Ryan Leaf...human being

Ryan Leaf was drafted by the Chargers in April of 1998.

Mike Riley coached the Beavers to a Civil War victory in November 1998.

Ryan Leaf missed the entire 1999 season with a shoulder injury. Riley almost led the Chargers to a AFC West Championship but finished a game behind the Seahawks. John Carney famously missed a 36-yard game tying field goal against the Dolphins, which would have put the Chargers in the playoffs as a three-seed and would have pushed the Seahawks back to sixth. The Chargers also had three other games that came down to one score in 1999. The Bear game featured a dropped game-winning touchdown by the tight end with five seconds left. If the Chargers had one of those games, they would have hosted the Dolphins in San Diego. Had they won a home playoff game, the Chargers would have played at Indianapolis and then at Jacksonville. The Tennessee Titans won both en route to the Super Bowl in 2000, which they famously lost by a yard.

In 2000, Ryan Leaf started the first two games before being benched in favor of Moses Moreno. Moreno was injured in his first start, so Riley went back to Leaf. Leaf started the next game only to get hurt trying to chase down a Seahawk who was retuning his interception for a touchdown. Leaf missed the next six weeks. Moses Moreno missed three weeks before returning to back up Jim Harbarugh. Moreno started game 10 only to get hurt. Leaf came in to spell Moreno only to be hurt himself. Harbaugh finished the game. Neither Harbaugh nor Moreno would ever play in another football game. Leaf was the starter for the rest of the season, which finished 1-15.

Michael Vick refused to play for the Chargers, so the Chargers traded his pick for picks 5 and 67 in the 2001 NFL Draft, pick 48 in the 2002 NFL Draft and Tim Dwight. Riley's first two picks were for future Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson and the all-time greatest quarterback in NFL history (most yards) Drew Brees. A former Bill became the GM at San Diego in 2001, who brought Doug Flutie with him. Flutie and Tomlinson started every game in 2001 with the Chargers. The season started well with the Chargers starting 5-2. Flutie was injured in game 8 and the Chargers fell off as the season went along (the Cardinals and Chargers did not have a bye in 2001, because of the addition of the Browns in 1999) with the Chargers losing the final nine games.

Riley was fired at season's end. From 1999-2001 two NFL teams each year played 16 consecutive weekends, because of the addition of the Browns in 1999. The Browns and Chargers were the only teams to miss bye weeks in two of the three seasons. The only other teams that missed bye weeks in the period were the Bengals and Cardinals. The 1999 Chargers were the only team with no byes not to finish with a losing record.

The odds against any addict fully kicking their addiction(s) are steep.  His recent appearances show a lot of self-awareness and humility.  That's hopeful and I wish him the best.