CLEVELAND — CLEVELAND — Editor's note: the video in the player above is from Feb. 4, 2021.
On Monday, former Cleveland Browns head coach Marty Schottenheimer passed away at the age of 77 following a six-plus year bout with Alzheimer's.
As news of Schottenheimer's death spread on Tuesday, many in the NFL community, including players, coaches, teams and members of the media, took to social media to pay tribute to the longtime head coach, whose career, in addition to Cleveland, included stints as the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, Washington Redskins and San Diego Chargers.
Following a six-year playing career as a linebacker with the Buffalo Bills and Boston Patriots in the AFL, Schottenheimer began a coaching career that spanned the course of four decades. In 1980, Schottenheimer arrived in Cleveland as the Browns' defensive coordinator and took over as the team's head coach following the firing of Sam Rutigliano during the 1984 campaign.
Schottenheimer remained Cleveland's head coach from 1985-1988, leading the Browns to the playoffs in all four seasons, as well as two AFC Championship Game appearances. The 1986 AFC Coach of the Year went on to amass a 205-139-1 career regular season and postseason record over the course of his time as the head coach of the Browns, Chiefs, Redskins and Chargers.
Ranking seventh in NFL history with 200 career regular-season wins, Schottenheimer is the only eligible head coach to not being elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame with at least 200 wins.