1998 San Diego Chargers season


The San Diego Chargers season was the franchise's 29th season in the National Football League, its 39th overall and was the second and final season under Kevin Gilbride. After a 2–4 start, Gilbride was fired and June Jones coached the final ten games of the season as interim head coach. The team's defense led the league in yards allowed; however, a weak offense under infamous draft bust quarterback Ryan Leaf meant that the team was last in the AFC West.
Following the season, Oregon State Head Coach Mike Riley would be named Head Coach.

Offseason

NFL draft

Personnel

Staff

Roster

Regular season

The opening game for 1998 constituted the first time since 1985 that the Chargers played the Buffalo Bills. The reason for this is that before the admission of the Texans in 2002, NFL scheduling formulas for games outside a team’s division were much more influenced by table position during the previous season.
The team had an excellent defense, but the offense's 51 turnovers were the most in the league, including 34 interceptions. Quarterback Ryan Leaf had 15 interceptions and only two touchdown passes in ten games; Craig Whelihan also performed poorly. The ineffective offense, and rookie Leaf's obnoxious behavior toward teammates, damaged morale; outside linebacker Lew Bush recalled, "Try going into a game you
have no chance of winning, knowing that if you give up more than
one touchdown, it's over". Strong safety Rodney Harrison described the season as "a nightmare you can't even imagine. If I had to go through another year like that, I'd probably quit playing".

Schedule

Game summaries

Week 1

Standings