Whitlock - Marty loses super opportunity - Page 2

C-Mac · 02-14-2007, 07:39 AM

Marty loses super opportunity
JASON WHITLOCK
The Kansas City Star

Previous columns
Marty Schottenheimer isn’t likely to shed any tears over the unfairness of his dismissal as head coach of the San Diego Chargers.

Marty knows, better than most, that professional football is rarely fair.

So he’ll take his 200 victories and his 14-2 2006 regular-season record, and look for his next coaching opportunity without making much of a stink about Chargers general manager A.J. Smith dictating coaching decisions.

Nope. What will bring Marty to tears for the foreseeable future is the realization that he left another coach a Super Bowl-ready team. At age 63, Marty, in all likelihood, sabotaged his last and best chance to win a Super Bowl by attempting to hire his brother, Kurt, as defensive coordinator of the Chargers.

According to published reports in San Diego, Marty’s insistence on interviewing his brother to replace Wade Phillips pushed team president Dean Spanos to grant Smith’s wish of canning Marty.

Given Marty’s 2007 lame-duck status, it sort of made sense for Marty to want to fill his five-coaches-raided staff with people he could trust, people willing to walk the plank with Marty after the 2007 season. Going into the final year of his contract, who could Marty trust more than his brother, a man who owes his entire coaching career to Marty?

And given Marty’s hostile relationship with Smith, who beyond Kurt would be willing to join Marty in San Diego’s dysfunction?

This is going to haunt Marty Schottenheimer more than The Drive, The Fumble, Lin Elliott and Rich Gannon.

Marty coached very good teams in Cleveland and Kansas City, teams that could’ve won Super Bowls with the right breaks. In San Diego, Marty coached the league’s best team, a squad that should’ve won the Super Bowl.

Now someone else will get to direct LaDainian Tomlinson and Shawne Merriman, the league’s most dominating offensive and defensive players. Now someone else will finish what Marty started.

The Chargers are sitting in the same spot as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers five years ago after dismissing Tony Dungy. The Bucs had a veteran, ascending team ready to win a championship. They couldn’t afford to hire an unproven head coach. They needed a coach who could win now. They gave up a fortune to get Jon Gruden. He immediately took Tampa to the Super Bowl.

Who is that coach for the Chargers?

It’s complicated now because of the late date of Marty’s firing. Will the new coach have time to assemble a high-quality staff? The Chargers lost their offensive and defensive coordinators (Cam Cameron and Wade Phillips) earlier in the offseason.

The Chargers should think outside the box. I’d try to lure Dick Vermeil out of retirement for one year and pair him with Mike Singletary or Ron Rivera or Jim Caldwell or some other ascending assistant coach.

It would be a mistake to turn this team over to an inexperienced head coach. Has a rookie head coach ever won the Super Bowl? The goal in San Diego is to win Super Bowl XLII. A rookie or a well-traveled retread (Norv Turner) is unlikely to get the Chargers where they need to go in the AFC, which is home to the Colts, Patriots, Ravens, Steelers, Bengals and Jaguars, teams with enough talent to win it all.

The Colts, Patriots and Ravens are all led by previous Super Bowl winners.

What is next for Marty?

He won’t experience the same fate as Dungy, who quickly landed a dream gig with Peyton Manning, the league’s best quarterback, and Bill Polian, the league’s best general manager.

Dungy’s ego allows him to work for a control-freak GM. Dungy is content coaching and letting Polian handle personnel. Marty doesn’t work that way. Marty wants ultimate authority. He and Carl Peterson tangled over personnel.

Marty will land another coaching job. But he’ll never coach another team as talented as the one he leaves behind in San Diego. Monday’s events all but ensure that Marty Schottenheimer will never win a Super Bowl.

02-14-2007, 07:39 AM	Topic Starter
C-Mac Lurker Extraordinaire Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Wally World Casino cash: $-936301	Whitlock - Marty loses super opportunity Marty loses super opportunity JASON WHITLOCK The Kansas City Star Previous columns Marty Schottenheimer isn’t likely to shed any tears over the unfairness of his dismissal as head coach of the San Diego Chargers. Marty knows, better than most, that professional football is rarely fair. So he’ll take his 200 victories and his 14-2 2006 regular-season record, and look for his next coaching opportunity without making much of a stink about Chargers general manager A.J. Smith dictating coaching decisions. Nope. What will bring Marty to tears for the foreseeable future is the realization that he left another coach a Super Bowl-ready team. At age 63, Marty, in all likelihood, sabotaged his last and best chance to win a Super Bowl by attempting to hire his brother, Kurt, as defensive coordinator of the Chargers. According to published reports in San Diego, Marty’s insistence on interviewing his brother to replace Wade Phillips pushed team president Dean Spanos to grant Smith’s wish of canning Marty. Given Marty’s 2007 lame-duck status, it sort of made sense for Marty to want to fill his five-coaches-raided staff with people he could trust, people willing to walk the plank with Marty after the 2007 season. Going into the final year of his contract, who could Marty trust more than his brother, a man who owes his entire coaching career to Marty? And given Marty’s hostile relationship with Smith, who beyond Kurt would be willing to join Marty in San Diego’s dysfunction? This is going to haunt Marty Schottenheimer more than The Drive, The Fumble, Lin Elliott and Rich Gannon. Marty coached very good teams in Cleveland and Kansas City, teams that could’ve won Super Bowls with the right breaks. In San Diego, Marty coached the league’s best team, a squad that should’ve won the Super Bowl. Now someone else will get to direct LaDainian Tomlinson and Shawne Merriman, the league’s most dominating offensive and defensive players. Now someone else will finish what Marty started. The Chargers are sitting in the same spot as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers five years ago after dismissing Tony Dungy. The Bucs had a veteran, ascending team ready to win a championship. They couldn’t afford to hire an unproven head coach. They needed a coach who could win now. They gave up a fortune to get Jon Gruden. He immediately took Tampa to the Super Bowl. Who is that coach for the Chargers? It’s complicated now because of the late date of Marty’s firing. Will the new coach have time to assemble a high-quality staff? The Chargers lost their offensive and defensive coordinators (Cam Cameron and Wade Phillips) earlier in the offseason. The Chargers should think outside the box. I’d try to lure Dick Vermeil out of retirement for one year and pair him with Mike Singletary or Ron Rivera or Jim Caldwell or some other ascending assistant coach. It would be a mistake to turn this team over to an inexperienced head coach. Has a rookie head coach ever won the Super Bowl? The goal in San Diego is to win Super Bowl XLII. A rookie or a well-traveled retread (Norv Turner) is unlikely to get the Chargers where they need to go in the AFC, which is home to the Colts, Patriots, Ravens, Steelers, Bengals and Jaguars, teams with enough talent to win it all. The Colts, Patriots and Ravens are all led by previous Super Bowl winners. What is next for Marty? He won’t experience the same fate as Dungy, who quickly landed a dream gig with Peyton Manning, the league’s best quarterback, and Bill Polian, the league’s best general manager. Dungy’s ego allows him to work for a control-freak GM. Dungy is content coaching and letting Polian handle personnel. Marty doesn’t work that way. Marty wants ultimate authority. He and Carl Peterson tangled over personnel. Marty will land another coaching job. But he’ll never coach another team as talented as the one he leaves behind in San Diego. Monday’s events all but ensure that Marty Schottenheimer will never win a Super Bowl.
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