While General Manager A. J. Smith and team president Dean Spanos kept a low profile the day after the Chargers' 24-21 loss to New England, a number of Marty Schottenheimer's players lobbied for their coach to stay. "We love playing for him," defensive end Luis Castillo said. LaDainian Tomlinson looked beyond this year's 14-3 record, noting that the Chargers are 47-33 in Schottenheimer's five seasons after going 23-57 in the five before he arrived. "He's totally changed not only the perception of the franchise but the mind-set of the players," Tomlinson said. "He's done a tremendous job, in my opinion. "There comes a time when players have got to get a coach over the hump. A lot of the things we did as a team (against New England), Marty didn't have any control over it."