Thinking about Marty Schottenheimer, Clay Matthews and Browns fans – Terry Pluto – cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Marty Schottenheimer and Clay Matthews.

I found myself thinking about both men recently, and how they should be Hall of Famers in the minds of Browns fans.

On Saturday, Matthews learned he missed the Hall of Fame. Cleveland had two voters on the 44-person committee. WKNR’s Tony Grossi gave the formal five-minute address for the former Browns linebacker. Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot lobbied different voters. Cabot had the remarkable stat of Matthews leading the Atlanta Falcons with 6.5 sacks in 1996. He was 40 years old and in his final season.

Then there’s Schottenheimer, who died Tuesday after having battled Alzheimer’s disease for seven years. He was 77.

Schottenheimer finished with a career record of 200-126-1. He had a 14-2 record in his final coaching season, with the Chargers in 2006. His coaching disciples include Bruce Arians, Tony Dungy, Bill Cowher and Herm Edwards.

There are eight NFL coaches with at least 200 victories. Two are still active: Bill Belichick and Andy Reid. The rest are in the Hall of Fame…

Check that…

One of those retired coaches is not. You guessed it, Schottenheimer.

Sigh.

THE BIG POINT

Why no Matthews in the Hall of Fame? Why no Marty, as he was known to fans here?

Part of it was they never made the Super Bowl. Nor did they ever play/coach in a major market, unless you consider Marty’s 8-8 season in Washington in 2001. But there’s something else, something that reveals so much about both men.

In the end, they were team guys. They were not afraid to take a challenge.

Matthews was penalized by some HOF voters because of smaller sack totals in some seasons. But in the first 10 years of his career, he often played inside linebacker. He was there to stop the run, organize the defense.

Later, he was moved to outside linebacker and in better position for sacks.

MARTY BALL WAS WINNING BALL

As for Schottenheimer, he replaced Sam Rutigliano after the coach had a 1-7 start in 1984. The Browns were 4-4 the rest of the season. Then came records of 8-8, 12-4, 10-5, 10-6. The Browns made the playoffs in each of Marty’s four full seasons.

Yes, there was The Drive. The Fumble. The frustration of being so close to the Super Bowl but not reaching it. But there was Bernie Kosar leading the offense. There was Matthews in charge of the defense. There were fans proudly wearing brown and orange rocking the cantankerous old stadium down on Lake Erie.

These were the days when Hanford Dixon and Frank Minnifield had fans barking. And carrying dog bones. And screaming from the Dawg Pound, their part of the stadium in the end zone. That wasn’t the product of some marketing campaign, it just happened.

This was when you couldn’t wait until Sunday. The season went from warm September games to colors turning and leaves falling in October.

Then came the shivers of winter, but that’s the season really heated up. The temperature dropped below freezing, the players lined up awaiting the snaps, puffs of white smoke coming from their mouths in the frigid air.

Football in December. Football in January.

Playoff football. Fun football.

THE REARVIEW MIRROR OF LIFE

I think of Matthews having his hopes up each year to make the Hall of Fame, then falling short. It’s much like the Browns of the late 1980s when Schottenheimer agonized over losing to Denver’s John Elway and not making the Super Bowl.

In those days, it was too easy for us to focus on what we almost had, rather than what we had been given.

Schottenheimer ended up quitting and/or being fired after a volatile argument with owner Art Modell. It came after a 24-23 playoff loss to Houston in 1988. Modell wanted Schottenheimer to fire some assistant coaches. Marty had other ideas.

Talk about dumb. Talk about two stubborn men who should have known better and waited a few days instead of trying to settle the issue when hearts were broken and emotions were raw.

You can talk about how the Browns made the playoffs in each of Schottenheimer’s four full seasons. Since then? They have been to the playoffs only four times in 29 years.

Meanwhile, Marty went to the playoffs 13 times in 21 seasons. He is penalized in some eyes for his 5-13 postseason record. But the man not only turned around Cleveland, he also did the same in Kansas City and with the San Diego Chargers.

In those 21 years, Schottenheimer had two losing seasons. As for Matthews, he was a winning player every year – regardless of his team’s record.

Marty & Clay.

This should be a day for Browns fans to remember them with a grateful heart.

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