Marty Schottenheimer, former NFL coach who won over 200 regular season games, died Monday after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He was 77 years old. Schottenheimer was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2014 was recently moved to a hospice facility near his home in Charlotte, North Carolina. At the time, Schottenheimer was dealing with complications from the progressive brain disorder.
“We know he is looking down on us from heaven and smiling,” Schottenheimer’s daughter Kristen said in a statement. “We are so incredibly proud of the man he was and how he lived his life. Now more than ever, he would want us to do what he did best: put one foot in front of the other and keep grinding forward, to take care of each other and take care of business, to simply be good to people and love with every single fiber of your being to truly make the world a better place”
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Schottenheimer was a head coach for 21 seasons, spending time with the Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs, Washington and the former San Diego Chargers (now Los Angeles Chargers). He became the head coach of the Browns in 1984 after being the team’s defensive coordinator for nearly five seasons. In his four-and-a-half seasons as the head coach in Cleveland, Schottenheimer led the team to three division titles and two appearances in the AFC Championship.
In 1989, Schottenheimer became the head coach of the Chiefs and had more success. In 10 seasons, Schottenheimer won 101 games, two division titles and led the Chiefs to the AFC Championship game in 1993. After the 1998 season, Schottenheimer worked for ESPN for two years before becoming the head coach at Washington in 2001. He only lasted one season as he was fired after leading the team to an 8-8 record.
In 2002, Schottenheimer joined the Chargers and led the team to the playoffs two of his five seasons. His best season was his final one in the NFL (2006) posting a 14-2 record. The Chargers lost to the New England Patriots in the divisional round of the playoffs that year. In his NFL career, Schottenheimer recorded a 200-126-1 regular-season record. In the playoffs, Schottenheimer won five of his 21 games and never reached the Super Bowl.
