Former NFL head coach Marty Schottenheimer died last night of Alzheimer's Disease. He was 77.
Schottenheimer was one of the most successful coaches in NFL history with 200 regular season wins plus five in the playoffs. Unfortunately, his regular season success was overshadowed by bad luck in the playoffs. Schottenheimer would guide the Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs and San Diego Chargers to 13 playoffs in 21 seasons, but none of his teams would get to the Super Bowl. The Browns would run into bad luck in back to back years against the Denver Broncos in the AFC finals. The only other time a Schottenheimer got to a conference final was in 1993 when the Chiefs fell short to the Buffalo Bills. Of course, Bills head coach Marv Levy would suffer through four consecutive Super Bowl losses. But Schottenheimer never got to even be a bridesmaid. This alone has kept him out of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Schottenheimer would finally gain a championship in 2011 with the Virginia Destroyers of the United Football League. But Schottenheimer would abruptly resign soon after and the league would fold the following year. He would be diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2014.
Schottenheimer's emphasis on defense and running the ball would be an influence on a number of coaches he hired who would taste Super Bowl glory. Bill Cowher worked as an assistant for him with both the Browns and the Chiefs while Tony Dungy, Mike McCarthy and Bruce Arians of the newly crowned Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers cut their teeth with Schottenheimer in Kansas City.
I leave you with a few of his motivational speeches. There was a gleam in his eyes. R.I.P.
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