Curious Case of The Schottenheimer

You know, I guess this really isn’t a good time to be a Head Coach in Sports anymore. Well, check that...maybe it is, I don’t know. I always thought that my business (TV) was wacky, crazy and didn’t make any sense, but geez…Coaching takes it to a whole different level.

Curious Case of The Schottenheimer

Okay, anyone who thinks that the owner and the General Manager of the San Diego Chargers are idiots, please raise their hands. They just fired, well after the “Coaching Carousel” came to a halt, a head coach who basically rebuilt a struggling, moribund franchise and made it one of the most exciting in football.

I’ll grant you “Marty’s Curse” otherwise known as the playoffs, probably factored into things but come on…this just reeks of stupid. This was done after roughly 65% of the Coaching Staff found other jobs. Charger Owner Dean Spanos blamed that as a “Primary” reason for the change. Come on “DEAN”…are you really that stupid? Did you ever think that the coaches left…because they got better opportunities? Gosh, maybe Cam Cameron or Wade Phillips would stay out of the kindness of their hearts instead of…oh…taking Head Coaching jobs. Come to think of it…Rob Chudzinski and most of the others got promotions too. But no…in Dean’s world that meant that his coach (Marty) had problems.

Another part of this apparently was the team General Manager…A.J. Smith. Apparently, he felt, the rebuilt Chargers were all his doing. He and Schottenheimer feuded…sometimes publicly on personnel and other issues. Okay, great – it’s not like that doesn’t happen with other teams. But apparently, he couldn’t exist with someone who didn’t think he could be “The Man.”

Act Like Grownups…

Never let it be said that those in Football management always act like adults. They don’t. With these folks, you are dealing with egos that sometimes are too big for the stadiums that they play in. They truly believe if they’ve had “any” success…that it was from their genius. Yeah…right.

The Curious Case of the Schottenheimer boils down to this: Ego. In the long run…Marty will be fine, in fact, probably better off. The Chargers…not so much. Sure, they’ll find someone to coach LaDanian Tomlinson and their other stars, but I’m betting they won’t be as successful. I mean come on…who’s left to Coach these guys…Norv Turner? (Webmaster's Note: This was written on February 13. I've been swamped and haven't posted it. Phil is our resident Carnak.)

--Phil Cantor

“The Time has Come, my song is over, thought I’d something more to say” Time- (Pink Floyd)