| Last week I went on and on about how Redskins
owner Daniel Snyder blew it when he dismissed Marty Schottenheimer. I still believe the
Redskins should have retained Schottenheimer as their head coach, considering that he
guided the team to a surprisingly strong finish. But now, Snyder has landed his latest
trophy — Steve Spurrier — and all is well in Washington. Good for Danny
Boy.
But Snyder’s actions very well could help another NFL team. By dumping
Schottenheimer, the coach is now free to shop himself around the NFL. From what I
understand, Schottenheimer was never in the running for the vacant jobs in Tampa Bay or
Indianapolis. There hasn’t been much interest from Carolina, either, despite the fact
that Schottenheimer owns a home near Charlotte.
But, the one team that I think Schottenheimer would be the perfect fit for — the
Chargers — is beginning to show some interest. It’s been reported that Chargers
GM John Butler is going to interview Schottenheimer in the very near future, possibly in
Las Vegas, where the Spanos family (owners of the team) have a home and some business
interests.
Schottenheimer would be the ideal coach in San Diego for a variety of reasons. First,
this guy is familiar with the AFC West. After all, he coached the Chiefs from 1989 to
1998. During that tenure, he was extremely successful, posting a 104-65-1 record. Despite
being out of the AFC West for three years, he still knows the landscape of the division,
knows the rivalries and some of the personnel. After the league undergoes its realignment
for the 2002 season, the Chargers will remain in the same division with its traditional
foes — the Chiefs, Raiders and Broncos.
Furthermore, the Chargers were a team that got a little soft under former head coach
Mike Riley. By all accounts, Riley was a very nice guy and a pretty good football coach.
But somehow, he didn’t know how to push the buttons of his players. He couldn’t
rile them up, get them to play nasty. Maybe that was his personality. Schottenheimer, on
the other hand, isn’t afraid to challenge his charges. He can get players up, ready
to play in a heartbeat.
He just did it in Week 17, when the Redskins were losing to the Cardinals. Apparently
at halftime, he kicked a couple of things and launched into his players, urging them to
play for pride. Even though the players had nothing to play for other than pride, they
responded and won the game.
The Chargers need a tough coach. They lost a lot of games in heartbreaking fashion in
the final seconds. Giving up leads is often attributed to being in poor condition or being
soft. Well, then, hire a taskmaster to make sure the team is in the right condition and
able to finish off games. The guy who can do that is Schottenheimer.
Sure, there are some veterans who might grumble about his physical practices in
training camp. But you know what? It has paid off for Schottenheimer in the past, and it
will pay off again. There were a lot of people who wondered if the NFL had passed him by
during his self-imposed retirement in 1999 and 2000. Well, it hasn’t. He made a few
mistakes early on during his tenure in Washington, and he admitted as much. I would
venture to guess that he learned a lesson or two, and won’t make the same mistake
again.
If he got the job in San Diego, I doubt he would attempt to teach Junior Seau how to
play linebacker, as he had tried to do with Darrell Green last training camp. He probably
won’t take it easier on veterans during camp, but at least he will explain to them
why he is working them so hard.
Given the fact that Schottenheimer may not be the best architect for building a team,
San Diego is an even better fit for him. While his refusal to give up the power to make
personnel decisions in Washington cost him his last job, he has said he’s not seeking
the same authority in his next gig. That, again, makes him a nice fit in San Diego, where
Butler is firmly entrenched as the personnel boss — and he’s a fine one at that.
Give Butler the opportunity to stock the roster, and let Schottenheimer coach it. I
think some very good things could result from such a relationship. |
