How Could Marty Schottenheimer Help The Chiefs?
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As you surely know by now, Chiefs Nation is abuzz on the heels of a report from SirusXM NFL Radio that former Kansas City Chiefs head coach Marty Schottenheimer was in town Friday to meet with Clark Hunt.
The team has reportedly denied the report but that shouldn’t surprise anyone. The Chiefs still have football games to play and even if Hunt is quietly trying to prepare options for the future, he wouldn’t be doing himself any favors by publicly acknowledging that he is meeting with potential replacements for the men still running things at Arrowhead.
Besides, even if Schottenheimer did meet with Hunt on Friday, there is no way to know what that meeting was about.
As far as I can tell, there are three possible reasons for a meeting between Hunt and Schottenheimer.
1. Hunt is looking for advice from someone he trusts.
Clark Hunt knows a lot about business that doesn’t mean he knows a lot about football. As he likely prepares to embark on an offseason where he will need to find smart football people, who better to turn to than his old friend Marty? Schottenheimer not only knows football, he knows the Chiefs. The fact that Hunt would reach out to Schottenheimer for advice isn’t just likely, it is smart.
This scenario could mean anything from a one-time meeting for Hunt to seek advice to Hunt wanting to officially hire Schottenheimer as a team-consultant.
2. Hunt wants to hire Schottenheimer in a managerial capacity.
Taking things further, Hunt may be interested in bringing in the 69 year-old Schottenheimer to be the new GM of the Kansas City Chiefs. Marty will turn 70 in September but Hunt may want him to come in and help turn around his franchise. The idea would likely be that Schottenheimer would come in and hand-pick the front office personnel and players that will be the future of the franchise. The smart money would be for Schottenheimer to be grooming a GM replacement while simultaneously fixing the current problems in KC. A three or four year stint in this capacity is entirely possible.
3. Hunt wants Marty to coach.
This, I think, is the least likely scenario. As mentioned above, Schottenheimer will turn 70 in September. Bringing him in as a head coach wouldn’t be a long-term solution to anything. This is especially true because if you believe Pioli is going to be fired, then meeting Shottenheimer about the coaching position (assuming current coach Romeo Crennel is on his way out) would be putting the cart before the horse.
I’d rank scenario #1 as the most likely here but don’t rule out #2 either. Hunt needs to make a big move and he has a very upset fan base on his hand. There is no doubt that bringing back Marty would be a popular decision.
But would it be the right one?
Time to weigh in, Addicts. Which scenario do you think is most likely and would it be smart to bring Marty back?