Marty Schottenheimer, who led Chiefs’ revival in 1990s as head coach, dies at age 77
Coach Marty Schottenheimer, who helped spearhead the revival of the Kansas City Chiefs in the 1990s and made Arrowhead Stadium one of the most intimidating venues in the National Football League, has died.
Schottenheimer, 77, died Monday night while in hospice care in Charlotte, North Carolina, after a six-year battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
“Martyball” captivated Kansas City as Schottenheimer took a downtrodden franchise and turned it into an AFC power while energizing a once-moribund fan base into one that would lead the NFL in attendance despite playing in one of the league’s smallest markets.
The Chiefs, who had been to the postseason just once in the previous 17 years before Schottenheimer came to Kansas City, went 101-58-1 with him as head coach from 1989-98, including seven playoff seasons, three AFC West Division championships and one AFC Championship Game appearance. Only San Francisco’s 123-37 record was better than Kansas City’s mark during Schottenheimer’s 10 seasons.
His 101 wins as the Chiefs coach rank second to Hank Stram’s 124 victories. Schottenheimer was inducted into the Chiefs Hall of Fame in 2010.
He is survived by his wife, Pat; a daughter, Kristen; a son, Brian, a longtime NFL assistant coach now with the Jacksonville Jaguars; and four grandchildren.
“Marty’s teams made Chiefs football a proud part of Kansas City’s identity once again, and the team’s resurgence forged a powerful bond with a new generation of fans who created the legendary homefield advantage at Arrowhead Stadium,” Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt said in a statement Tuesday morning that offered condolences to the Schottenheimer family.
Schottenheimer’s overall regular season record of 200-126-1 in 21 years with Cleveland, Kansas City, Washington and San Diego ranks eighth among NFL coaches in wins.
His Chiefs teams, much like Andy Reid’s current club, dominated the AFC West, especially the hated Raiders, whether they were in Oakland or Los Angeles. The Chiefs went 51-21 against the AFC West in the 1990s against arguably the league’s toughest division. That included a 17-2 record (including a playoff win) against the Raiders in the 1990s.
“Marty was big on fundamentals. We didn’t do a whole lot of schemes. We just did the things we did very well. People knew what we were going to do and how we were going to do it, but they still had to beat us,” former Chiefs cornerback Kevin Ross said. “He was very organized. Mental toughness, physical toughness he preached that a lot.
“He changed the atmosphere in Kansas City.”
Schottenheimer’s teams also took full advantage of the noise created by the fans at Arrowhead. The Chiefs were 40-8 at home from 1992-97, second only to Green Bay’s 42-6, including undefeated records at home in 1995 and 1997.
“Perhaps Marty’s greatest asset was his ability to meticulously put together every facet of the game, and get his players to trust him, and then buy into what Marty and his coaches were trying to accomplish” said former Chiefs president Carl Peterson, who took control of the front office in 1988 and hired Schottenheimer shortly after he had been dismissed by Cleveland owner Art Modell despite four straight playoff appearances.
“Marty was a superb football coach and was definitely a major cornerstone in our efforts to rebuild a very dormant NFL franchise.”
Despite his consistent record in the regular season, Schottenheimer was snakebit in the playoffs, where he was 5-13, including 3-7 with the Chiefs. He won the most NFL games as a coach without a Super Bowl appearance or NFL championship.
Schottenheimer directed the Browns to two AFC Championship Games, only to be victim of The Drive engineered by Denver’s John Elway in the 1986 title game and The Fumble by Earnest Byner in the 1987 title game at Denver.
Schottenheimer’s best chance at reaching the elusive Super Bowl with the Chiefs came in 1993 when they beat Pittsburgh and Houston in the playoffs but lost at Buffalo in a game in which quarterback Joe Montana suffered a game-ending concussion.
The Chiefs posted records of 13-3 in both 1995 and 1997 and had homefield advantage in the playoffs but lost their first postseason game each year. After a 7-9 season in 1998, Schottenheimer stepped away from the Chiefs and the NFL.
He returned in 2001 and spent one season at Washington, where some considered his 8-8 season — after a 0-5 start — one of the best coaching jobs of his career; and he coached San Diego from 2002-06. He was NFL coach of the year in 2004 and led the Chargers to an NFL-best 14-2 mark in 2006.
“The best coach I ever had. I never went into a game with Marty as coach feeling like I wasn’t fully prepared to win,” said Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson, a former Chargers running back.
Alas, the Chargers were beaten in their first 2006 playoff game 24-21 by New England after Chargers safety Marlon McCree lost a fumble by needlessly trying to return what would have been a game-clinching interception.
Though he left Kansas City after 1998 season, Schottenheimer always considered it the most special place he coached.
“The best 10 years of my life were in Kansas City,” Schottenheimer said after coaching the Chargers to a late 2004 win over the Chiefs. “Clearly to me, without question, it was the most satisfying and gratifying part of my coaching career was to be a Kansas City Chief.
“There’s hardly a day that goes by in my life when there isn’t some thought about the Chiefs and also the city of Kansas City and the way we were received,” he said during his Chiefs Ring of Honor induction. “Long-lasting, loving memories. The things we were able to achieve have brought to me great gratification and satisfaction.”
Martyball to Montana
The Chiefs went through two distinct periods during Schottenheimer’s 10 years in Kansas City.
His first teams during 1989-92 featured the power-running attack of Christian Okoye and Barry Word, the play-action passing of Steve DeBerg and devastating defenses led by linebacker Derrick Thomas, end Neil Smith, tackles Bill Maas, Dan Saleaumua and Joe Phillips and secondaries featuring Ross, Albert Lewis, Deron Cherry, Lloyd Burruss, James Hasty and Dale Carter.
Schottenheimer’s initial coaching staff in Kansas City included two future Hall of Fame head coaches and Super Bowl champions in Bill Cowher and Tony Dungy as well as Bruce Arians, who guided Tampa Bay to a Super Bowl LV victory against the Chiefs on Sunday. Joining Schottenheimer’s staff in 1993 was Mike McCarthy, who also won a Super Bowl as a head coach.
“It’s hard to put into words what Marty Schottenheimer meant to me,” Cowher said Tuesday. “I played for him, I coached for him. He mentored me at such a young age. He was an amazing coach, teacher and leader. I will always be indebted to the guidance and support he gave me. ...
“The NFL lost a legend but the good Lord has gained a leader. Marty, you say, ‘There’s a gleam, men,’ there is and it was always you.”
The system was called Martyball because of its low-risk, smashmouth style. Schottenheimer, who loved the teaching aspect of the game, stressed a strong running game; stopping the run; pressuring the passer and winning the turnover battle.
The Chiefs giveaway/takeaway differential from 1990-97 was plus-106, easily the best mark in the NFL. The New York Giants, at plus-68 were a distant second.
One of Schottenheimer’s mantras was “One Play at a Time.” If a ball was dropped or a tackle was missed, he had a singular message: Forget it and go on to the next play. You can’t do anything to change the previous play.
“Some things never change with that guy,” said linebacker Donnie Edwards, who was drafted by Schottenheimer in Kansas City in 1996 and joined him in San Diego as a free agent. “’One play at a time’ forever in my head will be linked to Marty Schottenheimer.”
He also stressed the Midnight Rule. Players and staff could celebrate victories until midnight on Sundays. Then, it was time to focus on the next week.
“Marty was a true leader of men during good times and bad. Both on the field and off you knew that Marty would be there for you,” former Chiefs center Tim Grunhard said.
Schottenheimer made a major change after playoff exits in 1990, 1991 and 1992. He decided, in his words, to “shed the mantle of conservatism” in 1993 and “go for chunks” by switching to the West Coast offense made popular by the San Francisco 49ers.
The Chiefs retooled their coaching staff, made a blockbuster trade with the 49ers for quarterback Montana and signed running back Marcus Allen as a free agent. The Chiefs advanced to the AFC Championship Game in 1993, losing at Buffalo; and lost to Dan Marino and Miami in the 1994 playoffs.
Montana retired in 1995, and his successor, Steve Bono led the Chiefs to a 13-3 record. But in the 1995 playoffs, Bono threw three interceptions, and coupled with three missed Lin Elliott field goals, Kansas City fell 10-7 to Indianapolis at Arrowhead. In 1997, another Chiefs 13-3 team fell in its first game to Denver as Schottenheimer, in one of his few miscalculations, reinstated a previously injured quarterback Elvis Grbac to the starting lineup instead of sticking with Rich Gannon, who went 5-1 down the stretch.
The Chiefs jumped to a 4-1 start in 1998, but in a desperate move to reach the Super Bowl, the Chiefs brought in some questionable characters and discipline devolved into the NFL’s most penalized team and a 7-9 record.
By then, Schottenheimer believed his message was getting old, and it was time for the Chiefs to make a change. His biggest regret was not winning a Super Bowl for owner Lamar Hunt and the 75,000-plus fans who packed Arrowhead Stadium.
When Peterson and Schottenheimer came to town, the Chiefs had about 21,000 season ticket holders. When a teary-eyed Schottenheimer spoke at a farewell news conference, the club had a waiting list for season tickets.
“See those seats?” Schottenheimer said at the Arrowhead Club, pointing toward a window. “All those people. You can’t buy that. The fans. The greatest fans. I always thought the Dawg Pound was pretty good when I was in Cleveland.
“But these people are the standard bearers … of the fans who make a difference That is clearly the greatest thing that I will remember about my time here.”
Schottenheimer coached three players who would go on to the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Thomas, his initial first-round pick in 1989; guard Will Shields and tight end Tony Gonzalez.
DeBerg, who was coached by Hall of Famers Tom Landry in Dallas, Bill Walsh in San Francisco and Don Shula in Miami, among others, considered Schottenheimer “the best coach I ever had.”
“He taught me more about the ‘entire’ game than anyone else as he had the unique ability to coach any position on the team. The man was a football genius,” DeBerg said.
His road to NFL coaching
Martin Edward Schottenheimer was born on Sept 23, 1943 in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. He was an honor student and football/basketball standout at Fort Cherry High School in McDonald, Pennsylvania. In addition to being an all-Western Pennsylvania linebacker, he played center for a state championship basketball team.
Schottenheimer went on to achieve all-America status at the University of Pittsburgh, played in the 1965 College All-Star Game and was selected in the fourth round of the 1965 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Colts and seventh round of the AFL draft by Buffalo.
He signed with the Bills and played for Buffalo from 1965-68 and the Boston Patriots in 1969-70.
Schottenheimer worked in real estate in the Denver area in the early 1970s before he resurfaced as a player with the Portland Storm of the World Football League in 1974. A shoulder injury ended his playing career for good, but he stayed on to coach the linebackers, and a year later, he joined the staff of the New York Giants.
Schottenheimer worked his way up to the Giants defensive coordinator in 1977, spent two years with Detroit and moved to Cleveland in 1980, first as a defensive assistant and eventually the head coach midway through the 1984 season.
When Cleveland’s Modell fired Schottenheimer after a 10-6 record despite losing three quarterbacks to injury, Peterson wasted little time bringing him to Kansas City.
“I hired Marty after his second interview,” Peterson said. “Some said at the time that the relationship would never last. However, it lasted for 10 years. Marty was exactly what I was looking for and Lamar Hunt concurred.”
Randy Covitz covered the NFL and the Chiefs for The Star from 1986-2015.
This story was originally published February 9, 2021 at 9:08 AM.