Chuck Muncie was already a proven runner when the Saints traded him to the Chargers four games into the 1980 season, but off-field issues had made him expendable in New Orleans. He finished that year strong in San Diego with 659 rushing yards in 11 games, then had the best season of his career in 1981 under Don Coryell. Muncie ran for 1,144 yards and tied the then-NFL record with 19 rushing touchdowns while adding 43 catches for 362 yards, finishing with more than 1,500 yards from scrimmage and earning a Pro Bowl nod. 

He was a big, powerful back with surprising agility who thrived in the Air Coryell scheme—defenses had to respect the deep passing game of Dan Fouts, Kellen Winslow, and Charlie Joiner, and he punished them underneath and between the tackles, often lining up in the single-back sets that defined the offense. That postseason he added 120 yards and a touchdown in the Epic in Miami overtime win over the Dolphins and another 94 in the Freezer Bowl loss to Cincinnati, helping the Chargers reach the AFC title game for the second straight year.

He made the Pro Bowl again in the strike-shortened 1982 season (569 rushing yards and eight touchdowns in nine games) and followed it with another productive year in 1983 (886 rushing yards, 12 touchdowns, and 42 catches). The production was real while it lasted, but the same issues that had followed him from New Orleans eventually caught up. Early in the 1984 season the Chargers tried to trade him to Miami; the deal fell through after he failed a drug test. San Diego released him, the league suspended him, and he never played in the NFL again.

In San Diego, he finished with y 4,546 yards from scrimmage and 45 touchdowns in only 51 games. The numbers were impressive for the stretch he was available, even if the career ended earlier than it should have.

He was later named to the Chargers’ 50th-anniversary team, recognizing the running back who gave the Air Coryell offense a legitimate ground threat for a few seasons before everything else got in the way.

Chuck Muncie was the highest drafted Running Back in 1976 (3^rdOverall), and he would become part of the Thunder/Lightning team with Tony Galbreath, and he would be named to the All-Rookie Team.