Marty Schottenheimer’s coaching career in the NFL was as remarkable as it was disconcerting.
There were 200 wins in the regular season, the eighth biggest in NFL history. There were a mysterious number of playoff losses, some so epic that they had nicknames: “The Drive” and “The Fumble”.
There was always “Martyball”, the conservative and aggressive approach that featured a strong running game and a stubborn defense.
Schottenheimer died Monday night in Charlotte, North Carolina, his family said through former Kansas City Chiefs press officer Bob Moore. He was 77 years old. Schottenheimer was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2014 and moved to a hospice on January 30.
Schottenheimer coached Cleveland, Kansas City, Washington and San Diego and went 200-126-1 in 21 seasons.
Schottenheimer considered himself a teacher and called the NFL “a people’s business”.
“The best coach I have ever had,” Hall of Fame LaDainian Tomlinson said in a statement. “I never went to a game with Marty as a coach feeling that I was not fully prepared to win. … I considered him a true American man. “
Former coach Bill Cowher remembered his former coach and mentor as an “amazing coach, teacher and leader. Marty, you say, “There is a glow, man,” there is and has always been “YOU.”
Schottenheimer was a master at getting players’ attention. He would gather them in the pre-game heap and shout, “One move at a time!” Among his other favorites: “This is us!” and “We have our people!” Or “Gentlemen, it’s 15 centimeters between the sternum and the back – the heart!”
Then there was “Raider Week”, when he warned his players in no uncertain terms about the evil that awaited them if they didn’t play well against their arch rival. Under their “Midnight Rule”, players and coaches could celebrate victories until midnight on Sundays and then start focusing on next week’s opponent.
Winning during the regular season was never a problem. Schottenheimer’s teams have won 10 or more games 11 times, including a record of 14-2 with the Chargers in 2006, which earned them the AFC’s No. 1 ranking in the playoffs.
It was what happened in January that haunted Schottenheimer, who was just 5 to 13 years old in the postseason.
“Well, we were not very successful when we got there. We need to fix this, ”said Schottenheimer in 2006, after San Diego won AFC West.
His playoff demons followed him to the end of his career.
In his final game, on January 14, 2007, Schottenheimer Chargers, featuring NFL MVP Tomlinson and a cast of professional players, imploded with numbing mistakes and lost a split playoff game at home to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, 24 -21.
A month later, owner Dean Spanos surprised the NFL by firing Schottenheimer because of a personality clash between the coach and the obstinate general manager AJ Smith. Schottenheimer and Smith had not spoken in about two years.
A breaking point for Spanos – head of the family team – came when Schottenheimer wanted to hire Brother Kurt as a defensive coordinator after Wade Phillips was hired as Dallas’ head coach. Kurt Schottenheimer was on his brother’s previous team, and Marty Schottenheimer’s son Brian had been the coach of the 2002-05 Chargers’ defenders.
Schottenheimer then moved to North Carolina to spend time with his family and play golf.
Spanos on Tuesday recalled Schottenheimer as a “tremendous leader of men and a man of great principles. … you couldn’t beat it. You couldn’t get over it. And you certainly always knew exactly where you were with him. “
Chiefs President and CEO Clark Hunt called Schottenheimer “a passionate leader who cared deeply about his players and coaches, and his influence on the game can still be seen today in a number of technical teams around the league”.
Schottenheimer was 44-27 years old with Cleveland from 1984-88; 101-58-1 with Kansas City from 1989-98; 8-8 with Washington in 2001; and 47-33 with 2002-06 San Diego.
He became the Browns, Chiefs and Chargers.
The Browns on Tuesday recalled the “tough, stubborn attitude and never giving up on the fight that the team personified and that made it dear to Browns fans”.
When Schottenheimer was hired by the Chiefs in 1989, the Raiders had won 21 of the previous 30 games between the teams. Over the next 10 seasons, Schottenheimer emphasized “Raider Week” and his Chiefs went 18-3 against Silver and Black, including a victory in the 1991 wild-card round, the first post-season game played at Arrowhead Stadium.
Tomlinson remembered how much Schottenheimer loved the racing game.
“Strength football. This is ‘Martyball’ ”, said Tomlinson once. “You run it, then you run it, then you run it again, and then OK, OK, we can launch a pass. But after that passage, we are going to run it, run it and run it again. This is Martyball. Wear you out. “
Schottenheimer never made it to the Super Bowl, either as a player or coach. He was a reserve linebacker for Buffalo Bills when they lost the 1966 AFL title game to Kansas City, who then played against the Green Bay Packers in the first Super Bowl.
As a coach, his playoff losses were epic and mysterious.
His Browns came twice tantalizingly close to winning Super Bowl seats, only to be eliminated by “The Drive” and “The Fumble” in consecutive AFC title games against enemy John Elway and the Broncos.
In the 1986 AFC championship game in Cleveland, Elway took the Broncos to 98 yards in 15 moves to tie the game in a 5-yard pass to Mark Jackson with 37 seconds remaining in regulation. Denver won in overtime with Rich Karlis’ 33-yard field goal.
A year later, with the Browns behind the Broncos 38-31 with 1:12 remaining in Denver, Earnest Byner fumbled on the Broncos’ 1-yard line. The Broncos won 38-33 after taking intentional security.
Schottenheimer’s Chiefs entered the AFC title dispute in 1993, but lost in Buffalo. Two of his Chiefs’ teams went 13-3 and gained the advantage of playing at home during the playoffs before bursting out in the divisional round.
The Chargers thought they had a team of the Super Bowl caliber in 2006, but Schottenheimer’s career ended with a brutal playoff defeat for the Patriots. In the first quarter, Schottenheimer insisted on going to fourth and 11 on the Patriots’ 30-yard line. Philip Rivers fired by Mike Vrabel and New England recovered.
The biggest drop, however, and which still haunts Chargers fans, came with San Diego winning 21 to 13, with just over six minutes to play. Marlon McCree intercepted Tom Brady and, instead of falling to the ground, tried to run and was hit and fumbled, with the Patriots recovering. New England fought for victory.
Schottenheimer apparently survived another playoff failure, only to be fired a month later.
After winning just 12 games in Schottenheimer’s first two seasons, the Chargers went 12-4 in 2004 behind Tomlinson and a rejuvenated Drew Brees to end an eight-year playoff drought.
But they lost a division game at home to the New York Jets in overtime. Schottenheimer, named Coach of the Year for the Associated Press earlier that day, was cautioned for a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct for taking the field to argue with referees in the second quarter.
In overtime, the Chargers had a first down in the Jets ’22, but Schottenheimer was conservative and called three straight runs through Tomlinson to set up a 40-yard field goal attempt by Nate Kaeding, who missed. The Jets then advanced on the field to the victory basket.
Schottenheimer was born on September 23, 1943, in Canonsburg, a small town outside Pittsburgh. He played for Pitt before a six-year professional career as a linebacker with Bills and Patriots.
“If you look for a football coach in the dictionary, you should have a picture of Marty Schottenheimer,” said Brees. “An incredible teacher, mentor and trainer.”
He leaves his wife, Pat, and children Brian and Kristin. Brian Schottenheimer was fired as Seattle’s offensive coordinator last month and then hired by new Jacksonville coach Urban Meyer as game coordinator and defender coach.
The family said the funeral would be private, with a ceremony commemorating his life to be scheduled later.
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