This definitely is a late move, but at least they still have a top HC option on the board in Ron Rivera. Schott will get a job as a top assistant somewhere (are there any OC holes open?) and then next offseason he'll be in the running for a HC or OC job again.
It was bound the happen. The guy was awful when it came down to winning in the postseason. His postseason record was like 5-14 I beleive.
Makes no sense, I thought they would have been smartest to fire him when they could have promoted Cameron or Phillips. Watch Carroll or Norm Chow become prime candidates.
Norm Chow is another legit candidate. That team has three huge coaching holes, but there are coaches still out there that fit them beautifully.
I'd find it hard to belive JR would go there based on what just happened to his dad... That would make for uncomfortable holidays
Just saw this on NFLN, can't believe it. I can understand why the chargers would do this, but why so late?
That's true but you never know. Marty could give Brian the go-ahead but I agree that it's unlikely. I was thinking about this and I bet the real reason the Chargers waited so long to fire Marty was so he couldn't get another head coaching job. They hated him in the front office from what I've read/heard. Ron Rivera is the obvious choice, even though I think he'll be a mediocre head coach. Norm Chow or Steve Mariucci would be disasters so I'll be rooting for them to get the job.
What a screwjob. They fired him and all of the other jobs are gone. He could of easily gotten Miami, Dallas, maybe Pittsburgh, but for sure the 1st two. Now what's he going to do? Coordinate or take a break? After losing a lot of their coaches, they could of just let him finish out the final year, he is better than anyone out there, unless Cowher or Parcells want to make a move, 99.9% unlikely. I'll throw Steve Mariucci in the mix.
I'm trying to remember the last time that a team went 14-2 and fired their coach. A few guys have resigned after that type of finish but getting fired? I think the timing of this bodes very poorly for everyone involved. Any step back next year will be laid at the feet of the front office, and from 14-2 it's going to be almost impossible not to step back next season. Because of the lateness of the firing the Chargers have already lost out on their best candidate and best chance at continuity in Cam Cameron. They've also lost out on Tomlin, who was the best young candidate out there. They go 9-7 next year, which they could easily have done with Marty at the helm, and everybody's first thought will be that firing a 14-2 coach was a bad idea.
not really. marty cost himself job security by declining extension. he was on a short leash, so at the first sign of trouble (which was bound to happen with smith)...
now he's basically being forced to take a break. Both he and SD are screwed. Marty should take a year off, collect a paycheck from SD, and then figure out what he wants to do for 2008. spanos described the relationship between marty and smith as "dysfunctional". schottenheimer's response was that "that's a pretty accurate description"
'Martyball' Era Ends in San Diego By BERNIE WILSON, AP Sports Writer Tue Feb 13, 0:30 AM San Diego Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer shouts instructions at ... SAN DIEGO - Marty Schottenheimer performed well enough to go 14-2 last season despite what team president Dean Spanos called a "dysfunctional situation" between the coach and his general manager. The relationship got so bad in the last month that Spanos fired Schottenheimer on Monday night, another shocking development for a team that thought it was Super Bowl-worthy but lost its playoff opener. Spanos said the exodus of assistant coaches _ the two coordinators became NFL head coaches and two assistants became coordinators _ contributed to a difficult situation that resulted in the coach being fired. Schottenheimer is due more than $3 million for the final year left on his contract. While confirming he had no working relationship with general manager A.J. Smith, Schottenheimer seemed puzzled that Spanos made the coach take the fall for his assistants leaving. "That is absolutely unfair, in my view," Schottenheimer told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "We had no control over two guys who became head coaches in this league. "We gave two guys an opportunity to be coordinators in this league. We've added a couple of guys that people should be very pleased with. The future coach will be very pleased, as well." Schottenheimer did praise Spanos, the son of team owner Alex Spanos, for making a difficult decision. "I don't disagree with it," the coach said. "I always put the team first." Asked if Smith should share the blame, Schottenheimer said: "Uh, I'll leave that judgment to others." Schottenheimer added: "There is and has been no relationship" with Smith. Since when? "How long's he been here?" Schottenheimer said. Smith was promoted in April 2003 after John Butler died of cancer. Schottenheimer tightened up the time frame a bit, saying: "In the last couple of years, there has been very little, if any, dialogue." It's believed that the Smith-Schottenheimer feud stems from personnel moves by the GM, including allowing Drew Brees to leave as a free agent a year ago after the quarterback hurt his shoulder in the 2005 season finale. "I have no idea," Schottenheimer said. "I've made inquiries about it on a number of occasions and he said, 'I don't want to talk about it.'" The firing was first reported by ESPN. Schottenheimer's dismissal came after all other NFL head coaching vacancies were filled. Dean Spanos, known to be close friends with former Dallas Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson, and Smith said they plan to move quickly on hiring a replacement. Smith said he had a list of candidates but refused to divulge names. Every time Schottenheimer's job appeared to be in jeopardy, Pete Carroll's name would pop up. Although Carroll has said he's committed to staying at Southern California, he met with Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga in early January. Carroll said then he was not offered the Miami coaching job, and stressed that he has never thought about leaving USC since arriving after the 2000 season. Spanos said in a statement that he had expected that the core of Schottenheimer's coaching staff would remain intact. "Events of the last month have now convinced me that it is not possible for our organization to function at a championship level under the current structure," Spanos said in a statement. "On the contrary, and in the plainest possible language, we have a dysfunctional situation here. Today I am resolving that situation once and for all." Defensive coordinator Wade Phillips was hired as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday. Offensive coordinator Cam Cameron was hired as head coach of the Miami Dolphins on Jan. 19. Tight ends coach Rob Chudzinski became Cleveland's offensive coordinator, and linebackers coach Greg Manusky was hired as San Francisco's defensive coordinator. Schottenheimer said last week that change was inevitable, but Smith sounded concerned about losing the coordinators, saying, "Both in the same year. Wow." Although Schottenheimer was given the power to hire and fire assistants, neither Spanos nor Smith provided specifics of what they kept referring to as an "untenable situation." "We both wanted to win a world championship very badly," Smith said during a conference call. "It's just that my approach might have been a little different than his." Spanos said disagreements over future staffing was "part of it. It's more the actual working relationship that's been difficult." Running backs coach Clarence Shelmon, who's never been a coordinator, was promoted to replace Cameron. Shelmon accepted only a one-year contract due to what had been Schottenheimer's lame-duck status. Three days after the 24-21 playoff loss to New England, Schottenheimer declined the team's offer of a $4.5 million, one-year extension through 2008, which came with a club-option $1 million buyout. Spanos and Smith seemed visibly angry that the coach turned them down. With a regular-season record of 200-126-1 with Cleveland, Kansas City, Washington and San Diego, Schottenheimer is the most successful coach never to have reached the Super Bowl. His 5-13 playoff record has taken on a life of its own. The loss to the Patriots was his sixth straight in the postseason dating to 1993, and the ninth time a Schottenheimer-coached team lost its opening playoff game. His teams have failed four times to capitalize on the home-field advantage that comes with owning the AFC's No. 1 seed. He was 47-33 in five seasons with the Chargers, including 35 wins and two AFC West titles in the last three seasons. Led by league MVP LaDainian Tomlinson, the Chargers were thought by many to be Super Bowl-caliber. But they had four turnovers and made numerous other mistakes in losing to the Patriots, their first defeat at home in the 2006 season. Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
We hired a complete unkown and it turned out well. Marty has underachieved with that group for 3 years now. Nobody knows what was going on behind the scene and what lead to this. When two people aren't getting along the fault is usually with both of them. You can't say that the personal moves in SD have been bad they certainly have been better than the coaching the last few years. If SD wins a couple of less regular season games and wins one playoff game, nobody will be second guessing this move. It looks pretty ugly at the moment but at the moment means exactly zip.
I find that guess pretty compelling. I can't believe that sucha well-run franchise would fire anyone without having a plan in place, no matter how dysfunctional the relationship was. As for Marty, I think the Chargers' loss this year is the perfect example of how a team is a reflection of its head coach. Shottenheimer just loses his shit when the stakes go up, he can't handle the pressure of big games, and it manifests itself in his team making stupid mistakes. I understand a lot of people will say that a man on the sideline can't cause a player to fumble, but I don't believe that's true.
