Thinking about Marty Schottenheimer, Clay Matthews and Browns fans – Terry Pluto

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Marty Schottenheimer and Clay Matthews.

I found myself thinking about the two men recently, and how they should be members of the Hall of Fame in the minds of Brown fans.

On Saturday, Matthews learned that he lost the Hall of Fame. Cleveland had two voters on the 44-person committee. Tony Grossi of WKNR gave the five-minute formal speech to the former Browns linebacker. Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot lobbied different voters. Cabot had the remarkable statistic of Matthews leading the Atlanta Falcons with 6.5 sacks in 1996. He was 40 years old and was in his final season.

Then there is Schottenheimer, who died on Tuesday after battling Alzheimer’s disease for seven years. He was 77 years old.

Schottenheimer ended with a career record of 200-126-1. He had a 14-2 record in his last coaching season with Chargers in 2006. His coaching disciples include Bruce Arians, Tony Dungy, Bill Cowher and Herm Edwards.

There are eight NFL coaches with at least 200 wins. Two are still active: Bill Belichick and Andy Reid. The rest are in the Hall of Fame …

Make sure …

One of those retired coaches does not. You guessed it, Schottenheimer.

Sigh.

THE BIG POINT

Why no Matthews in the Hall of Fame? Why not Marty, as he was known to fans here?

Part of that is that they never made it to the Super Bowl. They also never played / trained in a major market, unless you consider Marty’s Washington 8-8 season in 2001. But there is something else, something that reveals a lot about the two men.

In the end, they were guys on the team. They were not afraid to accept a challenge.

Matthews has been penalized by some HOF voters for lower bag totals in some seasons. But in the first 10 years of his career, he often played within the linebacker. He was there to stop the race, organize the defense.

He was later transferred to the external linebacker and in a better position for the sacks.

MARTY BALL WAS WINNING BALL

As for Schottenheimer, he replaced Sam Rutigliano after the coach started 1-7 in 1984. The Browns played 4-4 the rest of the season. Then came the records of 8-8, 12-4, 10-5, 10-6. The Browns made it to the playoffs in each of Marty’s four full seasons.

Yes, there was The Drive. The Fumble. The frustration of being so close to the Super Bowl, but not reaching it. But there was Bernie Kosar leading the charge. There was Matthews in charge of the defense. There were fans proudly wearing brown and orange rocking the grumpy old stadium on Lake Erie.

Those were the days when Hanford Dixon and Frank Minnifield made the fans bark. And carrying dog bones. And shouting from Dawg Pound, his part of the stadium in the final zone. This was not the product of a marketing campaign, it just happened.

That was when you couldn’t wait until Sunday. The season shifted from hot September games to colors turning and leaves falling in October.

Then came the winter chills, but this is the season that really warms up. The temperature dropped below freezing, the players lined up waiting for the crackles, puffs of white smoke coming from their mouths in the icy air.

Football in December. Football in January.

Playoff football. Fun football.

THE MIRROR REVIEW OF LIFE

I think of Matthews having his hopes of reaching the Hall of Fame each year, but failing. It is very similar to the Browns of the late 1980s, when Schottenheimer was in agony for losing to Denver’s John Elway and not making it to the Super Bowl.

At that time, it was very easy for us to focus on what we almost had, instead of what we were given.

Schottenheimer eventually gave up and / or was fired after a volatile discussion with owner Art Modell. This happened after a 24-23 loss in the playoff to Houston in 1988. Modell wanted Schottenheimer to fire some assistant coaches. Marty had other ideas.

Talk about an idiot. Talk about two stubborn men who should have known better and waited a few days instead of trying to resolve the issue when their hearts were broken and their emotions raw.

You can talk about how the Browns made it to the playoffs in each of Schottenheimer’s four full seasons. Since then? They have only been to the playoffs four times in 29 years.

Meanwhile, Marty has made it to the playoffs 13 times in 21 seasons. He is penalized in some eyes for his 5-13 post-season record. But the man didn’t just walk around Cleveland, he did the same in Kansas City and the San Diego Chargers.

In those 21 years, Schottenheimer has had two seasons lost. As for Matthews, he was a winning player every year – regardless of his team’s record.

Marty & Clay.

This should be a day for Browns fans to remember them with a grateful heart.

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