Still trying to get my head around the Chiefs loss in Super Bowl LV, this morning I get an alert on my phone that Marty Schottenheimer, long time coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, has passed away at the age of 77 due to complications of early onset Alzheimer’s Disease.
I wrote about the coach and his battle with this disease 5 years ago in my article titled “One Play at a Time“. Today it is very sad news to hear that he has passed away. I just wanted to write something to say, “Rest in peace” to him and think about his family at this time. Coach had a giant family in Chiefs Kingdom, and I know he will be missed by many.
To me, Marty was the epitome of a football coach. He looked like a coach. He sounded like a coach. You could watch the Chiefs play and always see the man coaching. He was constantly talking to players and trying to motivate them as men. He was a great coach. He won over 200 games in his career. He only had two losing seasons across a head coaching career with 4 NFL teams.
Marty was a good as it gets when it comes to being a coach, a leader, and a man. He was a leader of men. He will truly be missed. I will always remember him and think fond thoughts of the man that taught me the game of football. My dad got me into watching the 49ers in the 1980s. In the 1990s, my dad introduced me to Chiefs football with Marty, and my views on football were forever changed.
Rest in peace, Coach. You earned it.
Jake Dubin 