Former #Chiefs Otis Taylor, Carl Peterson, Marty Schottenheimer and Lloyd Wells will have to wait another year for their shot at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 12-person committee has trimmed their list of senior, coaching and contributor candidates down to 24 finalists for the 2023 class. Unfortunately, no former Kansas City Chiefs advanced to the finalist round of voting.
Former Chiefs WR Otis Taylor, GM Carl Peterson, HC Marty Schottenheimer and scout Lloyd Wells each made it through to the semifinalist round, but they advanced no further. Ken Anderson, Maxie Baughan, Randy Gradishar, Chuck Howley, Cecil Isbell, Joe Klecko, Bob Kuechenberg, Eddie Meador, Tommy Nobis, Ken Riley, Sterling Sharpe and Everson Walls made it through for the senior category. Roone Arledge, Don Coryell, Mike Holmgren, Frank “Bucko” Kilroy, Robert Kraft, Art Modell, Buddy Parker, Dan Reeves, Art Rooney Jr., Mike Shanahan, Clark Shaughnessy and John Wooten made it through for the coaching/contributor category.
Many were hoping that this would be the year that Taylor became the 11th member of the Super Bowl IV team enshrined in the hallowed halls of Canton, Ohio. This year’s class was special because it gave Taylor his best chance yet, with up to three senior players being inducted.
As for the coaching/contributor class, Wells is long overdue for induction as the first full-time Black scout in professional football. His work bringing HBCU players into the fold in Kansas City helped the team to its early success.
There was also some support for the late Marty Schottenheimer to go in this year, but with such a backlog in the coaching/contributor category, it could be a long time before we see his induction.
3 former #Chiefs have been chosen as coaching/contributor semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2023.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame has announced 29 semifinalists in the coaching/contributor category for the 2023 class. A total of three former members of the Kansas City Chiefs have made it through to the semifinalist round. It’s a diverse group with a head coach, general manager and a scout all up for enshrinement in this particular category. The coach/contributor committee will reconvene on July 27 to choose 12 finalist candidates from this group of 29 semifinalists.
Here’s a quick glance at each of the three former Chiefs that have made it to the semifinalist round:
Why were obituaries for Marion Barber, Dwayne Haskins, and Marty Schottenheimer so unfeeling? We must understand life beyond the field.
On Wednesday, former Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears running back Marion Barber III was found dead in his Frisco, Texas apartment. Barber was just 38 years old. The cause of Barber’s death is unknown at this time, but it’s certainly tragic when anybody dies that young. The resulting obituaries should be handled with sensitivity and grace, and you’d think major news outlets would understand that.
Sadly, this is not always the case. ABC News, who repurposed the Associated Press’ report on Barber’s death via syndication, put this tweet out to link to the story.
What Barber’s yearly yardage totals from 2005 through 2011 had to do with his death is also unknown. But if we want to drill down there, Barber never had more than 238 carries in a season, and he gained at least 885 yards in three different seasons — 885 in 2008, 932 in 2009, and 975 in 2007.
But again, why are we making this part of Barber’s life a headline after his death? Barber was also named to the Pro Bowl in 2007, and he was one of the NFL’s more dominant power runners for a few seasons. Why go where ABC News did?
It’s not the only recent example of a football player receiving inappropriate biographical context upon his passing. When former NFL quarterback Dwayne Haskins was killed at age 24 after he was hit by a truck in Florida on April 9, 2022, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted this:
Is it true that Haskins struggled with two NFL teams after his time at Ohio State? Yes. Is it appropriate to lead a summary of Haskins’ life with those facts? Let’s just say that we should be able to do better. Schefter eventually apologized for the tweet, but the overriding issue remains: When did we decide that leading with somebody’s most prominent struggles was the best way to encapsulate their life upon their death?
When former AFL linebacker and NFL head coach Marty Schottenheimer died on February 8, 2021 at age 77 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease, the Washington Post decided to lead Schottenheimer’s obituary with this headline:
The Post changed the headline after the newspaper was justifiably obliterated in the court of public opinion, but under whose watch did this even happen in the first place? Schottenheimer ranks eighth in pro football history as a head coach with 200 regular-season wins. He was also a one-time Pro Bowler as a linebacker for the Buffalo Bills, for whom helped win the AFL title in his rookie season of 1964. Yes, his 5-12 postseason record is noteworthy, but must we lead with it? Is that all there is to Marty Schottenheimer’s life, especially in an era where we’re far more prone to reading the headline from a tweet as opposed to reading the entire story? Editors must be aware of this reality, they must act accordingly, and they must certainly avoid creating clickbait headlines after somebody dies.
The New York Timespublished an anthology of its most legendary obituaries in 2016, and you can see how these things are supposed to be done. Even the obit for Princess Diana — “Princess Diana, Who Was Beloved, Yet Troubled by Her Crown” — gives you a more complete picture of her life than a simple shot across the bow.
Football is a game in which its purveyors are defined to a large degree by their statistical achievements. That’s entirely fair, but it should not travel with those who have left us… as they leave us. If sports departments don’t know how to write obituaries, they should take some time to learn, or hand the job off to those who know better.
This 2022 offseason the Washington Commanders have traded two third-round draft choices (one most likely to become a second-round choice) to the Indianapolis Colts for quarterback Carson Wentz.
Another time Washington traded for a big name, also giving up two third-round choices was in 2001. That was so long ago, I was still in my late 20’s.
To launch the new year (2001), owner Daniel Snyder had a big announcement for January 3. Sure enough, Washington had traded two third-round choices to the Kansas City Chiefs. Whom did Washington get in return? 57-year-old new head coach, Marty Schottenheimer.
After leading the Cleveland Browns to consecutive AFC Championship game losses in the 1986 and ’87 seasons, Schottenheimer coached the Chiefs (1989-1998), leading the Chiefs to the AFC Playoffs 7 times and the AFC Championship Game once (1993). His last season as head coach of the Chiefs was 1998 when he resigned after going 7-9 (his only losing season in KC).
The next two NFL seasons found Schottenheimer at ESPN providing NFL commentary. When Washington owner Daniel Snyder came calling, to hire his new head coach, Kansas City was owed compensation, so Washington sent its 2001 and 2002 third-round picks to the Chiefs.
The Chiefs selected Marvin “Snoop” Minnis (77 overall) in 2001 and traded the pick which became Lamar Gordon (84 overall) in 2002 to the Cardinals. Minnis a receiver out of Florida State only experienced the NFL for two seasons, catching 34 passes and one touchdown. Gordon bounced around playing on four teams in five NFL seasons, starting only 15 games while rushing for three touchdowns.
Schottenheimer came in running a tight ship, a grueling training camp and several veterans were not pleased, Jeff George seemed to provide no team leadership, the team started 0-5 and Marty abruptly cut George.
Washington rebounded winning 8 of their final 11 games, finishing 8-8. What had started as a disaster ended well. Or did it? Snyder then determined he needed to hire a GM to handle personnel and limit Marty to coaching the football team. Marty and Snyder did not agree on this, and Marty was fired after only one season in Washington.
Former #Chiefs DC Bill Cowher is now a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and he thanked the late Marty Schottenheimer in his enshrinement speech.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOWkPcSS2I4
Former Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Bill Cowher is now a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Cowher, who coached a dominant defense in Kansas City from 1989-1991, had his Hall of Fame enshrinement on Saturday night. He coached Chiefs greats like Derrick Thomas, Neil Smith, Kevin Ross, Albert Lewis, Deron Cherry and more. After his stint in Kansas City, Cowher went on to become the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He occupied that role for 15 years, winning two AFC titles and Super Bowl XL with the team.
Cowher claims he couldn’t have done any of it without the tutelage of late Chiefs HC Marty Schottenheimer. Cowher eulogized Schottenheimer during his speech. Cowher thanked Schottenheimer for everything that he taught him about being a coach and helping to shape him into the man he is today.
“Two individuals have shaped and molded me into the man I am today,” Cowher said. “First, Marty Schottenheimer, the only head coach I have ever worked for. He taught me how to play into coaching when I had never coached before. He gave me the opportunity to be a defensive coordinator when I had never done it before. As a head coach, he won over 200 games in over 20 seasons. He had 14 assistant coaches go on to become NFL head coaches, four of which who have won a Super Bowl. He was a master motivator, a stickler to detail and for him, it all started with preparation. This man has not only influenced the game, but he’s influenced anyone who has ever played for him, coached with him or coached against him. I speak on behalf of many: Thank you coach, you did so much for so many, for so long. One day you will be in the Hall of Fame.”
Marty Schottenheimer once circumvented Royal Troon golf secretary James Montgomerie, father of PGA and European tour star Colin Montgomerie.
Marty Schottenheimer once circumvented legendary Royal Troon golf secretary James Montgomerie, father of PGA and European tour star Colin Montgomerie, to get a tee time for himself and two team executives.
Also, in a friendly invitational golf event, Schottenheimer literally willed his ball over a creek and onto the green when he refused to lay up like everyone else.
“The ball looked like it was on a trajectory to land dead square in the middle of the creek,” former Browns executive vice president/administration Jim Bailey said Tuesday. “And Marty goes running up the fairway yelling, ‘Get over, you S.O.B!’ And it cleared! It was like the ball responded to him.”
The former NFL coach Schottenheimer, who passed away Monday at age 77 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease, had that effect on people as well. The Browns have been to the playoffs 12 times since 1970 and four of those appearances came under Schottenheimer, including two consecutive AFC Championship games in 1986 and ‘87. He also coached the Kansas City Chiefs, San Diego Chargers and Washington Redskins.
Those who worked with Schottenheimer in Cleveland saw the true measure of his competitiveness when he was away from the team’s Baldwin Wallace headquarters.
Bailey laughed through a long story about Schottenheimer getting an offseason gig at a clinic in England on how to coach American football and negotiating a golf trip to Scotland as part of the deal.
He’d twice taken his assistants to coach in the Senior Bowl in Hawaii, a perk given to the staff that lost the AFC Championship. So Schottenheimer decided Bailey and Executive Vice President of Football Operations Ernie Accorsi would go with him to Scotland.
“I’m a bad golfer, Ernie’s a good golfer and of course Marty was not going to let a golf ball beat him,” Bailey, now retired, said in a phone interview from Denver.
Bailey belonged to a club at the time and said the golf pro offered to call ahead and set things up, but Schottenheimer insisted they were all set.
Sep 28, 1986; Cleveland Browns head coach Marty Schottenheimer on the sideline against the Detroit Lions at Cleveland Stadium. Manny Rubio-USA TODAY Sports
Choice morning tee times were already taken, but darkness doesn’t fall during the summer in Scotland until 11 p.m. Bailey learned just what “all set” meant in Schottenheimer’s world.
Bailey said they would get up early in the morning, Schottenheimer would put on a coat and tie, and they would drive to the course they wanted to play that day.
“Marty would go in and talk to the pro and say, ‘I’m Marty Schottenheimer, head coach of the Cleveland Browns.’ He had this whole routine lined up and he’d talk our way onto the golf course,” Bailey said.
The plan didn’t work at Troon.
“We go to Troon and the pro said, ‘I just sell golf balls, you’ve got to talk to the golf secretary,’” Bailey said. “We walk in, there’s this huge man with mutton chop sideburns, blue blazer with red lapels, glasses down on his nose. Marty goes through his whole routine and the guy looks down at his book and runs his finger down that thing and looks up and says, ‘No.’ It was Colin Montgomerie’s father.”
Of course, the stubborn Schottenheimer was undeterred by the elder Montgomerie, who worked at Troon for nearly 60 years, presided over two British Opens and eventually became the club’s president.
The trio drove into the village to seek out a shopkeeper Schottenheimer had played with at Sharon Golf Club in Sharon Center, Ohio, during the man’s buddy trip to the United States.
The 123 yard par 3, 8th hole named the ‘Postage Stamp’ at Royal Troon.
“He goes in and gets the shopkeeper to take us out as his guests to play at Troon,” Bailey said. “And as we walked by Mr. Montgomerie, Marty thumbed his nose at him.”
The threesome also played St. Andrews, Western Gailes and Prestwick, the site of the first British Open.
“It was kind of a ratty place and the caddies seemed a little sketchy,” Bailey said of Prestwick. “About the second hole, Ernie comes over and says, ‘Hey, those guys are rifling through our bags.’ Every third hole one of us didn’t play, we stayed with the caddies to protect our stuff.”
Then San Diego Chargers head coach Marty Schottenheimer has a word with wide receiver Vincent Jackson during training camp at Chargers Park. Photo By Stan Liu-USA TODAY Sports.
Bailey said he last saw Schottenheimer at former Browns owner Art Modell’s funeral in 2012. But as Schottenheimer’s family released word last week that the former Browns coach had been moved to hospice, stories came flooding back for Bailey.
He chuckled over the “friendly invitational” held by a friend of Bailey’s in the insurance business that Schottenheimer was determined to win, how the ball responded to his urging and made over the creek.
But for Bailey, the Scotland trip remains his favorite time with Schottenheimer, even if Bailey saw little of Schottenheimer on the course.
“I’d be trying to hack my way out of the gorse and I’d look up and I’d see Ernie’s head sticking out of a pot bunker and Marty would be on the green lining up his putt,” Bailey said. “We never played a shot together other than the tee shot.”
Marla Ridenour is a columnist for the Akron Beacon-Journal, part of the USA Today Network. She can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.
In celebration of the life of Marty Schottenheimer, here some of the most memorable Chiefs’ games during his tenure in Kansas City.
Marty Schottenheimer was one of the finest coaches in not only Chiefs history but the history of the NFL as a whole. From 1989 to 1998, Coach Schottenheimer stalked the sidelines for Kansas City in 160 games, winning 101 of those. During the Schottenheimer era, the Chiefs hung their hats on the play of the defense, and while postseason success was always what eluded him throughout his career, there’s no denying the legacy he left behind.
Schottenheimer passed away on February 8, 2021. It was 21 years to the day of Chiefs Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Thomas’ death. Life can be poetic at times and given the link these two will always share in the minds of Chiefs Kingdom, the image of them embracing once again is a comforting one.
In celebration and in honor of the life of Schottenheimer, here are some of the most memorable games with the Chiefs during his tenure with Kansas City.
New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees shared his reaction to the death of his former Chargers head coach Marty Schottenheimer on Instagram.
[jwplayer BHRlAjzY-ThvAeFxT]
The NFL lost an icon with the passing of Marty Schottenheimer at 77, after battling Alzheimer’s since 2014. Schottenheimer finished his 21-year NFL coaching career with the eighth-most wins in league history (totaling a 200-126-1 record) and was named 2004 Coach of the Year for his efforts with the then-San Diego Chargers.
And his quarterback that year? New Orleans Saints passer Drew Brees, who earned his first career Pro Bowl selection in 2004 under Schottenheimer’s guidance. Brees reacted to news of his former coach’s death on social media.
“The lessons and wisdom of Marty Schottenheimer will forever ring in my ears,” Brees wrote from his official Instagram account. “He loved his players and he loved his family. I am so grateful and honored to have played for him. Rest In Peace Coach Marty!”
He won 200 regular-season games in a terrific career that included jobs with the Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs, the then-San Diego Chargers and Washington. He last coached in 2006.
The tributes continue to pour in from former players, fans and Hall of Famers, and there have been a lot of them who quote some his legendary motivational speeches before, during and after games.
There was a Twitter statement from CBS’s Bill Cowher — the former Pittsburgh Steelers coach who was a defensive coordinator under Schottenheimer — that touched on “There’s a gleam.”
Marty, you always said, "There's a gleam, men!" It's true, and that gleam is, and always was, YOU. Rest in peace Coach, love you. pic.twitter.com/PONiVZxm8f
Coach Marty Thank U For All You’ve Done & Ment In Mine & So Many of Our Lives U Will Be Greatly Missed 🏈For The Luv Of The Game 🙏🏼U Matter pic.twitter.com/7eHLbDq0Pp
RIp Coach Schottenheimer THANK YOU for the lessons you’ve taught me coming in. I can still hear your voice asking me was I ready to be a @chargers before I was drafted. pic.twitter.com/jTrDlWqhhl
