Tony Richardson says Marty Schottenheimer ran toughest training camp

Former Kansas City Chiefs fullback Tony Richardson says, of all his coaches, Marty Schottenheimer was the toughest on his players in training camp.

For 11 seasons, Kansas City Chiefs fans enjoyed the style of Tony Richardson as one of the NFL’s toughest overall players. Not only did the former fullback last an incredible 16 seasons in the National Football League, five times the NFLPA’s estimation for average career, but Chiefs fans will remember well his road-paving style from 1995 to 2005 in Arrowhead Stadium.

Richardson was the front man for massive rushing attacks of the Chiefs during those key years, helping players like Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson hit career- and NFL-high totals. Just last season, he was inducted into the Chiefs Hall of Fame, celebrating a career that included three Pro Bowl nominations and two All-Pro mentions.

For such a tough player, it’s natural to ask him who was the toughest coach. That’s what was on the minds of the hosts of NFL Network’s Good Morning Football when Richardson was recently a guest. When asked, “Who ran the toughest camp?” Richardson replied, “Without a doubt, Marty Schottenheimer.”

"“He was just two-a-days on top of two-a-days on top of sometimes three-a-days. Full pads from the beginning of camp to the end of camp. The thing that’s funny is that now they have these things called shells [sitting atop the shoulder]. We didn’t have those. All of a sudden, we went to scrimmage Minnesota one day and they had these pads. We were touching ’em like, ‘What is that?’ We were touching them like it was a dinosaur or something. ‘What are these things? We’ve never seen this before.’ [Laughs] So we were in full pads all the time, then once we got Coach Vermeil, [NFL changed the rules so] you can’t go that many pad days.”"

It seems almost barbaric that players today would have to practice in full pads in the brutal heat of summer twice a day—let alone three times. The NFL season is already a war of attrition. Consider how many more players might be injured or compromised in some way by such a tough summer schedule. Then again, that was part of the NFL in those days, even those as recent as Richardson’s playing days.

Marty Schottenheimer was successful for a reason and he remains esteemed by Chiefs fans and former players. Even this week, we posted an interview will Bill Maas who had high praise for Schottenheimer’s intelligence and coaching acumen. Schottenheimer ended his coaching career in 2006 with a record of 200-126.