Schlichter Episode Shakes Dowhower : Having to Withdraw Commitment Has an Effect on Coach

The most controversial aspect of Indianapolis Coach Rod Dowhower’s relationship with his former quarterback, Art Schlichter, was Dowhower’s litany of praise for Schlichter last summer.

More than once Dowhower, said that Schlichter was so talented that he was set for years as the Colt quarterback.

A week before he benched him, and five weeks before he cut him, Dowhower said it would take a catastrophe to get Schlichter out of his job as a starter, if not an an act of God.

Even after Mike Pagel had been promoted to No. 1, Dowhower conscientiously listed Schlichter as his backup quarterback for several weeks, continuing his salary on a contract reportedly worth $230,000 for the season .

“(He) told me I was his backup three games before he released me,” Schlichter said. “I feel he lied to me.”

Dowhower doesn’t deny the basics.

“I went out on a limb,” he said. “I made a 100% commitment to Schlichter and other (starters). I strongly believe in commitments. I had to make a 180-degree turn (on Schlichter). It wasn’t comfortable doing that--taking an exact opposite stance. But that’s what I did.”

The rhubarb doesn’t surprise those who know Dowhower and have followed his career since the Stanford days, when he succeeded Bill Walsh.

Dowhower, they explain, ranks with the game’s finest offensive thinkers, although his methods are different from most.

A coaching friend said: “Rod is a brilliant tactician who works by developing a close, personal relationship with the quarterback. He almost gets into the guy’s skin. He thinks confidence is the key thing in a football player, and he’s always trying to instill it. When Rod was at St. Louis, he made Neil Lomax into a real quarterback, and you saw this year what happened to St. Louis when Rod left.”

The Schlichter episode has shaken Dowhower, who is talking more realistically now about his current quarterback, Pagel.

“Mike isn’t a natural passer, but he has his moments,” Dowhower will say. “He’s going to be a fine coach someday. He has that kind of feel for the game.”

Still, Dowhower hasn’t abandoned his basic football philosophy.

“The players have to feel they’re improving. They have to feel good about themselves,” he said, explaining why he praised Schlichter in press conferences. “The coach must take an organized approach to (game) preparation, and the players must feel they have a chance because of that preparation.”

A chance to improve, that is, not necessarily to win.

“A rebuilding team (such as the Colts) may not win on the scoreboard,” Dowhower said. “But the players have got to see that they’re winning (improving) on the field. This means the coach has to take a positive approach. If the coach is negative and too bottom-line (winning) oriented, the players get discouraged. Negativism is destructive to older players. To younger ones, it’s insurmountable.”