Martygate - the day after

Yep, unaccountably steaming about the Schottenheimer firing - and I'm still not a fan of the Chargers.

Ah, this reminds me of the salad days of Bobby Ross and Busby Berkeley - when the team went to the Super Bowl, then had some less than stellar seasons (which I will blame on the animosity between Ross and Berkeley Breathed for the purposes of this article) followed by Ross' firing in 1996. The Chargers next 3 seasons (at least until Bobby Beathard left)? 4-12, 5-11, 8-8. It didn't get appreciably better until Der Schott arrived (2000 - 1-15; 2001 - 5-11).

What really makes me shake my head and smirk is this rampant belief that the Chargers are a class organization. Back in the days of Fouts, Joiner, J. Jefferson, Chuck Muncie (OK, maybe not druggie Muncie, but he was a BAD-ASS on the field) and General Winslow (his son thinks he's a soldier; must have gotten it from somewhere), yeah, they were a great organization. But how about since Alex Spanos bought the team in 1984?

Winning seasons: 1987 (strike year, 8-7), 1992, 1994, 1995, 2004, 2005, 2006.

That's right: SEVEN winning seasons in 22 years. That's not exactly a stirring record of success. Not counting the strike season, half of those campaigns were managed by Der Schott.

So I have to scratch my head in wonderment that Der Schott was fired yesterday. Obviously he was doing the job on the field with the players he got from AJ Smith. If he was fired because (a) he backed his assistants pursuing other jobs that advanced their careers in professional football (a position I firmly believe is correct and exemplifies what a true leader does), and (b) because he wanted to hire his brother as the Defensive Coordinator (OK, that's a little strange), I think Dean Spanos made a very large mistake here.

And I still don't have my GIGANTOSAUR jersey.