Schottenheimer to Chiefs; Chargers Look Elsewhere
Once upon a not-too-long-ago, the Chargers wanted to hire Marty Schottenheimer as their head coach. Schottenheimer, the winningest head coach in the AFC the past 3 seasons, became available last month when he quit his job with the Cleveland Browns in a personnel dispute with owner Art Modell.
But, said Charger owner Alex Spanos Tuesday, “he (Schottenheimer) wanted total change. His demands were a little bit more than what we wanted.”
What Schottenheimer wanted in San Diego was clearance to bring in his own staff. The Chargers balked. So Tuesday, Schottenheimer accepted the vacant head coaching job in Kansas City.
“In the course of my discussions with the Chargers, we covered a lot of ground,” Schottenheimer said. “But no formal offer was forthcoming. Economics were not an issue. Alex indicated there were a number of people (current Charger assistants) he felt were capable. I didn’t disagree with that. I just felt after discussions with Alex and Steve (Ortmayer, the Charger director of football operations) that the Kansas City situation afforded me more of a chance to get things straightened away in the most comfortable manner.”
The closest thing to a shot fired by either Spanos or Schottenheimer came when Schottenheimer told Kansas City reporters Tuesday: “I’m not interested in a rebuilding program.”
It’s obvious he considered the Chargers to be in that category even though they finished with a better record (6-10) in 1988 than the Chiefs (4-11-1). Schottenheimer also said he considered Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt and Art Rooney, the late Steelers owner, to be the top two owners he has known in the NFL.
Schottenheimer’s 4-year agreement with Kansas City temporarily moved George Seifert, the San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator, to the head of the Chargers’ list of potential successors to fired Al Saunders. Spanos and Ortmayer were scheduled to meet with Seifert Tuesday night.
But the Chargers apparently are not at the top of Seifert’s list. Modell said Tuesday that Seifert called him Monday night and “asked if he could come to Cleveland for an interview. We said, ‘By all means.’ ”
Last week, Seifert said he wanted to wait until 49er Coach Bill Walsh decided whether he was going to retire after leading San Francisco to its third world championship in 8 years. But more than one NFL source has suggested Walsh might be delaying his decision in hopes of squeezing 49er owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. into renegotiating his contract and making him the first $2-million-a-year coach in the NFL. Seifert’s active pursuit of the Browns’ job is an indication he believes Walsh will return.
That would leave Washington assistant Dan Henning as the leading candidate for the Charger job, although there’s a school of thought that the chances of Ron Lynn, the current Charger defensive coordinator, grow by the day. “He’s still being considered,” Spanos said.
The top longshot is former Illinois Coach Mike White.
All three have strengths and weaknesses in the Chargers’ eyes.
Henning is the only one of the three with NFL head coaching experience. Plus, he has worked in Washington with Jerry Rhome, the Charger offensive coordinator. He has also indicated a willingness to work with the Charger staff if he gets the job.
But Henning’s 4-year coaching record in Atlanta was an horrendous 22-41-1.
Lynn is seen as an defensive innovator with a reputation for producing great results with limited talent. White, a disciple of Walsh, has a similar reputation on the offensive side.
White is out of coaching and working for a football scouting service in Newport Beach. Lynn remains under the Chargers’ employ. But the archrival Raiders are pursuing him as a successor to fired defensive coordinator Charlie Sumner.
Lynn is not trying to pressure the Chargers. But he knows he can’t hold the Raiders off forever. “I’d like to have seen this all cleared up a week ago,” he said. “But I don’t see this (the prolonged search) as critical.”
The worst-case scenario for Lynn is the Raiders deciding on someone else to replace Sumner, followed by the Chargers’ hiring of a head coach who wants to bring in his own defensive coordinator. The latter would have been the case with Schottenheimer.
But it was a measure of the Chargers’ desire to keep Lynn in their organization that they wouldn’t accept Schottenheimer without requiring him to keep Lynn.
Ortmayer speaks with Lynn frequently. Henning is scheduled to visit Spanos and Ortmayer in San Diego later this week. White and Ortmayer reportedly also will meet soon.
Spanos said he hopes the Chargers will be able to name their new coach by “the end of next week.”
Charger Notes
Many people are still waiting for Charger owner Alex Spanos to comment on the firing of Al Saunders last month. But Spanos has been mostly silent on the subject. “It’s all behind us,” Spanos said Tuesday. “I wish him (Saunders) all the luck. I’m sure he’ll do well.” Pressed on the matter, Spanos said, “I’d rather go on with the future.”