When Brian Schottenheimer was hired by the Seattle Seahawks as their new offensive coordinator, the decision was dubbed an “uninspiring hire” by many fans and members of the Seattle media.
An overwhelming majority of the criticism of the Schottenheimer hire came from the fact teams did not have a lot of offensive success with him as the chief architect on that side of the ball.
From 2006-2014, Schottenheimer was the offensive coordinator for the New York Jets and the then-Saint Louis Rams. Here’s how those offenses ranked by the end of their seasons: No. 18, No. 25, No. 9, No. 17, No. 13, No. 13, No. 25, No. 21, and No. 21.
Having only one top-10 finish that was a decade ago does not inspire tons of confidence. Although, it’s not as if Schottenheimer had much to work with . . . Let’s take a look at the quarterbacks he’s had to run his offenses: Chad Pennington, Kellen Clemmens, Brett Favre, Mark Sanchez, Sam Bradford, Austin Davis, and Shaun Hill.
Looking at that list, it is safe to say Russell Wilson will easily excel over Schottenheimer’s previous quarterbacks.
While Favre is on the list, he helmed Schottenheimer’s only top-10 offense during his one-year stint in 2008. However, Favre suffered a biceps injury which caused his play to deteriorate so poorly the Jets blew their shot at the playoffs. Favre finished the year with the same number of interceptions as touchdowns: 22.
Wilson is coming off a year where he had his third-highest passing yard total, led the league in touchdown passes at 34 (which also ties a career-best) and accounted for 86 percent of his team’s total offense – all with a shaky offensive line and limited run support.
Wilson is in the upper echelon of quarterbacks in the NFL and in the prime of his career. When considering his past, one can only assume Schottenheimer is eager to have Wilson as his newest pupil.
