King Kaufman's Sports Daily
Fire Schottenheimer movement fizzles. Plus: Michael Vick's water bottle. And: Big Warriors-Pacers trade.
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Jan. 18, 2007 | So much for the fire Marty Schottenheimer campaign.
The San Diego Chargers announced that they'll stick with their coach for the final year of his contract, despite rumors that he might get the boot because of yet another loss in yet another first playoff game, and his cool relationship with general manager A.J. Smith.
Owner Alex Spanos even reportedly offered Schottenheimer a one-year extension, which the coach turned down.
I suppose it's the sane move. The Chargers are a team right in stride. They went 14-2 this season and would have beaten the New England Patriots Sunday if they hadn't bungled the game away. They have a fine young quarterback, a solid defense and a true great at running back.
A new coach might be just the thing to take them over the top, as Jon Gruden did in an analogous situation in Tampa Bay, taking over for Tony Dungy, who had turned the franchise around but who couldn't seem to win a playoff game.
On the other hand, a new coach might be just the thing to mess up the momentum, introduce a whole new set of problems, force the franchise to take two steps back before it takes one forward.
Schottenheimer turning down the extension makes him a lame-duck coach. Kind of like Bill Cowher this year hmm?
My first NFL prediction for the 2007 season is that the Chargers won't make the playoffs. Clip and save. Sorry, click and save. And it's not because I think Schottenheimer's a lousy coach. He's a good one.
I just think this was the year for the Chargers, in a vague, smoky, totally non-fact-based way if you know what I mean. Trick-knee analysis. They'll come back to the rest of the league anyway, as teams that go 14-2 always do, and I think there will be a sort of hangover effect that gets exacerbated by Schottenheimer's status. I know I'm talking like a snake-oil salesman, but check back in 11 months and we'll see how I did.
New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin was also rumored to be on the chopping block after his team went 2-6 in the second half and got bounced in the first round of the playoffs by the Philadelphia Eagles. The Giants were a locker-room soap opera all season, and despite Coughlin's famous über-discipline regime, with all the obsessive punctuality and whatnot, were an undisciplined, sloppy team.
I'm sure there's a management lesson in there for all you business consultants.
Prediction No. 2 for the 2007 NFL season: Things will get worse for the Giants before they get better. They're not making the playoffs either.
Next page: Michael Vick and the false bottom. Plus: Big Warriors-Pacers trade. Who won?
