Marty Schottenheimer, NFL coach with 200 wins, dies at 77
Marty Schottenheimer’s NFL coaching career was as remarkable as it was flummoxing.
There were 200 regular-season wins, the eighth most in NFL history. There were a mystifying number of playoff losses, some so epic they had nicknames: “The Drive” and “The Fumble.”
Always there was “Martyball,” the conservative, smash- mouth approach that featured a strong running game and hard-nosed defense.
Schottenheimer died Monday night in Charlotte, North Carolina, his family said through former Kansas City Chiefs publicist Bob Moore. He was 77. Schottenheimer was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2014 and moved to a hospice Jan. 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 business.”
“The best coach I ever had,” Hall of Fame running back LaDainian Tomlinson said in a statement. “I never went into a game with Marty as coach feeling like I wasn’t fully prepared to win. ... I considered him a true All-American man.”
Ex- coach Bill Cowher remembered his former coach and mentor as an “amazing coach, teacher and leader. Marty, you say, “There’s a gleam, men,” there is and it was always “YOU.”
Schottenheimer was a master at getting his players’ rapt attention. He would gather them in the pre-game huddle and holler, “One play at a time!” Among his other favorites: “This is us!” and “We’ve got our people!” Or, “Gentlemen, it’s the 6 inches between your breastbone and your back — your heart!”
Then there was “Raider Week,” when he’d warn his players in no uncertain terms what nastiness awaited them if they didn’t play well against their archrival. Under his “Midnight Rule,” players and coaches could celebrate victories until midnight on Sundays, and then start focusing on the next week’s opponent.
Winning during the regular season was never a problem. Schottenheimer’s teams won 10 or more games 11 times, including a glistening 14-2 record with the Chargers in 2006 that earned them the AFC’s No. 1 seed in the playoffs.
It’s what happened in January that haunted Schottenheimer, who was just 5-13 in the postseason.