Marty Schottenheimer is the most deserving coach who should be in the NFL Hall of Fame…
…who isn’t already in the Hall.
By Alan Haupt
An Injustice
Marty Schottenheimer epitomizes what the meaning of membership into the Pro Football Hall of Fame should truly be. It should not be how many championships a person or team has won. It should not be how many wins or losses a person or team has accomplished either. Instead it should be what has an individual brought to the game itself. Beyond Marty’s win loss record was his ability to motivate players and assistant coaches on how to play the game within a teamwork environment.
.
Schottenheimer also taught, and demanded, players and assistant coaches alike, how to respect the game and all opponents that they faced. Furthermore, throughout his career while teaching everyone associated under him to be better on the field, he also taught everyone how to be better men, valuing high character in there everyday lives. He taught and demanded these attributes as well as any other Head Coach that is already in the Hall of Fame.
.
Career Stats
In 21 years as a head coach he had 200 wins versus 126 losses. A .613 winning percentage, which is good for 7th ranking of all time, plus a 5-13 record in the playoffs. Within those 21 years, only twice did he have a sub .500 winning percentage. His teams made it to the playoffs 13 times in those 21 years. In those 13 losses 11 of them were to a future Hall of Fame Quarterback, while in the 5 wins only once was a future Hall of Fame Quarterback beaten. Those 2 stats alone creates a major glitch in the playoff curse conspiracy. Only twice did Marty have a future Hall of Fame Quarterback, Joe Montana and Drew Brees.
.
Marty’s Coaching Tree
Marty’s branches include 14 other Head Coaches at 21 different times, and 4 of his assistants, (Bill Cowher, Tony Dungy-both now in the Hall of Fame, Mike McCarthy, Bruce Arians) have won Super Bowls as Head Coaches with other teams. Combined with his career and those same 4 ex-assistants, went on to 18 appearances as Head Coaches in a playoff Conference Championship Game. His coaching tree has combined for a record of 686-597-5 (.532) in the regular season and 39-37 in the playoffs during their 84 seasons as head coach after serving on his coaching staff.
.
.
.
Bill Cowher was Marty’s Defensive Coordinator, both at Cleveland and Kansas City. During the 2021 enshrinement into the NFL Hall of Fame inductee Bill Cowher had glowing praise for Marty’s career stating,
.
“This man has not only influenced the game, but he’s influenced anyone who has ever played for him, coached with him or coached against him. I speak on behalf of many: Thank you coach, you did so much for so many, for so long. One day you will be in the Hall of Fame.”
.
Cleveland Browns 1984 -1988
In 1984 Marty took over as the interim Head Coach for a 1 – 7 struggling Cleveland Browns team replacing Sam Rutigliano. He led the team to finish the season 4 – 4. For the next three years Marty coached the Browns to AFC Central Divisional titles, then losing to Dan Marino in a first round playoff loss, and losing to John Elway twice in the AFC Champipnship games. Then in 1988 the Cleveland Browns were 10- 6 and made the playoffs as wild card team, but they subsequently lost to the Warren Moon led Houston Oilers, and by the end of the game the Browns were relegated to a 3rd team Quarterback, because of injuries to the starter and the backup. Marty in a 5 year span with Cleveland amassed a 44–27 (.620) regular-season record and a 2–4 (.333) mark in the playoffs, including four playoff appearances, three AFC Central Division titles, and two trips to the AFC Championship game parted ways from the Browns because of indifferences with team owner Art Modell. New GM Carl Peterson quickly hired him to be the new Head Coach of the Kansas City Chiefs.
.
Kansas City Chiefs 1989 – 1998
After a 17 year run of futility with a compiled record of 106 – 148 – 3 ties (.412 winning percentage), and 6 different Head Coaches, Lamar Hunt decided big changes were needed. He hired a new General Manager in Carl Peterson who then hired Marty Schottenheimer as the new Head Coach. Together they commenced to rebuilding the depleted roster and instilled quality regular season play and restored hope to the down trodden, once proud fan base, now known as The Chiefs Kingdom.
.
In his first year as the The Chiefs Head Coach Marty accomplished an 8 – 7 – 1 record. Then for 5 years in a row Marty took the Chiefs to the playoffs and winning the AFC Western Divisional Title twice. Then after a one year absence from the playoffs they returned again with yet another AFC Western Divisional title. In a 10 year span Marty orchestrated a 101 – 58 – 1 regular season record in Kansas City, and a 3 – 7 record in the playoffs. The good times that Marty accomplished during his tenure with the Chiefs will never be forgotten by the Chiefs Kingdom. The playoff losses should not be blamed on him, it is a Team sport!
.
Washington Redskins 2001
For two years Marty worked for ESPN as a broadcasting analyst, before making the mistake of trying to coach a Dan Snyder owned Washington Redskins team. A meddlesome owner that no head coach has ever had success with that team, not even the three time Super Bowl winning Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs (30-34 .469). That one season Washington started the year with five losses, then Marty turned the level of play well enough to win five in a row and eight of there last eleven, barely missing the playoffs. That was not good enough for Dan Snyder, and he fired Marty as the GM and Head Coach, then replaced him with Steve Spurrier (which years later was observed as one of Daniel Snyder’s worst mistakes ever).
.
San Diego Chargers 2002-2006
Marty’s first two seasons there were not deemed as successful with an 8-8 and 4-12 records, but the final three years he led them to 12-4, 9-7, and 14-2 records. Marty posted a 47-33 (.588 winning percentage) record in five regular season games and 0-2 in the playoffs. The Chargers won the AFC Western Divisional title twice and Marty was named as NFL Coach of the Year in the 2004 season. His final year 2006 as a NFL Head Coach, Marty posted his best personal career record, but San Diego Owner Dean Spanos took objection to his assistant coaching Selections. Furthermore Marty and GM A.J. Smith could no longer co-exist, and so Marty was controversially fired with no just cause.
.
Marty Schottenheimer’s Contribution to the Game
Each time that Marty was hired, he immediately improved that team’s seasonal records, and after he moved on, three of four teams regressed after he left (except for San Diego).
.
- Cleveland Browns 3 ½ seasons before (19-30 .388) 5 seasons after (32-47-1 .400)
- Kansas City Chiefs 2 seasons before (8-22-1 .268) 3 seasons after (22-26 .458)
- Washington Redskins 3 seasons before (24-24 .500) 2 seasons after (12-20 .375)
- San Diego Chargers 3 seasons before(14-34 .292) 3 seasons after (32-16 .695)
.
.
From a piece called, “Remembering Marty Schottenheimer: What players, coaches, staff are saying about the NFL legend” here’s what Ozzie Newsome said about Marty:
.
“I had a long-standing personal and professional relationship with Coach Schottenheimer and treasured my time with him. Early in my career, Marty was our defensive coordinator and had a challenging job trying to handle the likes of Hanford Dixon and Frank Minnifield, but did it with grit and grace. When he became our head coach, he preached toughness and discipline on both sides of the ball. Though he was an old-school, tough coach, he was also adaptable….”
.
The Playoffs Curse
The number one reason that he is not already in the Hall of Fame is that he could not win in the playoffs, but where does “the” fault really lay?
.
- 1986 The Cleveland Browns were beaten by a 4th quarter comeback win by Dan Marino (33 career 4th quarter comeback wins)
- 1987 AFC Championship game loss to John Elway known as “The Drive”
- 1988 AFC Championship game loss to John Elway game winning touchdown was fumbled by Ernest Byner on the Goal Line
- 1989 Cleveland loss to a Warren Moon led Houston Oilers team. Cleveland was forced to play third string QB Mike Pagel for most of the game.
- 1990 loss to another 4th quarter comeback by Dan Marino, coupled by a game winning missed field goal by Nick Lowry
- 1991 after defeating the Raiders they loss decisively 37-14 to the Buffalo Bills and Jim Kelly
- 1992 a disheartening loss to the San Diego Chargers coached by Bobby Ross 17-0
- 1993 led by Joe Montana the Chiefs had a good run, by defeating both Pittsburgh and Houston, but then lost in the cold weather at Buffalo Bills stadium, Kansas City might have had a chance if Joe Montana had not suffered an injury and the Chiefs could not stop Bills RB Thurman Thomas.
- 1994 yet another come from behind win by Dan Marino allowed the Miami Dolphins to end the Chiefs season
- 1995 3 missed field goals by Lin Elliot single-handedly knocked the Chiefs out of yet another playoff first round exit losing to the Indianapolis Colts
- 1997 Many fans and media analysts blame Marty for choosing Elvis Grbac over Rich Gannon as the starting Quarterback that year. While partial blame could be right, the cheating Broncos were allowed to play with Vaseline on their uniforms, and Tony Gonzalez was illegally shoved out of bounds on what would have been the game winning touchdown. Yet another first round lost by 14-10 to the hated Broncos.
- 2004 Marty now at the San Diego Chargers he suffered yet another first round loss by a missed field goal in overtime by Nate Keading
- Marty’s final year as an NFL the Chargers accumulated a 14-2 record Marty’s best ever in his 21 year career. But they still lost in the first round to the New England Patriots, led by Tom Brady
.
Now out of those 13 losses, how many can truly be solely blamed on the head coach? The coach is not on the field making plays. Did Marty put the teams in an ideal position to win? Most of the time, yes he did, but missed field goals, uncharacteristic turnovers, and outplayed by better Quarterbacks doomed his teams. The “Martyball” theory I don’t buy, because other teams have won Super Bowls with ball control offense and stout defense.
.
Summary
Hall of Fame Qualified? Bill Cowher stated it perfectly. How can anyone view Marty’s 21 years of coaching excellence, and then quantify that he does not belong in the presence of other greats based on 13 games. He taught others, players and coaches alike, to be better on the field, but then to also pass on down the knowledge throughout the generations. Furthermore he persisted to make those around him to be better men in their everyday lives. Again the number one qualification to enter the prestigious group of greatness, did he contribute to the game to make it the best that it could be?
.
Alan Haupt — ArrowheadOne
.
If you are viewing this in Apple News and would like to join the Discussion, [GO HERE.](http://arrowheadone.com/most-deserving-coach-who-should-be-in-the-hall-of-fame/#disqus_thread)
.