Should Seahawks Open Door For Brian Schottenheimer Reunion?
Over the past four seasons, the Seattle Seahawks have made just a single playoff appearance, including narrowly missing out this year, and an underachieving offense has been part of the equation for that drought.
With Shane Waldron at the control from 2021 to 2023 and Ryan Grubb going one-and-done as his successor this season, the Seahawks have only finished better than 16th in scoring offense once during that time. Not surprisingly, led by a resurgent Geno Smith, finishing ninth in points scored in 2022 led to the lone playoff berth as the team clinched the final wild card spot.
But since then, Seattle has cycled through two coordinators in two seasons as a Smith-led offense has failed to replicate that success in part due to poor offensive line play and the lack of a complementary run game. One of those issues doesn't fall on the play caller, but adapting to personnel weaknesses will always be a key part of the job, and both Waldron and Grubb failed to do that over the past two years, leading to them receiving pink slips.
With coach Mike Macdonald set to hire his second offensive coordinator in as many years and seeking a coach who aligns with his vision of complementary, physical football, the Seahawks already have been linked to three candidates, including Saints play caller Klint Kubiak, who has previously worked with Brock Purdy in San Francisco and Kirk Cousins in Minnesota.
One of the three coaches who has already interviewed with Seattle could be the favorite to land the job, but if the team wants to fully maximize on this search window and identify a candidate who checks off all of the boxes Macdonald desires, it wouldn't be a misguided idea to take a blast to the past with former coordinator Brian Schottenheimer now released from his contract in Dallas and available for hire.
Jettisoned after the 2020 season despite the Seahawks having the eighth-ranked scoring offense in the NFL that year, Schottenheimer enjoyed a career renaissance of his own in the Pacific Northwest, scheming up a potent all-around attack.
Following a failed stint with the Rams, Schottenheimer took over for long-time play caller Darrell Bevell and immediately fixed one of the league's worst rushing attacks, overseeing an improvement from 27th in rushing yards in the previous season to first in 2018. The Seahawks were nearly as good the following season, once again finishing in the top five in rushing and ninth in scoring as they won 11 games and advanced to the Divisional Round in the postseason.
At the wheel, Schottenheimer also orchestrated one of the most explosive passing games in the NFL during his three seasons in Seattle with Russell Wilson throwing 106 touchdown passes compared to just 25 interceptions. The team advanced to the postseason all three years, but unfortunately, two of those trips lasted just one game, including a home loss in the wild card round after going 12-4 and winning the NFC West in 2020.
As often happens when teams fail to make noise in the playoffs, regardless of regular season success, Schottenheimer became the scapegoat and was relieved of his duties for what former coach Pete Carroll called "philosophical differences." Though Wilson publicly defended him, the veteran quarterback pulled strings behind the scenes desiring a different play caller, which led to the hiring of Waldron.
Since then, Schottenheimer has spent the past four seasons with the Jaguars and Cowboys, serving as offensive coordinator in Dallas in 2023 and 2024. Though he didn't call plays with coach Mike McCarthy handling those duties, he played an integral role in quarterback Dak Prescott throwing an NFL-best 36 touchdown passes and the Cowboys finishing first in scoring in 2023.
Getting a head start on most other teams by not making the playoffs, the Seahawks may have several candidates who ultimately are better fits for Macdonald. The fact that the team previously fired Schottenheimer may also make it unlikely that the coach himself wants to run it back.
However, Schottenheimer wouldn't be linking back up with Carroll, and his past track record undoubtedly lines up well with what Macdonald desires on offense. He has consistently built quality run games with seven different teams finishing 12th or better in his career and when he has had a steady veteran under center, his quarterbacks have consistently sat near the top of the rankings in touchdown passes, including Wilson achieving the feat all three seasons from 2018 to 2020.
As for selling the coach on returning, he worked with Smith in 2019 and 2020 as Wilson's backup, while he also had DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett on the roster and the two players each went for 1,000 yards apiece in 2020. Even if Lockett isn't coming back, the presence of Jaxon Smith-Njigba along with two excellent young running backs in Ken Walker III and Zach Charbonnet should provide more than enough allure for a Seattle return.
If Macdonald truly covets a physical, balanced offense akin to the ones in Detroit, Buffalo, and Baltimore, where he previously served as defensive coordinator, Schottenheimer should be a viable candidate for consideration. This isn't to say that he will be the hire, but not giving him a look would mean the Seahawks are missing out on a proven commodity whose past experience lines up well with what the franchise is currently looking for.
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