Coach

Joiner did a masterful job in 2010, overseeing a position that endured constant change. A team-record 17 different players caught passes from Philip Rivers, including eight wide receivers. A pleasant surprise was rookie Seyi Ajirotutu, an undrafted free agent who helped lead the Chargers to a November win in Houston with a 100-yard, two-touchdown performance.

Joiner oversaw Vincent Jackson’s first-career Pro Bowl season in 2009 when he caught 68 passes for 1,167 yards and nine touchdowns. Jackson became the first Charger to post consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons since 1995-96 and the only NFL receiver to average over 17.0 yards per catch for the 2008 and ’09 seasons.

A Hall of Fame player in his own right, Joiner spent 18 AFL and NFL seasons with Houston (1969-72), Cincinnati (1972-75) and the Chargers (1976-86). He was drafted by the Oilers in the fourth round of the 1969 NFL Draft as a defensive back, and retired on Jan. 12, 1987, as the league’s all-time leader with 750 career catches. Joiner was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1996 with final career totals of 12,146 yards and 65 TDs. And when he retired, his 239 career games played were the most ever by an NFL wide receiver.

Joiner caught a team-record 586 passes in San Diego. He was selected to Pro Bowls following the 1976, ’79 and ’80 seasons and inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame in ’93. Joiner still ranks second in team history in receiving yards (9,203) and fourth in touchdown catches (47). He was selected as the team’s Most Inspirational Player seven times, and the City of San Diego celebrated “Charlie Joiner Days” in 1984 and ’86.

After retiring, Joiner stepped into coaching and never stopped. He started with the Chargers and moved on to Buffalo where the Bills went to the playoffs six times, won two AFC Championships and played in Super Bowls XXVII and XXVIII. Wide receivers Eric Moulds and Andre Reed both had recordbreaking seasons for the Bills under Joiner as Moulds was selected to two Pro Bowls and Reed to three.

A native of Many, Louisiana, Joiner was a four-year letterman at Grambling State University (1965-68). In 1990, he was inducted into the Louisiana Hall of Fame. Joiner and his wife, Dianne, have two children, Jynaya and Kori.