King Charger Dean Spanos fired Marty Schottenheimer on Monday night. He explained his decision by citing a "dysfunctional relationship" between Schottenheimer and GM A.J. Smith. It's interesting to me that grown men who are working together towards a shared goal can have differences so deep that they can't even function together. But apparently, one of them had to go, and it was bound to be Schottenheimer. It's not really a surprise that he was fired this offseason, though I thought it would be attributed to the playoff loss rather than a hissy-fit over personnel decisions that happened a few years ago.
I liked "Screamin' Marty" Schottenheimer (as my dad called him). He was a solid coach with a good track record in regular-season play who taught his players, if nothing else, class. But, I think it was the right decision to let him go, if for the wrong reasons. A team that has LaDainian Tomlinson, Shawne Merriman, Antonio Gates, and the rest of the AFC Pro Bowl team has no reason to look so out of place in the playoffs. The Chargers were made fools of in that game against the Patriots, and it's time for a new approach. For whatever reason, Marty Schottenheimer can't win in the playoffs. He might succumb under pressure, the football gods might hate him, or it might just be superstition. But in any event, if the Chargers want to win in the playoffs, they have to ditch good ol' Marty
I'm not sure exactly how much a coach matters to a team as talented as this one. There's not a lot that these guys can't handle. But seeing as how the Chargers coaching staff was essentially pillaged this offseason, I'm curious to see how the team responds next year. Hopefully L.T. won't be on the cover of the next Madden video game. If he does, maybe he can break the curse.
No matter what happens, whichever coach Spanos and Smith decide on will be inheriting the most talented team in the NFL, and shouldn't have to do too much to have success.
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