Matt Loede
Videos by OutKick
Longtime NFL insider Chris Mortensen reported early on Tuesday the passing of longtime NFL head coach Marty Schottenheimer. Schottenheimer passed away Monday at the age of 77 after battling Alzheimer’s the last seven years.
Schottenheimer was a head coach in the NFL for 21 seasons, coaching with the Cleveland Browns for five seasons, the Kansas City Chiefs for 10, the San Diego Chargers for five and the Washington Redskins for one.
He is best known as a great regular season coach who motivated his players to be better than they were. In 21 seasons, he went 200-126-1.
RIP to Marty Schottenheimer and prayers to his family. Schottenheimer died Monday at age 77; he was a longtime resident of Charlotte and a legendary NFL coach. From his family: pic.twitter.com/VZqtKjmNnT
— Scott Fowler (@scott_fowler) February 9, 2021
Despite excellent regular season performances, Schottenheimer struggled in the postseason, going just 5-13, and he will always be linked to two memorable playoff losses.
In “the Drive” of 1986, John Elway rallied Denver to beat Cleveland in overtime of the AFC Championship Game. The following year, there was “the Fumble,” a game in which running back Earnest Byner fumbled what looked to be a sure touchdown late in the AFC title loss in Denver.
Schottenheimer is survived by his wife of 54 years, Pat, his children Kristen and Brian, and grandchildren Brandon, Sutton, Savannah and Catherine.
Some of Schottenheimer’s former players have already taken to social media to pay their respects to their former coach.
🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾
— Eric Metcalf (@EricMetcalf21) February 9, 2021
So sad and heartbreaking. What a great human being and a special coach. Marty cared about people. He will be missed! 🙏
— Sean Salisbury (@SeanUnfiltered) February 9, 2021
MARTY!!!🙏🏽Thank you! pic.twitter.com/YfcpoZxnHg
— Earnest A. Byner (@EByner) February 4, 2021
Alzheimer’s is a bitch of a disease. I saw a person close to me suffer from early onset Alzheimer’s and it sucks ass. The sufferers brain literally stops sending signals to the rest of the bodily functions so you watch someone deteriorate before your eyes and they don’t even have any idea what is happening to them. Prayers for Marty Schottenheimer’s family.
It’s mercy. Looks like the family decided to keep the obit within the immediate family circle. (No mention of his child from Greg Hill’s girlfriend back in the 1990’s. Yeah, that’s how he lost his Chief’s team. Rule 1: Don’t mess with the players girlfriends. Rule 2: Don’t mess with the players girlfriends, and then, trade the player. You tend to lose you team’s trust.)