They got off to another strong start in 1989, with road victories over the Detroit Lions and Seattle Seahawks, then suffered a rash of injuries. With five games to go in the season, Gene Stallings, who had followed the team from St. Louis, announced his plans to retire at the end of the season. But general manager Larry Wilson ordered Stallings to leave immediately, and named running backs coach Hank Kuhlmann as interim coach. The team lost its last five games to finish 5-11—the first of four straight 11-loss seasons.