Thank You Marty!

This article is brought to you by Tinkers Creek Tavern. Check out their incredible menu here! – http://tinkerstavern.com/

You can visit all of our sponsors here – https://keeonsports.com/sponsors/

‘There’s a gleam men, there’s a gleam, let’s do it right for the next 60 minutes and get that gleam”

I grew up in the 1980’s and 90’s and was lucky enough to be treated to one of the greatest era’s of NFL football.  As a Browns fan, I was blessed to watch Cleveland Browns head coach Marty Schottenheimer turn around the franchise and lead them to the playoffs 4 straight times through 1985 – 1988.

Coach Marty took over the Browns halfway through the 1984 season and began to turn things in the right direction.  He had coached under Sam Rutigliano as his defensive coordinator but wasted no time showing he could run the ship as well when he got the chance.

In four and a half seasons as head coach of the Browns, Marty’s teams went 44 – 27 and as mentioned, made the playoffs four straight times.  In the playoffs, they went only 2-4, however, they did reach the AFC Championship game twice with those wins over the Jets in 86 and Colts in 87.

The better way to look at it is this, since Marty left the team following the 1988 season, the Browns have only returned to the playoffs 4 times.  Let that sink in for a second, 4 times in the next 32 years, after going four straight years under Marty.

Bud Carson in 1989

Bill Belichick in 1994

Butch Davis in 2002

Kevin Stefanski 2020

Pretty damn impressive as he was also the first head coach to have enough guts to stick it to Art Model and actually wave goodbye to fans as he walked off the Stadium field for the final time following the playoff loss to the Oilers.  He played by his rules!

He would then takeover KC where he led them to a 101- 60-1 record over the next 10 years.  That stint included 7 more trips to the playoffs and a spot in the AFC Championship game in 1993 versus Buffalo.

After an 8-8 season in Washington, he finished his career with the San Diego Chargers where he spent 5 seasons for a total record of 47-33.  He also took the Chargers to the playoffs 3 of those 5 years and led them to records of 12-4 and 14-2.

For his 21 years as a head coach, he finished at 200 – 126 – 1.  Coaching QB’s such as Bernie Kosar, Joe Montana and Drew Brees along the way.

He was a great coach, a great man, and will be missed as he left his mark forever on the NFL.