Marty Schottenheimer, one of eight NFL coaches to reach 200 career wins, died Monday at the age of 77 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
Schottenheimer served as a head coach for 21 seasons in the NFL, including a one-year stint with Washington. Schottenheimer led the Burgundy and Gold to an 8-8 season in 2001, but team owner Daniel Snyder fired Schottenheimer to bring in Steve Spurrier from the college ranks.
“We were truly saddened to hear the news of the passing of Marty Schottenheimer,” a statement from Dan and Tanya Snyder read. “Marty was a great man who was passionate about his work and truly loved the game of football. He will be remembered as a family man of high character who treated everyone around him with kindness and compassion.”
The end of Marty Schottenheimer’s tenure in Washington came because “the Redskins and Marty had irreconcilable differences,” Snyder said in 2002, when Schottenheimer was fired. Spurrier, his replacement, lasted two seasons of a five-year deal before he resigned.
Schottenheimer finished his coaching career with a 205-139-1 record, including the playoffs — which his teams made 13 times. He never won a Super Bowl, but he led the Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs to the AFC Championship game three times combined.
For the first 14 seasons of Schottenheimer’s coaching career, he finished at or above .500. That streak finally broke in 1998, when the Chiefs finished at 7-9. After taking an analyst job at ESPN, he joined Washington for the 2001 season, was promptly fired, and joined the Chargers.
He won the Associated Press and PFW NFL Coach of the Year award in 2004 for his work in that 12-4 season. But the Chargers, who won the AFC West, lost to the New York Jets in the AFC Wild Card game.
His fifth and final season in San Diego proved to be the best regular season performance of his coaching career. The Chargers won the AFC West with a 14-2 record but lost to the New England Patriots in the AFC Divisional game.
Schottenheimer got his start as a linebacker, playing for the Buffalo Bills. He won an AFL Championship in Buffalo in 1965.
Schottenheimer had been moved to hospice care in late January, according to ESPN. He was surrounded by his family and is survived by his wife, Pat, and his children, Kristen and Brian.
Schottenheimer’s son, Brian, served as Washington’s quarterbacks coach in 2001 before moving on to the Chargers. He held the offensive coordinator position for the New York Jets, Rams and Seattle Seahawks in subsequent years, and he’s currently with the Jacksonville Jaguars as passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
“On behalf of the entire Washington Football Team we pass along our prayers and deepest sympathies and condolences to Pat, Kristen, Brian and the entire Schottenheimer family during this time,” the Snyders’ statement read.
• Andy Kostka can be reached at akostka@washingtontimes.com.
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