The look on Marty’s face said it all

By STEVE KING
I noticed something — something big and extremely telling, two “somethings,” actually — I had never noticed before when, the other day, I watched the NBC telecast of the second half of the Browns’ 28-23 comeback win over the Houston Oilers at Cleveland Stadium in the 1988 regular-season finale that clinched for them an AFC playoff berth.
I was at the game, so I didn’t see the telecast at the time and had never watched it — not thoroughly, at least — through the years until last Wednesday.
The game-winner turned out to be Don Stock’s 22-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Webster Slaughter late in the fourth quarter, completing a 21-0 run for the Browns after they had fallen behind 23-7 with 9 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter.
Right afterward, NBC showed a split-screen of the two head coaches to get their reaction. Houston’s Jerry Glanville, a native of Perrysburg, Ohio, just stood there with a forlorn look on his face after Slaughter danced into the end zone upon beating his defense once again on a slant pattern. 
On the opposite sideline, Cleveland’s Marty Schottenheimer, who had called the play in his role as serving as his own offensive coordinator, was in a catcher’s position as the play started, When Slaughter scored, you could see the people on the Browns bench celebrating wildly, but Schottenheimer simply got up and, with the same, serious look he had had as the play was unfolding, walked along the the sideline toward the opposite end zone. As such, by his reaction — at least at first blush — it was not clear if the Browns had scored or not, but when I studied his reaction a little more closely, he had the self-assured look of someone who was inwardly basking in the glow of what just happened. He had been criticized — harshly so — in many corners for the offensive struggles all year, but now he had won out with the fact that his team had just all but clinched the victory, and that playoff berth.
Another of his “victories” was making the point to Browns owner Art Modell, who was shown on TV smiling and hugging an associate while sitting in his loge after the TD, that he had been right all along, that the offense he was directing could and would shine in the biggest moment of the season  The two had had a mostly quiet — at least publicly — but simmering feud all year about the offense, in particular, and other issues concerning the team.
As I mentioned in a story the other day, after the game was over, Schottenheimer was shown on the telecast blowing a kiss and waving to the fans as he walked off the field and toward the entrance to the Browns locker room. He then, uncharacteristically so, smirked ever so slightly. You had to look hard to see it, but it was definitely there.
It’s apparent — to me, at least — after looking at that 32 years later, that he knew in his heart of hearts that whenever the season was over, his disagreements with Modell would come to a head and, stubbornly, as was his way, he would stand his ground and refuse to give in to the owner, and it would cost him his job..
And that’s exactly what happened, for, on Dec. 27, just three days after the Browns lost to the Oilers in the playoffs the following week, it finally became public what had been going on for quite a while, that Modell wanted him to fire some of his assistants, including his brother, Kurt, who was coordinator of the special teams that really struggled that year. He refused to do so, they agreed to disagree and they parted ways.
Indeed, instead of being praised for turning in his best coaching job with the Browns — and likely in his career — with the fact he had guided them to the postseason despite all kinds of injury problems at quarterback, he was shown the door.