Brian Cornelius Schottenheimer (born October 16, 1973) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the offensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys, Seattle Seahawks, New York Jets, St. Louis Rams and the University of Georgia and also served as an assistant coach for the Washington Redskins, San Diego Chargers, Indianapolis Colts, and Jacksonville Jaguars.[1]
| Dallas Cowboys | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Head coach |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | October 16, 1973 Denver, Colorado, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Blue Valley (KS) |
| College: | Florida |
| Career history | |
| As a coach: | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Head coaching record | |
| Regular season: | 0–0 (–) |
| Record at Pro Football Reference | |
Early life
Schottenheimer was born in Denver, Colorado. He prepped at Blue Valley High School in Overland Park, Kansas, where he quarterbacked his team to the Kansas Class 5A state football championship in 1991, while earning first-team all-state and honorable mention high school All-American honors.
He threw for 2,586 yards and 26 touchdowns in his career.[2] His success at Blue Valley High School led to a scholarship for the University of Kansas.[3]
Playing career
College
Schottenheimer first attended the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, where he was a member of the Kansas Jayhawks football team for a single season in 1992 serving as a backup to starting quarterback Chip Hilleary.
He transferred to the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, sat out a year as required by NCAA transfer rules, and then played for coach Steve Spurrier's Florida Gators football team from 1994 to 1996.[4]
He served as backup to starting quarterback Danny Wuerffel, and was a member of the Gators' 1996 Bowl Alliance national championship team. During his college playing career, he completed twenty-five of thirty-eight passes (65.8%) for 290 yards and two touchdowns, and also ran for a touchdown.
Schottenheimer graduated from Florida with a bachelor's degree in exercise and sports science in 1997.[2]
Coaching career
Early career
Schottenheimer was an assistant coach from 1997 to 2005 with the St. Louis Rams, Kansas City Chiefs, Syracuse Orange, and USC Trojans, including as quarterback coach for the Washington Redskins and San Diego Chargers.
He was an assistant under his father, Marty Schottenheimer, in three of those coaching positions: Kansas City Chiefs, Washington Redskins, and San Diego Chargers.
New York Jets
In 2006, he became the offensive coordinator for the New York Jets.[3] The team made the playoffs, the offense improved from the previous season and quarterback Chad Pennington was named NFL Comeback Player of the Year.
In 2007, Schottenheimer's name was floated around as being a possible replacement for the departed Nick Saban as the Miami Dolphins head coach. He later removed his name from consideration for the Dolphins head coaching position, preferring to stay in New York.[5] The Jets went 4–12 and failed to make the playoffs.
In 2008, the offense scored 405 points, just the third time in franchise history reaching the 400-point mark. Led by quarterback Brett Favre and Pro Bowl running back Thomas Jones, the team registered 42 offensive touchdowns (their most in a decade). Jones would also lead the AFC with 1,312 rushing yards and break the Jets single-season record with 13 rushing touchdowns. The Jets experienced a late season collapse and missed the playoffs despite an 8–3 start.
In 2009, after Eric Mangini was fired, Schottenheimer was one of the first candidates interviewed for the open head coaching position. However, he eventually lost out to Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan. The Jets reached the AFC Championship Game with rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez.
On January 13, 2010, Schottenheimer announced that he was staying with the Jets as offensive coordinator and would not interview for the head coaching vacancy with the Buffalo Bills.[6] The team finished with an 11–5 record and advanced to the AFC Championship Game for the second consecutive season.
In 2011, the Jets scored only 50 points in the last three games (all losses), while finishing with an 8-8 record and the 29th rank in total offense. On January 6, 2012, he was interviewed for the Jacksonville Jaguars head coaching position.[7] On January 10, 2012, the Jets parted ways with Schottenheimer.[8]
St. Louis Rams
On January 21, 2012, Schottenheimer was named the offensive coordinator of the St. Louis Rams under new head coach Jeff Fisher.[9] The offense ranked 25th at the end of the season.
In 2013, starting quarterback Sam Bradford tore his left ACL on a run out of bounds after a hit from safety Mike Mitchell in the Week 7 game against the Carolina Panthers.[10] Kellen Clemens was named the starter for the last 9 games and the offense was ranked 21st.
In 2014, Bradford suffered an injury to the same ACL after being sacked in the third preseason game against the Cleveland Browns and missed the entire season.[11] Shaun Hill and Austin Davis were the starters at quarterback at different points during the season. The team finished ranked 28th in total offense (314.7 yards per game) and 21st in scoring (20.3 points per game).
Georgia Bulldogs
On January 7, 2015, he was named the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the University of Georgia under head coach Mark Richt, replacing Mike Bobo who accepted the head coach position at Colorado State University.[12] His starter at quarterback was Virginia transfer Greyson Lambert. He lost starting running back Nick Chubb to a season-ending knee injury in the sixth game against the University of Tennessee.
The offense averaged 26.3 points per game (15 points less than in 2014), helping the team achieve a 10-3 record. Following Richt's firing at the end of the season, Schottenheimer announced on December 14 to his position players that he would not return, as he was not retained by new head coach Kirby Smart.
Indianapolis Colts
On January 18, 2016, the Indianapolis Colts announced the hiring of Schottenheimer as their quarterbacks coach, replacing Clyde Christensen who left to become the offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins.[13] He contributed to Andrew Luck having arguably the best-overall performance of his career, establishing a single-season career-high in completion percentage (63.5) and being ranked among the top 10 in the league in passing yards (4,240, eighth), passing touchdowns (31, fifth) and quarterback rating (96.4, ninth).
In 2017, Luck was forced to miss the season while recovering from an offseason right shoulder surgery. Scott Tolzien started the season-opener, before making way for Jacoby Brissett, who took over as the starter in Week 2 after being acquired in a trade. Helping Brisset learn the playbook week by week, Schottenheimer contributed to a production of 3,098 passing yards, 13 passing touchdowns, seven interceptions, 63 carries for 260 yards and 4 rushing scores in 16 games (15 starts).
Seattle Seahawks
On January 15, 2018, the Seattle Seahawks named Schottenheimer as their offensive coordinator.[14] The Seahawks went on to have the league's top rushing offense for the 2018 season and quarterback Russell Wilson had a career high 110.9 passer rating.
In 2019, Wilson threw for over 4,000 yards for the third time in his career, passed for 32 touchdowns (3rd in NFL), set a career-low with five interceptions and was named the NFC starter for the 2020 Pro Bowl. Chris Carson rushed for a career-high 1,230 yards, while the offense ranked in the top 10 in the NFL in rushing yards per game (137.5, fourth), total yards per game (374.4, eighth), points per game (25.3, ninth).
In 2020, the offense set a franchise record for most points scored (459 points). Despite a torrid start to the season which saw career highs for quarterback Russell Wilson in touchdowns and completion percentage, Seattle's offense struggled considerably during the final weeks, with Schottenheimer taking the brunt of the scrutiny due to lack of creativity in the offense and adjustments to the scheme.[15] On January 12, 2021, Schottenheimer was fired by the Seahawks following the Seahawks' Wild Card loss to the Los Angeles Rams due to "philosophical differences".[16]
Jacksonville Jaguars
On February 1, 2021, Schottenheimer was hired by the Jacksonville Jaguars as their passing game coordinator under head coach Urban Meyer. He was in charge of calling the offensive plays for the final four games of the season, after Meyer was fired.[17]
On February 8, 2022, upon the Jaguars hiring of Doug Pederson as the new head coach, Schottenheimer was not retained on the coaching staff.
Dallas Cowboys
On March 24, 2022, Schottenheimer was hired by the Dallas Cowboys as a consultant.[18] He worked mostly with defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, providing analysis of opposing teams offenses.
On February 4, 2023, after Kellen Moore left to join the Los Angeles Chargers staff, Schottenheimer was promoted to offensive coordinator, with head coach Mike McCarthy taking over the play-calling responsibility.[19] The team scored 30 or more points in seven of their final 11 games, while finishing with the highest-ranking scoring offense in the league (29.9 points per game) and fifth in yards (371.6 yards per game).
In 2024, the offense regressed, averaging 327.5 yards, 20.6 points, and scoring 30 or more points in just three games. Part of the issue was the season-ending injury to starting quarterback Dak Prescott.[20]
On January 24, 2025, a couple of weeks after McCarthy and the Cowboys decided not to continue their relationship, Schottenheimer was promoted to head coach.[21] The announcement was done as a Friday night news dump, which is a technique to report a decision or action that is considered controversial.[22] The Cowboys officially interviewed 4 candidates, that included Moore, Robert Saleh and Leslie Frazier. Schottenheimer's decision came as a surprise, as he was not known to be in consideration over more qualified candidates, until he became a betting favorite to be the team's next head coach on January 20, and after it was confirmed that his first official interview took place on January 21.[23][24] It was reported in the media that one of Schottenheimer supporters was Prescott.[25]
Head coaching record
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| DAL | 2025 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | TBD in NFC East | — | — | — | — |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | .000 | |||
Personal life
Schottenheimer is the son of Marty Schottenheimer, who had been the head coach of the Cleveland Browns, Washington Redskins, San Diego Chargers, and Kansas City Chiefs. Brian's uncle, Kurt Schottenheimer, was also the defensive backs coach and defensive coordinator for the Chiefs. In addition to coaching, Schottenheimer is a frequent contributor to The 33rd Team, which describes itself as a "football Think Tank."[26]
References
- ^ "Son Learns From His Father, but Puts Trust in Himself". The New York Times. January 16, 2010.
- ^ a b Toews, Chip (January 8, 2015). "Bulldogs tap Brian Schottenheimer as new OC". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
- ^ a b Bob Condotta (August 13, 2018). "From mentors to magic numbers: Why Brian Schottenheimer's the guy to resurrect the Seahawks' offense". Seattle Times. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
- ^ 2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide Archived April 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 76, 174, 185 (2011). Retrieved August 31, 2011.
- ^ "Schottenheimer withdraws from consideration with Dolphins". ESPN. January 15, 2007. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
- ^ Ackert, Kristie (January 14, 2010). "New York Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer passes on Bills head coach job". Daily News. New York. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
- ^ Cimini, Rich (January 6, 2012). "Schotty interviews with Jax". ESPN. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
- ^ Cimini, Rich (January 10, 2012). "Sources: Jets to hire Tony Sparano". ESPN. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
- ^ "Sources: Rams to hire ex-Jets OC". ESPN. January 21, 2012. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
- ^ Wagoner, Nick (October 20, 2013). "Source: Sam Bradford has torn ACL". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
- ^ Sessler, Marc (August 23, 2014). "Sam Bradford out for season with torn ACL". NFL.com. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
- ^ Aschoff, Edward (January 7, 2015). "Brian Schottenheimer to Georgia". ESPN. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
- ^ Mike Wells (January 18, 2016). "Brian Schottenheimer replaces Clyde Christensen as Colts QB coach". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
- ^ Austin Knoblauch (January 16, 2018). "Brian Schottenheimer named Seattle Seahawks OC". NFL.com. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
- ^ Henderson, Brady (January 12, 2021). "Brian Schottenheimer out after 3-year run as Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator". ESPN. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
- ^ Brady Henderson (January 12, 2021). "Brian Schottenheimer out after 3-year run as Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
- ^ "Darrell Bevell will turn offensive play-calling over to quarterback coach Brian Schoettenheimer". Florida Times-Union. December 20, 2021. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
- ^ Archer, Todd (March 24, 2022). "Cowboys add Schottenheimer as a consultant". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
- ^ "Brian Schottenheimer Named Offensive Coordinator". dallascowboys.com. February 4, 2024. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
- ^ "Cowboys hire coordinator Brian Schottenheimer as head coach". ESPN. January 24, 2025. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
- ^ Walker, Patrik (January 24, 2025). "Brian Schottenheimer officially named newest Cowboys' head coach". dallascowboys.com. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
- ^ "Jerry Jones' worst nightmare: Approach to Cowboys' hire could invoke fans appathy". The Athletic. January 25, 2025. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
- ^ "Brian Schottenheimer is the new betting favorite to coach the Cowboys". Pro Football Talk. January 20, 2025. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
- ^ Dixon, Schuyler (January 21, 2025). "Cowboys interview their offensive coordinator, Brian Schottenheimer, in coach search". Associated Press. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
- ^ "What Schottenheimer hire means for Prescott, Cowboys". ESPN. January 24, 2025. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
- ^ "Brian Schottenheimer". The 33rd Team. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
