Sanders joined the San Diego Chargers in 1975 as owner Gene Klein's assistant for player personnel. Klein promoted him to general manager in 1976 to replace the fired Harland Svare. Sanders was named the Sporting News NFL Executive of the Year in 1979. He helped assemble Chargers teams, led by coach Don Coryell and his record-setting Air Coryell pass offense, which twice advanced to American Football Conference (AFC) championship games, falling short of the Super Bowl both times in 1980 and 1981. Under Sanders as the general manager, the Chargers won three straight AFC West division titles (1979–1981) and qualified for the NFL playoffs four times. He rarely spoke publicly while working under Klein, who generally spoke for Chargers' management.
