From 1965 through 1968, he played for the Buffalo Bills. From 1969 through 1970, he played for the Boston Patriots.
In 21 years as an NFL head coach, Schottenheimer won 200 regular season games and 5 out of 18 games in the postseason. He had only two seasons with more losses than wins in his entire career, and none until his 15th season; the Browns finished with a losing record in his first season, but with Schottenheimer as their coach, they were 4–4. He is the only coach in NFL history with at least 200 wins that has a losing playoff record.
He was the head coach of the San Diego Chargers from 2002 through 2006. He was fired from his head coaching position with the San Diego Chargers in 2007, after leading the Chargers to a 14–2 regular season record but a disappointing second round playoff loss.
After being fired as head coach of the Chargers, he became the head coach of the Virginia Destroyers of the United Football League. He would later win his only championship as a coach in his lone season there.
Personal life
In 1968, he married his wife Pat. They have two children including Brian, who serves as the quarterbacks coach for the Indianapolis Colts. Schottenheimr's younger brother Kurt has also served as an NFL coach.
In October 2016, it was revealed that Schottenheimer was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease in 2011.[2]
On February 3, 2021, his family announced he had been put into hospice care the week before in Charlotte, North Carolina.[3] He died on February 8, 2021 from problems caused by Alzheimer's disease, aged 77.[4]