Legendary Coach Marty Schottenheimer Passes Away At Age 77

Marty Schottenheimer, one of the NFL's most accomplished coaches, has passed away at age 77 in hospice.

Coaching legend Marty Schottenheimer passed away peacefully on Tuesday at the age of 77 in a hospice after battling Alzheimer's for years. Schottenheimer has always been dinged for his postseason record, just 5-13, never having won the Super Bowl, but he was successful everywhere he went, able to lead three different NFL teams into the postseason including three trips to the AFC Championship between the Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs.

Schottenheimer lauded as a coach that could turn teams around, leading the Browns, Chiefs and the Chargers when they resided in San Diego to some of their most successful seasons in their respective histories. Schottenheimer's gift was also his curse as he was able to get more out teams than the talent would suggest and they often ran into better outfits in the playoffs.

Schottenheimer instilled toughness, played good defense and avoided mistakes, allowing themselves to rack up regular season wins. Tabbed as "Marty Ball" with a negative connotation, Schottenheimer got some undertalented teams into some big games and on two occasions, the Browns in 1987 and the Chargers in 2004, games were lost on fluke plays.

Where Schottenheimer never got enough credit was his work with quarterbacks. Between being a defensive head coach by trade and never dubbing himself a quarterback guru, his accomplishments with that position are largely ignored.

It started with Bernie Kosar with the Browns, but he coached Rich Gannon with the Chiefs before he went on to have incredible success with the Raiders when they were in Oakland as well as Drew Brees through the most difficult years of his career with the Chargers.

Schottenheimer benched Brees when he was with the Chargers. A move that Brees credited with changing his career.

"I sat back and I realized just how much pressure I was putting on myself, just how difficult I was making the game," Brees said. "'I can really simplify this game if I just relax and trust my instincts.' Because I've always been a bit of a feel player. So when I came back, I felt a big difference in just my approach and my poise and that kind of thing."

A competitive streak that goes back to his own career as a player in the AFL where he was part of the Buffalo Bills 1965 championship team, Schottenheimer wanted to be the best at everything. When he wasn't a coach, he was competitive in wanting to be a great analyst.

Schottenheimer also knew the value of a good story. Countless people have no idea what a gleam is, but it's one of the most recognizable and beloved concepts in Cleveland Browns history.

In all, Schottenheimer won 200 games as a head coach, had a 61 percent win rate, secured 13 division titles and had a winning record with three different teams. The only team Schottenheimer didn't have a winning record with was Washington, where he coached just one season in 2001. The team started 2-6, but was able to win six of their remaining eight games and owner Daniel Snyder fired him. Schottenheimer led the Chargers to a 47-33 record the proceeding five seasons while Snyder's team went 33-47.

The only thing longer than Schottenheimer's name is his lasting impact on the game of football, particularly for the teams and players he coached.