The San Diego Chargers have not only reinvented themselves, they've done it quicker than a certain quarterback can dial 10-10-220. They've gone from 1-15 to borderline playoff contender, and their turnaround can be relived through a series of conversations.

Players, coaches and front-office personnel have helped us recreate an oral history of their last 300 days. If they couldn't remember exactly what was said, they at least could recall what they were thinking. Went like this:

TEN MONTHS AGO. CHARGERS PRESIDENT DEAN SPANOS CALLS BUFFALO HOME OF NEWEST HIRE, EX-BILLS GM JOHN BUTLER ...

"John, Dean here. Can't wait until you get to town."

"Me too."

"So you want to meet with Ryan?"

"No, I don't see any reason. Let's just end it right here."

"What are you saying, John?"

"Cut him."

"You want to cut Ryan Leaf?"

"Cut him."

TWO DAYS LATER, CRACK OF DAWN. FB FRED McCRARY AND S RODNEY HARRISON LIFT WEIGHTS IN THE BOWELS OF THE CHARGERS TRAINING COMPLEX ...

"They did it, Rodney. They cut him. They cut Knucklehead."

"Butler's got some balls. The guy must be serious."

"So, you happy, Rodney?"

"Put it this way: Other than the '95 Super Bowl, this is the happiest day since I got drafted."

NINE MONTHS AGO. SPANOS, BUTLER, HEAD COACH MIKE RILEY AND CAPOLOGIST ED McGUIRE ARE IN VEGAS FOR A FIVE-DAY SKULL SESSION. THEY COVER EVERY NAME ON THE ROSTER. THEY DON'T EVEN PLAY BLACKJACK ...

"So, we're agreed: We need to sign two corners and a pass-rusher, and we need to pick up a running back and a veteran QB."

"Right."

"Okay, who's it gonna be?"

"Ryan McNeil and Alex Molden are the corners. Marcellus Wiley's the pass-rusher. We'll find a running back in the draft."

"But, John, what about quarterback? Norv Turner [the new offensive coordinator] likes Brad Johnson and Troy Aikman. What about you?"

"Doug Flutie."

"Isn't he 38 going on 39?"

"Flutie."

"Isn't he five-foot nothing?"

"Flutie."

SEVEN MONTHS AGO. BUTLER'S OFFICE. FLUTIE IS ABOUT TO SIGN A MULTIYEAR DEAL ...

"Doug, your contract is spread over six years for cap reasons. But, seriously, how long do you really plan on playing?"

"Four years."

"Come on. You'll be 42!"

"Well, I plan to still be starting at 40."

"At 40?"

"At 40."

SIX MONTHS AGO. THE BOSTON MARATHON ...

"Flutie, you again? Isn't this, like, the third year you've entered this thing?"

"I run it with my brothers. But I don't do the whole thing, because minicamp's coming up."

"How far do you go?"

"To my hometown, Natick. About 12 miles. I just run home."

"How fast?"

"I average 7:10 a mile."

"At 38?"

"At 38."

"You must be in some shape."

"Conditioning-wise, I can do more things now than I could at 22."

"The Chargers know this?"

"They will soon."

SIX MONTHS AGO. THE EVE OF THE NFL DRAFT. THE FALCONS, WHO WANT SAN DIEGO'S PICK, THE FIRST OVERALL, CALL BUTLER AGAIN ...

"I repeat: No deal unless you include Tim Dwight."

"Okay, okay. We get your No.1 pick so we can draft Vick; you get our first-rounder, fifth overall, plus our third-rounder, and a second in '02. And Tim Dwight. Done?"

"Done." Click.

(Roars of approval in both cities)

ONE MINUTE LATER. BUTLER BUZZES SECRETARY ...

"Can you get me LaDainian Tomlinson's agent, please?"

A FEW WEEKS LATER. TOMLINSON WALKS INTO AN AUSTIN, TEXAS, TATTOO PARLOR ...

"I need one. Right here on my left leg."

"What of?"

"A lightning bolt."

"Why, you fast or something?"

"Well, yeah, but that's not why. I just got drafted by the Chargers."

"The who?"

"You know. The San Diego Chargers. The NFL team."

"What's your name?"

"LT."

"Then why not put LT on your leg?"

"Nope. Want the lightning bolt. You don't know their logo?"

"Don't know their logo."

"I'll bring you a magazine that has a picture of it."

"Please."

FIVE MONTHS AGO. AFTER THE FIRST DAY OF MINICAMP. COACH RILEY ANSWERS A QUESTION ...

"Who's that out there running lap after lap after lap?"

"Flutie."

"Flutie?"

"Flutie."

"Does he do this every day?"

"So far."

FIVE MONTHS AGO, AFTER THE SECOND DAY OF MINICAMP ...

"Hey Doug, I'm Freddy McCrary, your fullback. All right if I call you Flutie Flakes?"

"No problem."

"Flutie Flakes, you know how good it is to have you here?"

"How good?"

"Last year in 7-on-7's with Knucklehead, we were lucky to complete two or three balls. With you, we get ticked off if the ball touches the ground. That's how good."

THREE MONTHS AGO. CRACK OF DAWN. LB JUNIOR SEAU CONVENES SEASON'S FIRST MEETING OF "THE BREAKFAST CLUB." ONLY McCRARY, HARRISON AND A COUPLE OF OTHERS SHOW UP ...

"Okay, here are the rules. Be in the weight room ready to lift every day by 6:45. Initiation fee is $200. If anyone wants to join during the regular season, it's $300."

"Got it. Anything else?"

"I'm gonna be strict. I'm gonna fine you $5 for every minute you're late, $5 more for every rep you don't finish. Miss an entire day, it's $100. I'll fine you every time you don't wipe your weight machine dry, and I'll fine you every time you look in the mirror. We stay humble here. Gotta stay humble. Right, Freddy?"

"Right. No prime-timing. No checking your biceps in the mirror."

"Right, Rodney?"

"That's right. When the enemy's sleeping, we're working."

TWO AND A HALF MONTHS AGO. TRAINING CAMP. RILEY CALLS FLUTIE INTO HIS OFFICE ...

"I want you to take a day off."

"Can't."

"We need to keep you fresh."

"Can't."

"Why?"

"Because the last time I was asked to take a day off was at the end of '99, so Rob Johnson could get some work, and I ended up not playing in the playoffs. I was 'The Man' in Canada for eight years, but in the NFL someone always wants me to take a day off. So I don't like taking days off."

"You're our man. Trust us."

"I'll try."

TWO MONTHS AGO. TOMLINSON, IN MIDST OF A LONG HOLDOUT FROM TRAINING CAMP, CONTACTS HIS AGENT, TOM CONDON ...

"Get it done."

"But ..."

"Get it done."

TWO MONTHS AGO. PRESEASON GAME AGAINST THE 49ERS. FLUTIE THROWS A CHOP BLOCK ON A DWIGHT REVERSE. AN APPALLED DWIGHT PULLS FLUTIE ASIDE ...

"Dude, what are you, 22 years old?"

"What's the matter?"

"Dude, what the @$%# are you doing?"

"What?"

"It's preseason, man. We need you. Don't do that again."

SIX WEEKS AGO. PRACTICE. FLUTIE AND DWIGHT IN HUDDLE ...

"Dude, I take it all back."

"Why?"

"Because you're an inch taller than I am. Your eyebrows are above mine."

"Look, if we played baseball, we'd be average. We can't help it if everyone around here is 6'5"."

NEXT DAY. DWIGHT GOES SURFING ...

"Are you that Charger punt-return dude?"

"Yes."

"Way to go, brah."

"Thanks, brah."

DWIGHT, A COUPLE MINUTES LATER ...

"Did I really just use the word 'brah'?"

FIVE WEEKS AGO. SEPTEMBER 12. FLUTIE SHOWS UP AT PRACTICE WEARING AN NYPD T-SHIRT ...

"Where'd you get that, Doug?"

"Had it. Just dug it out of a box."

"You just happened to have one?"

"Well, I used to play in New York."

"You played in New York?"

"The USFL. I was a New Jersey General."

"A what?"

FOUR WEEKS AGO. TOMLINSON IS FEELING GOOD ABOUT LIFE, HE DECIDES TO PROPOSE TO HIS GIRLFRIEND, LaTORSHA OAKLEY. HE TAKES HER TO LA JOLLA, PUTS A DIAMOND RING IN HIS CHAMPAGNE GLASS, DRINKS SOME CHAMPAGNE, THEN DANGLES THE RING FROM THE TIP OF HIS TONGUE ...

"Well?"

"Ohhhhhhh! Yes! The answer is yes."

SPEAKING OF JEWELRY: NEXT DAY. TOMLINSON REVEALS TO TEAMMATES HE LOST $20,000 EARRINGS ON TEXAS STADIUM TURF ...

"Did you stop and look for them?"

"I noticed they were gone in the first quarter, but I couldn't look. I had a game to play."

"Are you ticked off, LT?"

"No. I had them insured. Getting the cash back next week. Smart, huh?"

NEXT DAY. SEAU CAN'T YET PRONOUNCE LT's NAME ...

"Junior, what do you think of your new running back?"

"LaThanian is going to be a good one."

NEXT DAY. TURNER KEEPS THE ROOKIE HUMBLE ...

"Coach, why don't you call me LT?"

"You're too young. You can't be LT yet. For now, you're just L."

NEXT DAY. DT JOHN PARRELLA PAYS $300 TO JOIN THE BREAKFAST CLUB. NOW A QUARTER OF THE TEAM IS PART OF THE CLUB, AN ALL-TIME HIGH ...

"Hey Junior, John just snuck a peek in the mirror."

"Five bucks, Parrella!"

NEXT DAY. LOCKER ROOM. FLUTIE AND A REPORTER CHAT ABOUT JORDAN'S COMEBACK. FLUTIE AND JORDAN ARE THE SAME AGE ...

"Think he can do it, Doug?"

"No doubt. There'll be nights he scores 40. But there'll also be nights he settles for the outside shot, when he's not feeling as athletic. Like me. There's days when a defender comes at me, and I just try to throw it away. Other days, he comes free and I avoid him and take off."

"You still have those kind of fresh legs?"

"Hell, yeah. Last week in Dallas I could have run for 100 yards."

THREE WEEKS AGO. CHARGERS GO T0 3-0 WITH A VICTORY OVER THE PREVIOUSLY UNBEATEN BENGALS. McCRARY RESPONDS TO A REPORTER'S QUESTION ...

"What's the difference this year?"

"Attitude. The Breakfast Club. The running back. But mostly it's the quarterback."

"A little quarterback can make that big a difference?"

"Compared to the Knucklehead we used to have? We don't turn the ball over 50 times a game anymore."

NEXT DAY. FLUTIE IS ASKED TO APPEAR ON THE TONIGHT SHOW. HIS TEAMMATES HAVE SEEN HIM ON THOSE LONG DISTANCE COMMERCIALS, BUT NOW THEY'RE REALLY IMPRESSED ...

"Doug, what's with all this hype?"

"It's funny. Everyone thinks it's my first time going through this, and that's not close. There was the Heisman run. And signing with the New Jersey Generals was the most ridiculous media thing I've ever been through. Herschel Walker, me, Donald Trump. My first press conference was at Trump Tower in front of the waterfall inside the building. Seven floors of cameras."

"We keep forgetting-you're 38. Dwight still thinks you're 22."

"At the end of October, gonna be 39."

TWO WEEKS AGO. THE BROWNS UPSET THE CHARGERS, PARTIALLY BECAUSE DARREN BENNETT SHANKS A PUNT TO SET UP CLEVELAND'S WINNING SCORE. SPANOS TURNS TO BUTLER ...

"Who's our backup punter?"

"Flutie."

"Flutie?"

"Flutie."

TEN DAYS AGO. FLUTIE APPEARS WITH LENO. LENO HAS ALWAYS GONE AFTER THE CHARGERS IN HIS MONOLOGUES. THIS TIME HE MENTIONS THAT IF THE CHARGERS ARE IN FIRST PLACE, PIGS MUST BE FLYING. HE ALSO SAYS FLUTIE'S 57 YEARS OLD, AND HE CALLS FLUTIE FLAKES "FRUITIE FLAKES." BEFORE THEY FINISH THE SEGMENT, FLUTIE ASKS LENO TO TRY THE CEREAL. THEN, FROM THE CEILING, 20 POUNDS OF FLAKES FALL ON LENO ...

"What do they say about payback?"

"Can we bleep this? What an a-hole."

"Payback, Jay. Payback."

ONE WEEK AGO. THE DAY AFTER THEIR SECOND STRAIGHT LOSS. BLEW LATE 10-POINT LEAD. LT (OR L) COULDN'T GAIN AN INCH TO RUN OUT THE CLOCK. NEW ENGLAND WON IN OT. BREAKFAST CLUB MEMBERS ARE TALKING. ONE OF THEM THINKS OF FLUTIE, THINKS OF LT, THINKS OF THE TWO CLOSE LOSSES, AND TURNS TO SEAU ...

"We can still go to the playoffs."

"That's five bucks!"

"Why?"

"Forgot to tell you. No looking in the mirror ... or at the standings."

This article appears in the October 29 issue of ESPN The Magazine.