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Brady HendersonESPN
SEATTLE: In an amazing play, the Seattle Seahawks and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer have split after three seasons.
The Seahawks announced the decision Tuesday and cited “philosophical differences” as the reason for the separation, while calling Schottenheimer a “fantastic person and coach.”
The Seahawks earned most points in franchise history last season, but their offense dropped severely in the second half. Seattle led the league in scoring offensively at 34 points per game for the first nine weeks, but that average fell to 22.6 points per game during the last eight weeks of the regular season.
The Seahawks ’offensive struggles continued in a 30-20-year loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Wildcard playoff game three days ago. Quarterback Russell Wilson’s 40.7% finish percentage in the 11-of-27 pass was tied for the second-lowest of his career, while his 17.6 Total QBR was the worst in 16 playoff games according to ESPN Stats & Information research
The Seahawks ’deep passing play was one of the reasons for the decline of the second half of the offense. Wilson completed at least a 30-yard air pass in each of Seattle’s first eight games of the season; he added three of those finishes 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 several Seahawks records, but after an overnight meeting, it was clear that there were philosophical differences between Schottenheimer and Carroll, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported. They decided that the separation was in the best interest of the two parties.