Editor’s note: the video in the player above is from Feb. 4, 2021.
Following a more than six-year bout with Alzheimer’s, former Cleveland Browns head coach Marty Schottenheimer passed away on Monday, his family has announced.
Following a six-year playing career as a linebacker for the Buffalo Bills and Boston Patriots in the AFL, Schottenheimer embarked on a coaching career that spanned the course of four decades, including a nine-year stint in Cleveland, where he began as the Browns’ defensive coordinator in 1980. In 1984, Schottenheimer replaced Sam Rutigliano as Cleveland’s head coach, a position he held until he parted ways with the team following the 1988 season.
In his four full seasons as the Browns’ head coach, Schottenheimer helped lead Cleveland to the playoffs four times, including a pair of AFC Championship Game appearances in 1986 and 1987. Overall, the 1986 AFC Coach of the Year amassed a 44-27 regular-season record and 2-4 postseason record in his four-plus seasons with the Browns.