Coach Marty Shot

When the Chargers began their search for a new head coach following the 2001 season, they had one requirement: "We're looking for a proven winner... someone who knows how to win."

Chargers President Dean Spanos got just that when he introduced Marty Schottenheimer as the 13th head coach in team history on January 29, 2002.

"Winning is everything in our business. Winning is our bottom line," said Owner and Chairman of the Board Alex Spanos. "In Marty Schottenheimer, we hired a winner. We feel fortunate to get a coach with his winning resume. When he was in charge of the Chiefs, I used to hate playing against them. I can't tell you how happy I am that he's on our side."

Under Schottenheimer's guidance, the Bolts got off to a ferocious start in 2002, running off four straight wins to open the season. Schottenheimer matched his best-ever start for a season and became the only coach in Chargers history to win his first four games as head coach. No other coach in team history ever won more than one game to begin his tenure with the team.

With 165 regular-season victories in 17-and-a-half seasons as an NFL head coach, Schottenheimer ranks first among active coaches in career wins. Schottenheimer also ranks ninth on the NFL's all-time list for career regular-season wins. He trails Paul Brown, who is eighth with 166 career wins. Don Shula is the NFL's all-time leader with 328 career victories.

Schottenheimer's .593 regular-season winning percentage ranks 11th among active coaches and it ranks eighth among coaches all-time who have coached in at least 200 career games.

This is Schottenheimer's fourth stint as an NFL head coach, having previously guided the Cleveland Browns (1984-88), Kansas City Chiefs (1989-1998) and most recently the Washington Redskins (2001). Schottenheimer has compiled a record of 165-113-1 in regular season action.

The 60-year-old Schottenheimer has led his teams to the playoffs 11 times, more than any other active NFL coach. Since 1960, only four coaches have done it more; Don Shula (19), Tom Landry (18), Chuck Noll (12) and Bud Grant (12). All four have been enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Schottenheimer is tied for fifth in league history with 11 playoff appearances.

From 1986-1997 as head coach of the Browns and Chiefs, Schottenheimer led his teams to 12 straight winning seasons and 10 trips to the playoffs. He led six of his teams to division titles, including the Browns in 1985, '86 and '87, and the Chiefs in 1993, '95 and '97. Including the playoffs, Schottenheimer has a combined record of 170-124-1 (.578) as an NFL head coach.

Prior to coaching the Redskins in 2001, Schottenheimer worked for two years (1999-2000) as an NFL analyst for ESPN.

From 1989-1998 Schottenheimer spent 10 seasons as head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. During his tenure, the Chiefs posted a 101-58-1 regular-season record for a .634 winning percentage, which was the second highest in the NFL during that time span. Only San Francisco (.769) had a higher winning percentage than Schottenheimer's Chiefs. In his 10 seasons in Kansas City, Schottenheimer's teams averaged 10 wins per season and advanced to the playoffs seven times, making the Chiefs one of the AFC's most dominant teams of the '90s.

The Chiefs were particularly dominant at home under Schottenheimer, where their 62-18 (.775) record from 1989-1998 was the third-best in the NFL behind San Francisco 67-13 (.838) and Denver 63-17 (.788). The Chiefs and 49ers were the only teams in the NFL to reach the playoffs seven times in the '90s and from 1989-1997 the Chiefs finished either first or second in the AFC West, a nine-year stretch matched only by the Pittsburgh Steelers (1971-79) since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.

Under Schottenheimer's guidance, the Chiefs posted the AFC's best records in 1995 and '97 at 13-3. Prior to that in 1990, he led the Chiefs to an 11-5 mark, the team's best record in 21 years, and into the postseason for just the second time since 1971 and the first time since 1986. In 1993, the Chiefs had their finest season since 1969 when Schottenheimer led the team to a record of 11-5, their first division title since 1971 and a berth in the AFC Championship Game.

In 1997, the Chiefs finished the regular season with an NFL-best record of 13-3, giving Kansas City its third AFC West title in five years. Schottenheimer's Chiefs were consistently among the NFL's best in five crucial areas: winning percentage in the division, winning percentage at home, forcing turnovers, rushing offense and scoring defense.

Schottenheimer had a strong hold on the AFC West during his 10 seasons as the head coach in Kansas City, as evidenced by his 55-28 (.663) record within the division. His success included an outstanding mark of 18-3 (.857) against the Chargers' biggest rival, the Oakland Raiders.

Strong defense has been one of the trademarks of Schottenheimer's teams. His teams have consistently ranked in the upper-half of the NFL in total defense, scoring defense and turnover ratio. Dating back to his first full season as a head coach in Cleveland in 1985, Schottenheimer's teams have been ranked in the league's Top 10 in total defense eight times and in scoring defense nine times, including the 1995 and '97 seasons when the Chiefs led the league in scoring defense.

His Kansas City teams were known for their ball-hawking defense as evidenced by the Chiefs' plus-99 turnover ratio under Schottenheimer's tutelage. (During that time period, the New York Giants ranked second in the league with a plus-77 turnover ratio, 22 fewer than the Chiefs.) In his 10 seasons with the Chiefs, Schottenheimer's teams ranked in the NFL's top five in turnover ratio seven times, including the 1990, '92 and '95 seasons when they led the entire league. Kansas City set an NFL record by recording a plus-10 turnover ratio in six consecutive seasons from 1990-95.

Prior to his successful stint in Kansas City, Schottenheimer spent four and a half seasons as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns from 1984 to 1988. During the four full seasons (1985-88) in which he was head coach of the Browns, Schottenheimer produced four playoff berths, three AFC Central titles, and two AFC Championship game appearances. In his first full season as head coach, he led the Browns to the AFC Central Division title. The following season, he earned consensus NFL Coach of the Year honors after leading his team to a 12-4 regular-season record, a second-consecutive division title and a trip to the AFC Championship game.

He led the Browns back to the AFC title game again in 1987, but for the second year in a row, his Browns were defeated by the Denver Broncos. Schottenheimer left the Browns after the 1988 season, finishing his career in Cleveland with a 44-27 (.620) regular-season record and a 2-4 (.333) mark in the playoffs.

Schottenheimer's coaching career started with the Portland Storm of the World Football League in 1974. He began that season as one of the team's linebackers, but a shoulder injury ended his playing career and he remained with the team as an assistant coach, tutoring the Storm's linebackers.

In 1975, he landed his first NFL coaching job as the linebackers coach for the New York Giants. He was brought on board by Bill Arnsparger, the Chargers' defensive coordinator during their Super Bowl season in 1994, who returned to San Diego in 2002 as the team's Associate Head Coach-Defense. After two seasons (1975-76) as linebackers coach, Schottenheimer was named the Giants' defensive coordinator.

After one season (1977) as the Giants' defensive coordinator, Schottenheimer became the linebackers coach for the Detroit Lions for two seasons (1978-79). In 1980, he took over as the defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns. Schottenheimer became Cleveland's head coach midway through the 1984 season, taking over for Sam Rutigliano on Oct. 22, 1984 after the Browns had a 1-7 start. He went on to lead the Browns to a 4-4 record in the remaining eight games during his first half-season as an NFL head coach.

Schottenheimer began his professional football career on the playing field. After a career as an All-America linebacker at the University of Pittsburgh, he was selected in the fourth round of the 1965 NFL draft by the Baltimore Colts and in the seventh round of the AFL draft by the Buffalo Bills. He signed with the Bills, playing in Buffalo from 1965-68. As a rookie, Schottenheimer got his first taste of a professional football championship when the Bills won the AFL Championship with a 23-0 victory over the San Diego Chargers on Dec. 26, 1965.

After his stint with the Bills, he joined the Boston Patriots in 1969, playing two seasons before being traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1971. After spending the 1971 training camp with the Steelers, Schottenheimer was traded to the Colts, and he retired shortly thereafter.

Before starting his coaching career, Schottenheimer worked in real estate in Miami and Denver between 1971 and 1974.

At the University of Pittsburgh, Schottenheimer was selected as a member of the school's All-Time Team, in addition to being named honorable mention All-America. He played in the 1965 College All-Star Game at Soldier Field in Chicago, where the Cleveland Browns defeated the All-Stars, 24-16. In that game, Schottenheimer played alongside Dick Butkus, Fred Biletnikoff, Roger Staubach, Bob Hayes and Bill Curry.

Schottenheimer's athletic career began at Ft. Cherry High School in McDonald, Pennsylvania where he was an honors student and a standout on the football and basketball teams. He was an All-Western Pennsylvania linebacker and the center on the school's state championship basketball team. After high school, Schottenheimer continued his career at the University of Pittsburgh, where he earned a degree in English.

Schottenheimer is a licensed pilot and flew with the Navy's Blue Angels in February of 1992 and the Air Force's Thunderbirds in July of 1997.

Born on September 23, 1943 in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, Schottenheimer and his wife, Pat, have two children, Kristen (Feb. 17, 1970) and Brian (Oct. 16, 1973), and one grandchild, Brandon (April 20, 2001). Brian is a former University of Florida quarterback who was also on his coaching staffs with the Chiefs (1998) and Redskins (2001). He is currently the Chargers' quarterbacks coach. Marty's brother, Kurt, also was on his staffs in Cleveland (1986-88), Kansas City (1989-98) and Washington (2001).