Schottenheimer gets hosed

After five seasons, a 14-2 record and a playoff berth in 2006, Marty Schottenheimer is out as coach of the San Diego Chargers.

One month after saying he'd be back for the final year of his contract, the team basically said it was Schottenheimer's fault that offensive coordinator Cam Cameron left to become head coach of the Dolphins and defensive coordinator Wade Phillips left to become head coach of the Cowboys.

“That is absolutely unfair in my view,” Schottenheimer told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. “We had no control over two guys who became head coaches in this league."

Team president Dean Spanos cited a "dysfunctional situation" between Schottenheimer and general manager A.J. Smith. Hogwash. The two just plain didn't get along, and because of that, things snowballed. What sucks for Schottenheimer is that all the coaching vacancies in the NFL are now filled, so Marty will be out of a job for at least a season -- unless he ends up on TV, where most ex-coaches seem to go.

It's not the first time Schottenheimer has been hosed. He was coach of the Washington Redskins in 2001, leading them to an 8-8 record -- after starting 3-8. When Redskins owner Danny Boy Snyder had a chance to hire Steve Spurrier, Schottenheimer took the fall.

And we all know how the Spurrier experiment worked out.

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