Longtime NFL head coach and former Pitt star Marty Schottenheimer has died after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer's disease. He was 77.

Born in 1943 in Canonsburg, Washington County, Schottenheimer rose to become one of the all-time winningest coaches in NFL history in stints with the Browns, Chiefs, Washington and the Chargers.

Schottenheimer won 205 games in his 21 seasons as a head coach, which ranks as the eighth-most in NFL history.

He also served as a mentor for a number of future head coaches, including former Steelers coach Bill Cowher, Tony Dungy, Bruce Arians and Mike McCarthy. All four have won Super Bowls, while Cowher and Dungy are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

A star athlete at Fort Cherry High School in McDonald, Pa., where he led the school to a state title in basketball, Schottenheimer accepted a scholarship to play football at Pitt. The linebacker was selected in the fourth round of the 1965 draft by the NFL's Baltimore Colts and in the seventh round by the AFL's Buffalo Bills. He chose to sign with the Bills and spent four seasons in Buffalo, winning a championship in 1965.

Schotttenheimer was traded to the Boston Patriots in 1969, spending two seasons there before being traded to the Steelers in 1971. The Steelers traded him before the 1971 season began, sending him to the Colts. Schottenheimer retired that year.

In 1974, Schottenheimer, who had been selling real estate, came out of retirement in 1974 as a player-coach for the Portland Storm of the World Football League. He injured his shoulder, but remained as the team's linebackers coach.

The Giants hired him in the same capacity the next season and elevated him to defensive coordinator in 1977. Schottenheimer moved on to serve as an assistant coach with the Lions in 1978 and 1979 before being hired as defensive coordinator of the Browns in 1980.

In 1984, he replaced Sam Rutigliano and led the Browns to a resurgence that saw them twice get to the AFC Championship, only to be turned away by the Broncos led by John Elway. His teams became known for using a strong running game and defense, a conservative style of football that was known as "Marty Ball" both for its effectiveness in the regular season and its failures in the postseason.

In 1985, Schottenheimer convinced one of his former special teams players, Cowher, to join his staff as special teams coach following his retirement from his playing career.

Schottenheimer left the Browns following the 1988 season -- his teams went 44-27, but just 2-4 in the postseason -- and was immediately hired by the Chiefs, who had spent the previous two decades stuck in a rut.

Schottenheimer immediately turned Kansas City into a winner.

The Chiefs went from 4-11-1 to 8-7-1 in Schottenheimer's first season, then went 11-5 in 1990. He would lead the Chiefs to a 101-58-1 record in his tenure there, but again fell short of reaching the Super Bowl. His 1993 team, which featured fellow Washington County native Joe Montana at quarterback, reached the AFC Championship, but was beaten by the Bills.

Schottenheimer left the Chiefs after the 1998 season, but returned to coaching in 2001 with Washington. Despite leading the team to an 8-8 record, Schottenheimer could not deal with the meddling of owner Daniel Snyder and the two parted ways after just one season.

He became the head coach of the Chargers in 2002, leading that franchise to a 12-4 record in 2004 and a 14-2 mark in 2006. But he was fired after that 2006 season after the Chargers were bounced from the playoffs after just one game.

Schottenheimer's 205 wins are the most for a coach who is not in the Hall of Fame.

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