-
Brady HendersonESPN
SEATTLE – In a surprising move, the Seattle Seahawks and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer broke up after three seasons.
The Seahawks announced the decision on Tuesday, citing “philosophical differences” as the reason for the breakup, while calling Schottenheimer “a fantastic person and coach.”
The Seahawks scored the most points in franchise history last season, but their offense fell sharply in the second half. Seattle led the league in the offensive score to 34 points per game in the first nine weeks, but the average dropped to 22.6 points per game in the last eight weeks of the regular season.
The Seahawks’ offensive struggles continued in a 30-20 loss at the end of the season to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC playoff game three games three days ago. Quarterback Russell Wilson’s completion rate of 40.7% at 11 of 27 was the second-lowest in his career, while his total QBR of 17.6 was the highest. worst of the 16 games in his career playoffs, according to ESPN Stats & Information research
The Seahawks’ deep play was one of the reasons for the decline in the second half of the offense. Wilson completed at least a 30-yard pass in each of Seattle’s first eight games of the season; has had three such completions in total in the last nine games of the season, including the playoffs.
Coach Pete Carroll declined to discuss the future of his coordinators when asked at the end-of-season press conference if he expected them to return.
Schottenheimer’s offense set a number of Seahawks records, but after a meeting last night, it was clear that there were philosophical differences between Schottenheimer and Carroll, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported. They decided that the separation was in the interest of both parties.