A long, long, long time ago, Marty Schottenheimer said his father taught him a very important lesson.
“Nobody knows what it’s like to do what you do unless they walk in your shoes,” the San Diego Chargers coach said, expressing a sentiment that is as true today, on the eve of the second round of the NFL playoffs, as it was so many years ago.
Of the eight men leading teams into the conference semifinals, it is true none has trod across the path traversed by Schottenheimer. Sunday’s contest against New England will be the 63-year-old’s 18th postseason game as a head coach – more than any other remaining coach, save Seattle’s Mike Holmgren.
But Schottenheimer’s postseason record – 5-12 with five consecutive losses – gives one pause when trying to assess the Super Bowl chances of the Chargers, who finished the regular season with the NFL’s best record (14-2).
No such questions are being asked in other playoff cities. But, of course, Holmgren has won a Super Bowl. And Schottenheimer’s opponent Sunday at Qualcomm Stadium, Bill Belichick, has won three. Baltimore’s Brian Billick, a possible foe in next week’s AFC championship game, has hoisted the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Philadelphia’s Andy Reid has gotten to the sport’s ultimate game.
Look past second-year coach Lovie Smith, whose Chicago Bears will be playing only their second playoff game under his watch, and New Orleans rookie head coach Sean Payton, and that leaves Indianapolis’ Tony Dungy. And while it’s fair to say the Colts haven’t lived up to their sizable potential in the postseason, failing to reach the Super Bowl during his tenure, Dungy does have six playoff victories, one more than Schottenheimer.
One would think Chargers fans should be confident. The team has home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. They have the league’s most valuable player, record-setting running back LaDainian Tomlinson, four other all-pro players and a defense that ranked seventh against the run and seventh in points allowed.
And yet…
“Until proven otherwise, I still believe Philip Rivers, a young QB with zero playoff experience, will pull the sheets off the dreaded playoff strategy otherwise known as Martyball. You gotta be aggressive in the playoffs, and until I see otherwise, 21 years as a head coach tells me Schottenheimer can’t handle that.”
– Fan posting on Chargers.com.
The posting is typical of the angst that has enveloped the region like a morning fog off the Pacific Ocean, an anxiety that might be surprising given the team’s 8-0 record at home this season. However, those whose memories go back a little further than L.T.’s most recent TD dash recoil at the thought of the team’s previous home postseason game, a 20-17 overtime loss to the New York Jets a little more than two years ago.
In that game, the Chargers infamously played from ahead, going conservative after taking a 7-0 lead. The tableau was just the latest incidence of a philosophy that fostered the condemnable term. Martyball seemed to continue apace earlier in the season, when Rivers, a first-time starter, took over at quarterback.
In a 16-13 Week 4 loss to Baltimore, the Chargers threw the ball only eight times in the second half, but Schottenheimer insisted he was willing to do whatever it took to win.
Now, others admit the coach has been true to his word.
“From what I’ve seen, he’s been more hands-off, letting (offensive and defensive coordinators) Cam Cameron and Wade Phillips do their thing,” Kansas City Chiefs general manager Carl Peterson said. “I think their performance this year has been reflective of that. I don’t think Marty will change that in the playoffs.”
Perhaps the best evidence of Schotten- heimer’s willingness to let go of the reins came in the Chargers’ 48-20 victory over the Broncos last month. Ahead 7-0 late in the first quarter, with the ball at the Denver 4-yard-line, Cameron called for a version of the “Fumblerooski,” with fullback Lorenzo Neal scoring.
At the time, Schottenheimer told the San Diego Union-Tribune, he thought Cameron and the offense were “out of our minds” – but he didn’t overrule the call.
“When you’ve got two guys as good as these two guys, you know – you spend time with them during the week in the preparation – but you try not to interfere,” Schottenheimer told the newspaper.
Peterson hired Schottenheimer as the Chiefs’ coach in 1989, the start of a 10-year run that saw the team reach the playoffs seven times. However, Kansas City reached the AFC championship game only once in that span, losing to Buffalo after the 1993 season.
That, combined with the heartbreaking losses to Denver in 1987 and 1988 while coaching the Cleveland Browns, and the current losing streak, have caused some to wonder whether Schottenheimer will reach the Super Bowl, let alone win it.
Others point out the likes of Pittsburgh’s Bill Cowher, initially a Schottenheimer hire as an assistant in K.C. before beginning his 15-year run in Pittsburgh. That tenure included a Super Bowl victory last season before he retired at the end of this season.
“You look at Bill, or even Dean Smith or Roy Williams in college basketball,” Peterson said. “Supposedly they couldn’t win the big one either, but they did. I just think if you keep knocking on that door enough, it’s going to open. He’s done that through the years. He just hasn’t been able to get across the threshold.”
Staff writer Anthony Cottoncan be reached at 303-954-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com.
The trials of Marty
San Diego’s Marty Schottenheimer has a career playoff record of 5-12, including five consecutive losses. Some of those defeats have been especially painful, costing the coach a chance at the Super Bowl or snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. NFL reporter Anthony Cotton takes a look at some of the lowlights:
Jan. 11, 1987
DENVER 23, CLEVELAND 20, OT
AFC championship game
Schottenheimer’s Browns led 20-13 and had the Broncos pinned inside their 2-yard line with 5:32 to play. Behind John Elway, Denver then drove the length of the field, converting three third downs, and eventually scoring the tying touchdown on a 5-yard pass from Elway to Mark Jackson with 31 seconds left. The Broncos then won on their first possession in overtime.
Jan. 17, 1988
DENVER 38, CLEVELAND 33
AFC championship game
This time, the Browns were making the desperate comeback, overcoming a 21-3 halftime deficit. Trailing 38-31 with five minutes to play, Cleveland drove to the Broncos’ 3-yard line. On a draw play, Browns running back Earnest Byner was stripped of the football by Jeremiah Castille. Denver recovered and held on for the victory.
Jan. 23, 1994
BUFFALO 30, KANSAS CITY 13
AFC championship game
Running back Thurman Thomas rushed for 186 yards and scored three touchdowns in a game in which the Bills took a 20-6 halftime lead and never were really threatened. Despite the presence of two eventual Hall of Famers, Joe Montana and Marcus Allen, the Chiefs could score only one touchdown.
Jan. 8, 2005
NEW YORK JETS 20, SAN DIEGO 17
AFC wild-card game
In his most recent postseason appearance, fate finally seemed ready to smile on Schottenheimer. The Chargers had failed to score a game-tying touchdown in the final 30 seconds of play, but got another chance on a Jets penalty. The resulting score sent the game into overtime. However, the Chargers missed a 40-yard attempt, and the Jets responded by marching for a game-winning 28-yard kick.
