Former NFL coach Marty Schottenheimer died Monday after treating Alzheimer’s disease for several years. He was 77 years old.
Schottenheimer was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2014. On January 30, he was moved to a hospice center near his home in Charlotte, North Carolina, due to complications of progressive and irreversible brain disorder.
Schottenheimer coached for 21 seasons in the NFL, leading the Cleveland Browns, Kansas City, Washington and Chargers bosses.
He posted a 205-139-1 career record, including the playoffs, which took his teams to the postseason 13 times. Although Schottenheimer coached in three AFC Championship games, two with the Browns and one with the Chiefs, he never made a Super Bowl.
His career as an NFL coach ended in 2006 after a 14-2 season with the Chargers and an exit from the divisional round of the playoffs.
Hall of Fame runner LaDainian Tomlinson played for five seasons with Schottenheimer with the Chargers and called him “the best coach I’ve ever had.”
“I never got into a game with Marty as a coach who felt I wasn’t fully prepared to win,” Tomlinson said. “I wanted you to understand every detail of the game plan. I considered him a real American man. He was a great father figure and I was lucky that my wife and I knew him and him. [his wife] Pat beyond the typical player-coach relationship. He was a complete human being. He cared more about the man than the athlete. I will remember him more for the life lessons he taught me. “
Schottenheimer also played six seasons as a defender for Buffalo Bills (1965 to 1968) and Patriots (1969 to 1970).
He is survived by his wife, Pat, two children, Kristin and Brian, and four grandchildren.
Recently, Brian Schottenheimer reached an agreement to become the Jacksonville Jaguars passing game coordinator, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter, after serving as the Seattle Seahawks’ offensive coordinator.
“We know he looks at us from the sky and smiles,” his daughter said. “We are very proud of the man he was and how he lived his life.”