Marty Fired!

[Merlin]

I am not a Chargers "Fan" but I have never had anything against them. I also enjoyed the Dan Fouts era immensely. I like Tomlinson and it seems to me to be a classy organization. Bill Cowher needed a lot of playoff games and a couple of super bowls (and some luck) to finally win one. Was he a horrible coach? No. Marty has done a very good job with several organizations unlike Cowher who was with just one as far as I remember. Firing him to me seems like a pissing in the snow contest. Someone got their panties in a bunch. If he wasn't a good coach, why is he so successful? Even Mike Holmgren is 1-2 in the super bowl with numerous disastrous playoff defeats.

I agree that the wrong Schottenheimer got fired.

HIS NAME IS KURT DAMNIT!

[theeaterofshades]

Hopefully another team will make a last minute firing, hire Marty, and he can still bring Kurt along with him... PLEASE!

[mraynrand]

If it was so easy to get to and win SB's why hasn't Parcells done it again?

The final analysis on Parcells will ultimately be that he couldn't win without Belechick. Period. He NEVER won the SB without B.B. - Belichick designed the defenses that stifled great offenses - S.F. and Buffalo in the SB (that was a great scheme, BTW, if you have a chance to watch that game - like Penn State beating Miami in '87). Belechick could very well be the all time best coach EVER - hell, he can win even when humping the married secretary. Bottom line - Parcells was no better in Dallas than Mike Sherman in GB, and B.B. and Lombardi could duke it out for best NFL coach EVER.

[hoosier]

If it was so easy to get to and win SB's why hasn't Parcells done it again?

The final analysis on Parcells will ultimately be that he couldn't win without Belechick. Period. He NEVER won the SB without B.B. - Belichick designed the defenses that stifled great offenses - S.F. and Buffalo in the SB (that was a great scheme, BTW, if you have a chance to watch that game - like Penn State beating Miami in '87). Belechick could very well be the all time best coach EVER - hell, he can win even when humping the married secretary. Bottom line - Parcells was no better in Dallas than Mike Sherman in GB, and B.B. and Lombardi could duke it out for best NFL coach EVER.

Didn't Parcells win in NY before the real Bill came along?

[KYPack]

Pretend you are a team owner,
President,
Or beleaguered GM, (think Millen, no, don’t think Millen) on a consistently losing NFL Franchise

One of ‘em has got to do it.

Hire Marty. He'll turn your pathetic team around. Run off the underachievers. Get aggressive players who want to win. Get 'em in shape and hit anything that moves. Play tough ball and never quit. Run the football and play sound defense.

And that team will win.

And make the play-offs. Marty doesn't know how to coach in the play-offs. So the team will lose to a team with a lesser record in the first (or maybe second if yer lucky) round.

So what you gotta do is fire Marty the day after you qualify for the play-offs. The entire league will proclaim you a traitorous fool. But you will be making the proper move. M Schott is a great coach to turn a team into a winner, but he is lost in post-season play. So hire a Parcells-type guy as a consultant, let him lay in the weeds all year, then plug him in come play-off time.

If it fails, you will be fired and proclaimed a fool. If it works, you will be considered a genius, probably your only chance to make that status.

If you are a bewildered GM, what to you have to lose?

[wist43]

If I were the GM of a franchise that is just beginning the rebuilding process, I would hire Schottenheimer in a minute.

But his track record says he can only get you so far... let him rebuild the team, then move on after he invariably fails in the playoffs.

As far as rebuilding though... Schottenheimer would be a great choice.

[swede]

I began to compare Sherman to Schottenheimer when it seemed apparent that Sherman was skilled at compiling a .750 regular season record but poor at preparing his teams for the playoffs.

Schottenheimer seems like a fine coach. I'd be more prepared to accept him as a head coach now (after the SD stint) than I would have before. If his staff hadn't fallen apart he'd still have a job and they'd be contenders.

How sad for San Diego. They had a good thing rolling and now the whole coaching staff is Schott to hell.

Unless the Carroll thing has some truth to it they will have slim pickings for coaching candidates.

[prsnfoto]

If I were the GM of a franchise that is just beginning the rebuilding process, I would hire Schottenheimer in a minute.

But his track record says he can only get you so far... let him rebuild the team, then move on after he invariably fails in the playoffs.

As far as rebuilding though... Schottenheimer would be a great choice.

I understand what you are saying but is Tony Dungy a failure and fired if he didn't win this year the Colts have been a regular season powerhouse and favorite for like five years now. A lot has to fall in place to get to the SB had he not run into BB he probably would've won this year. It would be a different story if he would've went 14-2 in the NFC and not got there, the more I think about it Fire Lovie.

[mraynrand]

Didn't Parcells win in NY before the real Bill came along?

Nope. from the official Belichick biography (minus the sex):

"In 1979, Belichick joined Ray Perkins' staff with the New York Giants as a defensive assistant and special teams coach, launching a 12-year tenure with the Giants. After the 1980 campaign, he drew the added responsibility of coaching the Giants linebackers. In 1983, he began coordinating the defense on Bill Parcells' staff and continued coaching the linebackers, a unit that would become known as one of the most dominant groups of all-time. He was officially appointed defensive coordinator in 1985, a position he held for the next six seasons. During his time as the Giants' defensive signal caller, his units were never ranked lower than 11th in the NFL and finished as high as second in the league three times, including the Super Bowl seasons of 1986 and 1990. His contributions with the Giants throughout the 1980s brought him national recognition as one of the best young assistant coaches in the NFL. His reward came just nine days after Super Bowl XXV when the Cleveland Browns hired him as their head coach."
------------------

In summary: Belichick is the reason for Parcell's success. Parcells won nothing without Bill Belichick.

[wist43]

Some are bringing up Shula, Landry, Dungy, et al... as examples of coaches who initially failed, but then ultimately won the big one...

I don't put Schottenheimer in their company... Schottenheimer is in a catagory all by himself - and his history doesn't run over a couple of year period - it runs over decades.

Schottenheimer simply doesn't have the psychological makeup, or game day skills required to win the big one - I think he's proven that over the course of 25 years.

I don't know what it is about him... he seems like he would be a solid leader, he's smart, he knows football inside and out - it's just one of those inexplicable things.

[digitaldean]

Packersnews.com has a report saying that Marty was fired due to his wanting to fire brother Kurt!

If only the GM and owner were on vacation, we could've been rid of him!
______
Report: Schottenheimer fired over plans to hire brother

Press-Gazette

Wondering why the San Diego Chargers so abruptly fired coach Marty Schottenheimer on Monday? He tried to hire his brother, Kurt — the Green Bay Packers’ defensive backs coach — as defensive coordinator.

That was the last straw for owner Alex Spanos and General Manager A.J. Smith, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported today.

In a meeting early Monday afternoon, they told Schottenheimer they didn’t approve of his plans to interview his brother. Schottenheimer, in turn, insisted he could hire his staff as he saw fit.

Shortly before 5 p.m. Monday, Spanos fired Schottenheimer, who wasn’t getting along with Smith.

Since the end of a season in which they went 14-2 and won the AFC West but lost at home in their first playoff game, the Chargers have lost their offensive and defensive coordinators, their linebackers and tight ends coaches and their assistant strength and conditioning coach.

Kurt Schottenheimer, often criticized for his unit’s performance, is going into his third season with the Packers. He spent the 2004 season in Green Bay, then was fired by former coach Mike Sherman, then was rehired by new coach Mike McCarthy last season.
______

http://www.packersnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070213/PKR01/70213086/1989

[mraynrand]

"His reward came just nine days after Super Bowl XXV when the Cleveland Browns hired him as their head coach"

I thought someone might read this line and find it funny. When I moved to Cleveland I thought I was being punished.

[KYPack]

Some are bringing up Shula, Landry, Dungy, et al... as examples of coaches who initially failed, but then ultimately won the big one...

I don't put Schottenheimer in their company... Schottenheimer is in a catagory all by himself - and his history doesn't run over a couple of year period - it runs over decades.

Schottenheimer simply doesn't have the psychological makeup, or game day skills required to win the big one - I think he's proven that over the course of 25 years.

I don't know what it is about him... he seems like he would be a solid leader, he's smart, he knows football inside and out - it's just one of those inexplicable things.

Marty is too consistent.

The guys that win in the play-offs adjust the teams focus and game planning of their teams. Schottenheimer doesn't have that in his make-up. The other coaches know exactly what he's gonna do and outflank him.

There are other coaches that fall into this category. Great during the season, but they are not play-off guys.

Chuck Knox
Jerry Glanville
Jim Mora
Mike Sherman
Marty

Good coaches, but not play-off coaches.

[ND72]

I think it's funny that part of the reason the Chargers decided to fire Marty, was his desire to have his Brother Kurt as his Defensive Coordinator....DAMN YOU SAN DIEGO...

[GBRulz]

ND, those were my exact thoughts as I read that.... "DAMN YOU SAN DIEGO"