The WORST Speech in NFL HISTORY | Steelers @ Chargers (1975)

Prior to their 1975 NFL game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, San Diego Chargers head coach Tommy Prothro flat out told his team that they were not good enough to beat the Steelers. The end result of the game went about as well as you'd expect. This is the story behind the worst speech ever given by a coach in the history of the National Football League
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#nfl #chargers #nflthrowback #football #steelers
Members of the 1975 Chargers:
Virgil Carter
Bobby Douglass
Dan Fouts
Ray Wersching
Jesse Freitas
Mike Williams
Glen Bonner
Charlie Smith
Maurice Tyler
Dave Atkins
Gary Garrison
Dennis Partee
Sam Scarber
Don Woods
Rickey Young
Tony Baker
Joe Beauchamp
Bo Matthews
Mike Fuller
Chris Fletcher
Hal Stringert
Danny Colbert
Sam Williams
Don Goode
Billy Andrews
Bob Stein
Drew Mahalic
Ed Flanagan
Ken Hutcherson
Mark Markovich
Floyd Rice
Tom Graham
Franklin Tate
Ralph Perretta
Doug Wilkerson
Booker Brown
Billy Shields
Gregory Wojcik
Ira Gordon
Russ Washington
Fred Dean
Gary Johnson
Dave Rowe
Louie Kelcher
Dave Tipton
Terry Owens
John Teerlinck
Coy Bacon
Dwight McDonald
Melvin Baker
Pat Curran
Joe Sweet
Marlin Briscoe
Craig Cotton
Chuck Bradley

[@SurgingSpecs]

“All 3 QBs threw an interception” i sleep “All 3 QBs took a sack” i sleep “All 3 QBs posted a passer rating that was worse than if they spiked the ball into the ground on every single play” *A S C E N D E D*

[@rd-pd8xb]

Coach smoking cigarettes on the field. What could be more classic than that?

[@Davepool-hs7vr]

Red Auerbach smoking a cigar during a close game

[@nasetvideos]

Oh my gosh...that is truly the worst motivational approach to a game I've ever heard of by any head coach. Unbelievable. Great job laying out the context and telling this story.

[@michaelangelo9024]

Honestly every coach should've said the same thing before playing the greatest team ever. Pittsburgh !

[@OBESPRING1982]

When he coached the RAMS, he made some such statement as, 'this is a mediocre opponent. a mediocre effort should be sufficient'.

[@CTubeMan]

You mentioned Herb Brooks and what he said (or didn’t say) prior to Team USA’s game against the Soviet Union. Brooks would give a more famous speech before the gold medal game against Finland. Brooks told them, “If you lose this game you’re going to take it to your f’n grave.”

[@matthewdaley746]

Yeah, and, they would have gone from, Gold Medal, to, no Medal, based upon tiebreakers, they, were, somehow, trailing going into the, Third, Period.

[@marcus813]

As for the other 2 Chargers shutout losses that season, the then-Oakland Raiders were responsible for both of them in October. You rarely see a team not score at all in both games of a divisional rivalry.

[@nicholasselke5214]

Hasn’t happened since 2002 when the Panthers lost both games against the Falcons by a combined 71-0. Oddly enough, those were the last two times the Panthers got shutout

[@williamhild1793]

After Prothro left the Chargers, he concentrated on the game of Bridge. Prothro became a championship-caliber Contract Bridge player, and his partner most often was the famous actor Omar Sharif.

[@harryschlitz4067]

I think he would have made a fine NFL GM.as his drafts for the Rams kept them competitive through the early 80s and his Charger drafts kept them competitive till the mid 80s.

[@howardcosell2022]

@@harryschlitz4067 Fred Dryer has the same sentiments

[@kpk33x]

Without seeing the thumbnail or video I would have guessed something this incompetent would have only been possible from 3 organizations: Lions, Chargers, Jets

[@chrisrifkin3670]

Or 1970s Falcons

[@lawrencetaylor4101]

I just emptied my liquor cabinet since you did a triple drink the spike.

[@karlcooper8460]

This is a weak attempt at reverse psychology coaches do this all the time especially when they have a losing team.

[@stephaniegormley9982]

2:03 I agree. Shoulda stayed in college. He's still the only coach in history to lead to different teams to consecutive Rose Bowls.

[@nickmorris5546]

Love this channel - always a treat. Dude, a respectful suggestion: when your vid's frontpage appears as a thumbnail on my subscriber page, KZbin's duration of the vid obscures what you have written. In this case I can see the Steelers' score but the Chargers' is obscured, which loses the impact/meaning. Maybe put the photo on the right and the text on the left to avoid this happening?

[@harpercole5321]

He was probably going for reverse psychology, but the "reverse" bit didn't kick in.

[@BillMorganChannel]

Wow! Number 17 Elmo Wright at 4:55 shows as much commitment as the glorious Afghan Army!

[@DolFan316]

You meant to say as much commitment as Biden did to stop the Taliban, I'm sure.

[@tmo-uj4th]

🤣🤣🤣

[@BillMorganChannel]

@@DolFan316 I am very very conservative, but Afghanistan-wise, Biden was handed a poop sandwich that was passed down from George Bush. Be honest Dol Fan, if you were the Prez how would you have handled Afghanistan? Our US soldiers were scared to death to drive in KABUL! It was a lost cause.

[@neneshubby]

According to Kenny ‘Snake’ Stabler before the Raiders 1979 opener versus the Los Angeles Rams Hall of Fame tight end Dave Casper reportedly yelled in the locker room “How does it feel guys knowing you’re going to get the shit beat out of you today!” Stabler said to himself “that’s just Dave being Dave. He’ll probably play a great game”. Casper caught 2 TD’s in a 24-17 Raider win.

[@rd-pd8xb]

The one time SD had a great defense, Ryan Leaf was their QB.

[@stringtheoryguitars4952]

In 2010 they had Phillip Rivers and the #1 Offense AND the #1 defense and STILL missed the playoffs!!!!

[@marcus813]

@@stringtheoryguitars4952 Isn't that when they had some of the worst special teams units known to humankind?

[@stringtheoryguitars4952]

@@marcus813 Yup, their special teams were historically bad, as in "bad news bears" bad. Directly responsible for every single loss. There's a detailed breakdown here, but don't watch if you're a Chargers fan. kzbin.info/www/bejne/i3KvZotpibd0aKM

[@marcus813]

@@stringtheoryguitars4952 I'm a Buccaneers fan. I watched that a while back and I couldn't believe how many times special teams miscues undermined the Chargers that season.

[@denisceballos9745]

The Chargers were a lousy team when Tommy Prothro was hired in 1974 and he actually improved the team overall when he left after a few years there. But you’re right, starting the season vs the 1975 Steelers had to be daunting and Prothro’s pre-game speech did nothing to improve San Diego’s chances against them (judging from the video clip of the game).

[@TheSonicsean]

"Simply because there was nowhere to go but up" "Well that sounds like a challenge"-Hue Jackson

[@turbokart3776]

This speech was, dare I say, a "Dumb Decision."

[@alice_evermore]

I think Prothro was trying to use reverse-psychology: practically daring his team to prove him wrong.

[@tygrkhat4087]

I agree. However, epic failure was the result.

[@matthewdaley746]

@If 6 Was9 Which, makes, it, even, odder, that, their, second-best, team, (1976), didn't, even, reach, the, SB, only, 1978, was, better, that, year, was, totally, wasted.

[@matthewdaley746]

They failed at that.

[@levikatriel]

For those who want to see the opposite, 10 years later, Jets head coach, Joe Walton, saved his career with one speech.

[@hubertvale5132]

To the ever lasting misery of all Jets fans like me. 😩

[@markbrian7179]

Well, He was right, but since the Chargers lost 12 games in 1975, I would like to know what He said to the team in the other 11 losses, especially against the two games against Oakland.

[@marcus813]

He must have delivered a couple of stinkers considering that the Chargers didn't score in either of those games! LMAO

[@southlake631]

If I were one of those players, I would have confronted that head coach and asked him why would he say something like that. A head coach is supposed to make speeches to at least try to motivate his team, not to damage their collective psyche.

[@hrearden6993]

It wasn't a speech. It was however, apparently, the painful truth stated in a single sentence.

[@marcdaley]

Tommy Prothro. The only coach who looks like he should be wearing a Madras shirt and getting lit on Beefeater instead of leading men into battle.

[@robertkeefer1552]

The Rams under Prothro went 6-7-1 in 1972. They went 12-2 in 1973 under Chuck Knox.

[@jeremycrandall2899]

3:53 If this announcement had been made five years earlier, in 1970, the year of the merger (and the breakup of the Beatles), then yes, Chargers fans would have been happy to open up against the Steelers, who were coming off a 1-13 season in their first year under Chuck Noll, but the announcement couldn’t possibly have been made anytime before 1970, because the Chargers were in the AFL and the Steelers were in the NFL.

[@badgerden7080]

What a horrible coach. I would quit any team in any sport if I had a coach that told me I had no chance on winning. The job of a coach is inspire his players and help them to be their very best.

[@jamesage24]

Adrian told Rocky he couldn't win against Ivan Drago, and that worked out.

[@matthewdaley746]

His name being in the title, "might," have factored into that development.

[@okolo22000]

I just love how you continuously improvise your 39.6 catch phrase, it never gets old.

[@sparkypikachu7776]

Maybe this was like a reverse psychology attempt? Like, telling them there's no WAY they could win so they'd be fired up to prove the coach wrong. I guess you have to know your team though, obviously dosen't work on everyone.

[@mattthomas1618]

I'm from Detroit and Lions actually had this guy as head coach when I was 8/9 I'm 52 now 44+ years and waiting

[@nicoleknight9412]

No offense, but what do you expect from a team that has been rebuilding since 1958, the year after they won their last championship?

[@Rantman9]

It's a common speech used in ALL sports on ALL levels of play. Many players go deaf to all the "Rah-Rah" crap that coaches & media say, but they get angry & play harder when something negative is said & want to prove those ppl wrong. Basically in this case you had a group of men that preferred to be treated like babies

[@MrRyan-wu4jx]

I’ve never seen the “you’re trash and can’t win” angle come directly from the head coach as his own thoughts though. It’s not even like baseball or basketball, the head coach has a say on what happens every play and if players don’t think he’s dedicated to trying to win they’re not gonna perform.

[@SuperNuclearUnicorn]

I like to imagine it was like an 11 year old reading about reverse psychology and thinking "if I fell them they have no chance and they suck maybe they'll play harder"

[@d0nKsTaH]

He would have had a better outcome had he simply told his team to just try and have fun tomorrow. Don't worry about anything.. just go out and play to your best... and have at least one play where you can smile after. Who knows? That could have motivated his team to be more relaxed and less worried. I think Cleveland once took that mindset into the upset game (blowout) vs the New England Patriots several years back and it paid off.

[@brettpatterson404]

The Soviets only lost because coach Tikhonov pulled Tretiak when USA tied it at 2-2 late in the first period.

[@howardcosell2022]

No rationale thinking in Soviet society. Viktor Tikhonov's mission from the Politburo was to embarrass the Americans on their home rink in Lake Placid, NY in front of a world audience

[@karlcooper8460]

I always confused him with sid Gillman for some strange reason probably because they look something alike and because they coached the bolts around the same time period early-mid 70s.

[@tedkijeski339]

A lot has been made over the brief case that Tommy Prothro would carry from the locker room to the sidelines for every game. What was in that brief case? No one seemed to know. Only recently have the contents of that brief case been revealed: It was the formula for calculating the quarterback rating. Prothro wanted to know precisely the point at which his quarterback's performance was less effective than spiking the ball on every down.

[@bartbutkis]

Ted Kijeski: I was recruited as a freshman football player at UCLA right before he left to coach the Rams. Everyone knew that Tommy Prothro only used one match a day to light his cigarettes so that was in his brief case. He always carried a carton in that old case. As for his speech the night before the Steelers game, he obviously knew what he was talking about. He treated his players like men and was always honest with them. He was "old school" and would never sugar coat anything. The players at UCLA appreciated it and the Chargers, being professional athletes, shouldn't have had a problem with it either.

[@tedkijeski339]

@@bartbutkis That is awesome! I was joking about the QB rating formula, of course, as that is a common gag among regular viewers of these videos, but I never knew what was really in that brief case!

[@howardcosell2022]

@@bartbutkis That is why Prothro played bridge rather than poker. Honest to a fault

[@davedowling6053]

Coach Prothro was right. Not many teams had a chance against the 75 Steelers, especially those sorry Chargers.

[@Staceyatkinson4496]

Similar that mora rant after a loss or the Denis green rant after the bears game "they were who we thought they were Mora" playoffffssss, you kidding me, playoffs

[@spagniewbrzenski702]

Can I request that you do a video on the Lions along the lines of "where promising coaches go to end their careers?"

[@CrackpotSports]

The San Diego Chargers didn't win under Tommy Prothro, but they did have some great drafts during his years

[@timothyflanigan1777]

The late great, Herb Brooks, gave the greatest speech ever.

[@Jelperman]

Tommy Prothro didn't have much success as a coach in the NFL, but he did have a lot of success at evaluating talent -building most of the Rams teams that Chuck Knox and Ray Malavasi won with, the Chargers roster Don Coryell won with, and the Browns roster Marty Schottenheimer won with. Most of the best players on those teams were drafted or traded for by Tommy Prothro.

[@matthewdaley746]

Yeah, but, not, surprisingly, none, of, those, coaches, ever, won, the, SB.

[@Jelperman]

@@matthewdaley746 In the case of the Rams and Chargers, it had more to do with cheapskate owners kneecapping their own teams rather than paying to keep their best talent. With the Browns... Well, even the best jobbers in pro wrestling couldn't flop on cue like Martyball.

[@hrtvfan2870]

Maybe Prothro should have been a general manager in the pros instead of pacing the sideline

[@matthewdaley746]

@Jelperman Chargers', ownership, perpetually, awful.

[@matthewdaley746]

@@hrtvfan2870 Doesn't, measure, I, feel.

[@aaronholcomb237]

The basketball coach at my high school once lost his temper and said the team wouldn't win a single game that season. They went 3-20 in the year it happened.

[@Fireyninjadog]

He was right: The chargers can't win

[@Briguy75]

Usually I enjoy your videos. But this one is just sad 😔

[@randyhanson4973]

Motivational speeches don't work. Preparation does

[@troyf.9050]

Sounds like Adam Gase's grandfather!😆 Jokes aside: it's called "Reverse Psychology". He wanted them to get so upset at him, they would take it out on the opponents but nope it didn't work....at all

[@NillyNilly546]

I get what he was trying to do, but he didn't really bring that fire or confidence, just more of gave his team the finger and could careless.

[@MartinGorski]

A story about my beloved Steelers...bring me the context!

[@scottconner7930]

46 Years Ago

[@vincentyork1234]

7:52 "Sold out crowd" This game vs Steelers was not sold out, and which the game was blacked out locally there. The Attendance for that game was 35,853. Every game except for their MNF game vs Jets had crowds of less than 40,000.

[@anonymoususer450]

The 1975 Steelers also outscored their opponents by 15 points per game that year. They played in a division where 3rd place finished 10-4 and they swept their division. They finished 12-2, one of their losses was against a Rams team in LA fighting for home field advantage after they had clinched the one seed. They lost by 7 points. Also, how the hell did Tommy Prothro last that long on the Chargers?

[@matthewdaley746]

They, were, historic in 1976, but, their, RBs, went down, and, Terry Bradshaw, was, their, QB.

[@davidcobb2693]

The Chargers were shutout in both of their games against the Raiders.

[@josephmiller9424]

Is that where they got it from for Rocky 4 when Adrian screamed to Rocky YOU CANT WIN when he signed to fight the russian

[@stevenmccoy5103]

These early years compare Ken Anderson and Fouts...Dan is in the HOF, Should be too...Not Kenny Anderson , who played the same team and knew could win with Kenny

[@karlcooper8460]

Dan Fouts looks strange rolling out I thought he was a pocket passing stiff(just joking)but seriously I don't remember Fouts much for his mobility.

[@matthewdaley746]

I don't remember him, much, for, his humility, either, or, for, ever, winning, anything, but, that's exactly what happens when you have no defense, or, running game to bleed the clock, late.

[@karlcooper8460]

@@matthewdaley746 that was always chargers football as I have always come to know it great qb play,great recievers,no running game,no defence.

[@matthewdaley746]

​@karlcooper8460 Or, completely, undone, by, their, STs, most, notoriously, in, 2010.

[@rd-pd8xb]

He was trying to piss off his team.

[@shackdaddy7106]

The answer is quite simple. Tommy Prothro like every other extremely successful college coach with the exception of Jimmie Johnson that has tried to coach in the NFL fail. The reason they fail is because in college the coach is the dictator and the boss without question. Nick Sabin has said so on many occasions. And they are coaching boys. Coaching men is an entirely different ballgame. In the NFL the players have a lot more say in what’s going on that is the case in college. They are professionals.

[@dudethebagman]

Apparently, the coach's speech is not included in this video. Of course, I didn't listen to the whole 12:33 of the video, but I skipped ahead, trying to find the actual topic of the video. I failed.

[@Jason_Maier]

Ah Tommy Prothro ....another in the failed line of brilliant college coaches to flop in the NFL (his record combined at Oregon State & UCLA was 104-55-5)

[@e2go]

It's called reverse psychology🙄. Who possibly couldn't understand that? Imagine thinking a speech has literally anything to do with winning or losing a football game anyway🙄. Any "motivation" from a speech is long forgotten the first time you get hit. It's about preparation in the weeks and months beforehand and execution, not silly pep talks five minutes prior to kickoff.

[@clintholmes2061]

I think we are all missing the big picture... the coach was right.

[@jeremycrandall2899]

If you need a motivational speech, maybe you don’t belong in the NFL.

[@DolFan316]

I have no idea how anybody can motivate today's players, who are ready to give up the moment things get mildly inconvenient. For moral reasons and mental health.

[@tarikshell9719]

What crack was he smoking whatever it was he needs to go into rehab

[@toddbiesel4288]

Yet this was not the game that Jack Ham hated playing and was glad when it was over.

[@matthewdaley746]

No, that, Game, was, one, year, later, when a legendary defensive performance just went out of the window, because, of injured, RBs, and, the Steelers having Terry Bradshaw at, QB, truly, awful.

[@BrendonChase2012]

Does this constitute a triple play? @ 8:47

[@karlcooper8460]

Maybe team U.S.A.mens hockey team was much better than their coach thought that they were as the rest of the world found out later.

[@robertgonzales4307]

Chargers moved to LA and they still can’t win maybe The ghost of Tommy followed them😳

[@arrowdave646]

Still had a bad defense years later during their playoff run.

[@matthewdaley746]

Blame Gene Klein, after, Fred Dean, was, let go, it, was, all, over.

[@grxracer-1606]

+@@matthewdaley746 That S.O.B. was such a cheapskate.

[@matthewdaley746]

@@grxracer-1606 Ineptitude, bad, indifference, awful.

[@shanestanton8]

Speaking of The Beatles, please do a vid about what to lead Howard Cossell being the man who informed millions about John Lennon’s death

[@matthewdaley746]

Don't quote me on this, but, Yoko Ono ran into a reporter at the hospital, and, begged him, not, to tell anybody until she had a chance to tell their son, Sean. The reporter, "promised," and, promptly phoned in, an, "anonymous tip," to, MNF. He heard the announcement just, before, her arrival at their home apartment. Her, perpetually, nasty, treatment of the world's press, was, returned in kind.

[@shanestanton8]

@@matthewdaley746 I don’t think I’ve heard that part of the story. Whether that’s true or false, whatever disdain John and Yoko had for the press likely started early in their relationship. I’m pretty some of its origins might be referenced in “The Ballad of John and Yoko.”

[@matthewdaley746]

@Shane Stanton Let's, not, beat, around the bush, they treated the press, like, dirt, and, it, ultimately, backfired.

[@derangedhippo5146]

Yes

[@jamestaylor3725]

Enjoy these, but that "if you spike the ball each time..." on every video gets old. Realize somebody may hearing that for the first time, but just a grouch that doesn't like repetition.

[@brianoneill7186]

James Taylor Just go to Carolina in your mind

[@p47rr]

I miss the Chargers being in San Diego. Won’t watch the NFL now. To many cry babies.

[@brettshepherd5240]

Hey sometimes you gotta be real about it...no way was san diego winning that game

[@TH3DANKs]

At least Tommy Prothro was a better HC than Norv Turner.

[@matthewdaley746]

Damned By Faint Praise, he had, not, one, but, two, absurdly long team tenures.

[@lukeheaton5336]

So now Norv Turner is the bar?

[@TH3DANKs]

@@lukeheaton5336 : The very low end of the bar, yes.

[@howardcosell2022]

@@matthewdaley746 Plus playoff appearances and the accolades of one Troy Aikman who mentions him basically every week during the NFL season

[@matthewdaley746]

@@howardcosell2022 Execrable, coach, nonetheless, period.

[@kingjames1586]

Loved this channel until YT infomercial algorithm infiltrated & took over... They should be paying for the subscribers it's prevented?

[@lauroreyes4602]

just being honest

[@jeffanderson3962]

Get rid of the coaches wearing masks on the sidelines and bring back the coaches chain smoking on the sidelines and the NFL will have this lost viewer back.

[@brianoneill7186]

Stay lost.

[@mikeandreach3777]

I love the videos. Can you please please please stop with the comparison of spiking the ball into the ground on every play. Please let that Rest In Peace. It gets old after hearing it in every video. Aside from that, you find some really interesting things to talk about

[@johnmccall8788]

I know, every time he talks QB's you know he's going to say it. Getting really old. Aside from that, enjoy the vids.

[@DolFan316]

*BLASPHEMY!!! HERESY!!! ANYONE WHO HATES THAT NEEDS TO BE CANCELLED FROM SOCIETY AND THROWN IN A PRISON CAMP!!!*

[@karlcooper8460]

I'm sorry but I think your merch is lame.

[@luisvaldes1568]

S. D. Stadium torn down Dec. 2020.

[@luisvaldes1568]

They had great unis at least.