Bolts should axe overrated Schottenheimer

By Connor Byrne  |   Monday, January 15, 2007  |  Comments( 8 )

San Diego Chargers
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Over the course of his 21 seasons as an NFL head coach with the Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs, Washington Redskins and San Diego Chargers, Marty Schottenheimer has always been capable of getting teams to the playoffs. Unfortunately for the 63-year-old, championships have proven far too elusive for him.

This past season was no different. Even though Schottenheimer's 14-2 Chargers were the league's best team during the regular season, they failed to close the deal. The LaDainian Tomlinson-led Bolts were eliminated by the less talented New England Patriots in Sunday's AFC Divisional Round in a 24-21 thriller.

Since the Chargers' heart-wrenching loss, speculation has run rampant on the future of Schottenheimer. San Diego's general manager, A.J. Smith, hasn't tried to mask the fact that he and Schottenheimer don't get along. They spoke twice in 2006. Prior to that, they hadn't conversed in nearly five years.

Frankly, Schottenheimer should be fired by the franchise. There's simply no excuse for dominating during the regular season and earning a first-round postseason bye in the process, only to fold when it matters most. It's something Schottenheimer-led teams have done in Cleveland and Kansas City, too, in various parts of the past three decades.

While it's true Schottenheimer wasn't on the field dropping passes and taking boneheaded penalties in the Chargers' home defeat to the Pats, it's a fact that he did make some bad decisions.

The first came on the team's third offensive drive of the afternoon in the opening quarter. With the game still scoreless, the Chargers were faced with a fourth-and-11 at their own 30-yard line. Instead of sending out one of the league's top kickers, Nate Kaeding, for a 47-yard attempt, the normally conservative Schottenheimer inexplicably opted to go for a first down. Quarterback Philip Rivers dropped back to pass and was sacked by New England linebacker Mike Vrabel, leading to a momentum-changing turnover on downs. Had Schottenheimer elected to kick and Kaeding had made it, those three points would have made a crucial difference in the outcome.

Schottenheimer's second fatal error occurred in the final seven minutes of the contest. It appeared the Chargers would knock off the three-time champion Patriots at the time. Tom Brady and Co. were faced with a fourth-and-5 play and an eight-point deficit. No way the Chargers could screw this up, right? Well, they did. Brady was intercepted by San Diego's Marlon McCree, but he had the ball stripped from him by Patriots wide receiver Troy Brown, who recovered and gave New England a new set of downs in the process.

As if that play wasn't bad enough, Schottenheimer furthered the blow by wasting a challenge on it. He had the refs see if the ball was ever controlled by McCree, which it clearly was. The Chargers lost the challenge, leading to a timeout gone down the drain. And on their final drive of the contest, the timeout-less Bolts could have used a game stoppage. Instead, because Schottenheimer threw it away, the team ran out of time at the end.

When it comes to the regular season, few coaches are finer than Schottenheimer. The ex-pro linebacker has won a jaw-dropping 200 non-playoff games, which is good enough for fifth all-time. Once the postseason rolls around, though, he's a different coach. Having a 5-13 playoff record is no accident. Marty Schottenheimer isn't a championship-caliber head coach, nor will he ever be.

As of now, his fate lies in the hands not of A.J. Smith, but Chargers CEO Dean Spanos. That may prove to be Schottenheimer's saving grace. If not, expect him to hit the unemployment line, then quickly land on his feet with yet another soon-to-be frustrated franchise.

What will San Diego do? Move on, likely with defensive guru Wade Phillips at the helm. It's for the best.

cbyrne@realfootball365.com.
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