	NBC	Charlie Jones & Randy Cross
9	October 30, 1994	Seattle Seahawks	W 35–15	59,001	Jack Murphy Stadium	7–1	NBC	Tom Hammond & Cris Collinsworth
10	November 6, 1994	at Atlanta Falcons	L 9–10	59,217	Georgia Dome	7–2	NBC	Marv Albert & Paul Maguire
11	November 13, 1994	at Kansas City Chiefs	W 14–13	76,997	Arrowhead Stadium	8–2	NBC	Dick Enberg & Bob Trumpy
12	November 20, 1994	at New England Patriots	L 17–23	59,690	Foxboro Stadium	8–3	NBC	Don Criqui & Beasley Reece
13	November 27, 1994	Los Angeles Rams	W 31–17	59,579	Jack Murphy Stadium	9–3	FOX	Dick Stockton & Matt Millen
14	December 5, 1994	Los Angeles Raiders	L 17–24	63,012	Jack Murphy Stadium	9–4	ABC	Al Michaels, Frank Gifford & Dan Dierdorf
15	December 11, 1994	San Francisco 49ers	L 15–38	62,105	Jack Murphy Stadium	9–5	FOX	Pat Summerall & John Madden
16	December 18, 1994	at New York Jets	W 21–6	48,213	Giants Stadium	10–5	NBC	Tom Hammond & Cris Collinsworth
17	December 24, 1994	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 37–34	58,379	Jack Murphy Stadium	11–5	NBC	Jim Lampley & Todd Christensen

Game summaries

Week 1

1 2 3 4 Total • Chargers 6 21 3 7 37 Broncos 17 7 3 7 34 Date: September 4 Location: Mile High Stadium Game start: 5:00 p.m. PST Game weather: Clear; 72°F Television network: TNT

Week 2

1 2 3 4 Total Bengals 3 0 0 7 10 • Chargers 3 10 7 7 27 Date: September 11 Location: Qualcomm Stadium Game start: 1:00 p.m. PST Game weather: Clear; 69°F; wind 8 Television network: NBC

Standings

AFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
^(2) San Diego Chargers	11	5	0	.688	381	306	W2
^(6) Kansas City Chiefs	9	7	0	.563	319	298	W2
Los Angeles Raiders	9	7	0	.563	303	327	L1
Denver Broncos	7	9	0	.438	347	396	L3
Seattle Seahawks	6	10	0	.375	287	323	L2

Playoffs

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance	Location
Division	January 8, 1995	Miami Dolphins	W 22–21	63,381	Jack Murphy Stadium
Conference Championship	January 15, 1995	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 17–13	61,545	Three Rivers Stadium
Super Bowl	January 29, 1995	N San Francisco 49ers	L 26–49	74,107	Joe Robbie Stadium

Deaths of players

The 1994 Chargers are also remembered for tragedy in the form of numerous untimely deaths, as eight of the players from that 1994 squad have died prematurely since that time, all by the age of 44. It is part of a locally infamous curse in the San Diego area, involving its sports teams.

• June 19, 1995 – Linebacker David Griggs died in a car accident when his vehicle slid off a ramp on Florida's Turnpike, linking to three roads just west of Fort Lauderdale and subsequently slammed into a pole, he was 28 years old.^[2]
• May 11, 1996 – Running back Rodney Culver and his wife Karen were among the 110 people (105 passengers, 5 crew members) aboard ValuJet Flight 592 when it crashed into the Florida Everglades, killing everyone aboard. He was 26 years old.^[3]
• July 21, 1998 – Linebacker Doug Miller died after being struck twice by lightning during a thunderstorm while camping in Colorado. He was 29 years old.^[4]
• May 11, 2008 – Center Curtis Whitley died of a drug overdose. His body was discovered by sheriff deputies in his trailer home in Fort Stockton, Texas, just one day after his 39th birthday. One of the drugs he was known to use was Crystal methamphetamine.^[5]
• October 15, 2008 – Defensive end Chris Mims was found dead in his Los Angeles apartment by police officers conducting a welfare check. The most likely cause of death was cardiac arrest due to an enlarged heart since he weighed 456 pounds when he died. He was 38 years old.^[6][7]
• February 26, 2011 – Defensive tackle Shawn Lee died from a cardiac arrest resulting from double pneumonia. Lee had been suffering from diabetes for years prior to his death. He was 44 years old.^[8]
• December 8, 2011 – Linebacker Lewis Bush died from an apparent heart attack, just six days after his 42nd birthday.^[9]
• May 2, 2012 – Linebacker Junior Seau died in his home in Oceanside, California. Seau was discovered already lifeless by his girlfriend. His death was likely a suicide since a self-inflicted gunshot wound was apparent to the chest. He was 43 years old.^[10]

References

1. "1994 San Diego Chargers Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
2. David Griggs; Football Player, 28 – published by The New York Times on June 21, 1995.
3. ON PRO FOOTBALL; Questions With Few Answers in Culver's Death – published by Thomas George for The New York Times on May 26, 1996.
4. Doug Miller, LB at NFL.com
5. Former center Whitley found dead in his Texas trailer home – NFL – ESPN – published on May 14, 2008.
6. Chris Mims Obituary – published by U-T San Diego.
7. Chris Mims | Former Charger Mims dead at 38 – published by Sam Farmer for the Los Angeles Times on October 16, 2008.
8. Former Chargers DL Shawn Lee dead at 44 | UTSanDiego.com – published by Chris Jenkins for U-T San Diego on February 28, 2011.
9. Ex-Washington High, WSU great Bush dies | NFL – The News Tribune – published by The News Tribune of Tacoma, Washington on December 9, 2011.
10. Junior Seau, Famed N.F.L. Linebacker , Dies at 43 – Suicide is Suspected – NYTimes.com – published by Greg Bishop and Rob Davis for The New York Times on May 2, 2012.