A closer look at Brian Schottenheimer’s offenses over the years

The Dallas Cowboys caught the NFL world by surprise on Tuesday when they interviewed Brian Schottenheimer for their head coach vacancy, and it’s looking like they might be heading for an actual deal with a second interview coming up.

There is plenty of anti-Schottenheimer sentiment going around, and it’s not without merit. That said, Schottenheimer’s track record on offense is better than some remember. Let’s take an in-depth look at his time as an offensive coordinator.

New York Jets (under Eric Mangini)

Brian Schottenheimer’s Jets offenses under Eric Mangini

Patriots assistant Eric Mangini was hired to replace Herm Edwards as the Jets head coach after Edwards was traded to the Chiefs. Mangini turned around and brought in Schottenheimer to lead an offense that had shown flashes with Chad Pennington but nothing consistent enough to feel great about it.

Pennington, who was coming off a season-ending injury, enjoyed a strong rebound season in his first year with Schottenheimer calling plays. The quarterback set a then-career best in passing yards, leading the Jets to 10 wins and being named the Comeback Player of the Year.

Unfortunately, the next season saw Pennington get bit with the injury bug again, playing just half the season. Unsurprisingly, the offense took a nosedive with Kellen Clemens taking over midway through the year, and the Jets fell to 4-12.

That motivated them to land Brett Favre in the offseason, which prompted Schottenheimer to tweak his offense to fit the former Packers star. It was largely a success, as the Jets offense put up its best season under Schottenheimer to that point, and Favre was named to a Pro Bowl for his efforts.

Even still, the Jets missed the playoffs at 9-7 after losing four of their final five games, and Mangini was fired as a result.

New York Jets (under Rex Ryan)

Brian Schottenheimer’s Jets offenses under Rex Ryan

Rex Ryan was brought in from the Ravens and the fiery defensive coach opted to retain Schottenheimer with one clear mandate: run the dang ball. Favre departed the Jets as one of his many retirements and the team spent the fifth-overall pick on Mark Sanchez out of USC.

Schottenheimer set out to build a run-heavy offense that would ease the burden on his rookie quarterback and, by all accounts, he succeeded. The Jets had the best rushing attack in the league and Sanchez was voted First Team All-Rookie by the Pro Football Writers of America. The Jets finished 9-7, snuck into the playoffs, and made it all the way to the AFC Championship game.

Going into the next year, expectations were high, and Ryan himself guaranteed a Super Bowl victory. Schottenheimer’s offense was once again dynamite on the ground, and the passing game took a step forward as Sanchez grew into his role. The Jets finished 11-5 and once again reached the conference title game, but lost by five to the Steelers.

The next season came after a tough offseason. Two of the Jets’ top receivers, Braylon Edwards and Jerricho Cotchery, left the team. On defense, they lost two of their top pass rushers in Shaun Ellis and Jason Taylor, as well as cornerback Dwight Lowery, who had just led the team in interceptions.

This proved to be too much for the Jets to handle, as they missed the postseason at 8-8. Schottenheimer’s offense regressed, especially in the run game, but Sanchez put up career best numbers that remain to this day. Ryan ultimately decided to move on in an effort to commit more to Sanchez’s development, though that never happened.

St Louis Rams

Brian Schottenheimer’s Rams offenses

From there, Schottenheimer stuck with the Rams, who had just hired Jeff Fisher after he parted ways with the Titans. Fisher, like Ryan, valued a strong run game that took the load off his quarterback. In St. Louis, Fisher inherited Sam Bradford, who had won Offensive Rookie of the Year before an injury-shortened year prior to Fisher’s arrival.

Schottenheimer’s offense looked fairly similar to what he had run in New York, ranking in the middle of the pack in most categories but largely avoiding mistakes. Bradford showed signs of a resurgence, though, setting career bests in passing yards, touchdowns, and adjusted completion rate.

There was optimism for the offense heading into 2013 because of this, but it quickly evaporated when Bradford tore his ACL in Week 7, ending his season. Once again turning to Clemens, the offense faltered, though the Rams still won seven games.

The next year, tragedy struck even sooner, with Bradford suffering another torn ACL in preseason. Schottenheimer then alternated throughout the season between Shaun Hill and Austin Davis, but neither were able to produce positive results. In the end, Bradford moved on from the team and so did Schottenheimer, leaving Rams fans with a massive “What if?”

Georgia Bulldogs

Brian Schottenheimer’s Georgia offense

From there, Schottenheimer went to the college ranks as the offensive coordinator for the Georgia Bulldogs. He joined head coach Mark Richt, who stands today as second in all-time wins for the program, but was entering the 2015 season under fire for having never reached the National Championship game.

Schottenheimer was always an odd fit, as he hadn’t coached in college since 1999 and had never called plays at that level. He also took over an offense that lost its starting quarterback and its top two receivers. During the year, star running back Nick Chubb also suffered a season-ending injury, further complicating things.

In the end, Georgia finished 10-3, which most teams would sign up for in a heartbeat. In Athens, though, it led to Richt’s firing and, by extension, Schottenheimer’s.

Seattle Seahawks

Brian Schottenheimer’s Seahawks offenses

After two seasons coaching Andrew Luck in Indianapolis, Schottenheimer was hired to run the offense for Pete Carroll’s Seahawks. He took over with a team that had already won a Super Bowl and had a rising star in Russell Wilson, but was looking to get back there.

Schottenheimer’s first year looked very similar to his time with the Jets and Rams in terms of being extremely run-heavy, and it generally worked for Seattle. They fielded the best run game in the NFL and a top 10 scoring offense and got back to the playoffs after a one-year hiatus.

The next season saw a greater amount of balance between the pass and run game, and it resulted in the Seahawks finishing top 10 in both scoring and yardage. They returned to the postseason and managed to upset the Eagles, narrowly losing to the Packers in the divisional round.

Schottenheimer’s third season in Seattle saw the rise of the “Let Russ Cook” movement, calling for a more pass-happy offense for Wilson. Contrary to the popular narratives, Schottenheimer actually leaned into it, and the 2020 Seahawks were the most pass-happy offense of the Pete Carroll era by far. It was also one of their least efficient, with Wilson setting a career high in sacks.

After the season, Schottenheimer was let go, and it later came out that Wilson had pushed for his firing. Still, to this day, Schottenheimer’s tenure as the Seahawks coordinator – which is the most recent experience he has calling plays – remains the most successful years of Wilson’s career. Seattle also ranked sixth in EPA/play and ninth in success rate over those three years.

Dallas Cowboys

Brian Schottenheimer’s Cowboys offenses

That brings us to Schottenheimer’s time in Dallas, though it’s hard to glean much from his two years as the coordinator given that Mike McCarthy called plays. That said, Schottenheimer played a significant role in offensive game planning, and even brought in offensive line coach Mike Solari, with whom he had worked in Seattle.

Of course, the Cowboys offense was phenomenal in 2023 and then came crashing back down to earth in 2024, even before Dak Prescott was knocked out for the year with an injury.

All in all, though, that’s 15 total years of being an offensive coordinator (with one of them on the college level, and two with him not calling plays) and four of those years saw season-ending injuries to the starting quarterback. Schottenheimer has also been the coordinator who presided over the best (statistically speaking) years of Mark Sanchez, Sam Bradford, Russell Wilson, and Dak Prescott.

His most recent stretch of calling plays was genuinely great, ranking ahead of the likes of Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan, and even Kellen Moore over that three-year span. Schottenheimer’s entire body of work doesn’t scream “offensive genius” but he’s shown a genuine ability to get the best out of his quarterbacks everywhere he’s been.

Combine that with the relationship Schottenheimer already has with Prescott and you can start to see why Jerry Jones is perhaps considering his pitch. Whether or not that means Schottenheimer should be the next head coach is an entirely different story, of course.