RENTON -- The Seattle Seahawks have fired offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer after three seasons citing philosophical differences.
After their offense went from one of the best in the league through the first half of the season to struggling mightily down the stretch, the Seahawks will be a seeking a new voice to lead the group moving forward.
"Brian Schottenheimer is a fantastic person and coach and we thank him for the last three years. Citing philosophical differences, we have parted ways," the team said in a statement.
Via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, Schottenheimer met with head coach Pete Carroll on Monday night and the two sides determined they parting ways was in the interest of both parties.
The Seahawks set a franchise record for most points ever scored in a single season in 2020. And yet, the offense cratered in its effectiveness the last half of the year with Carroll saying that he believes they didn't sufficiently adapt to the way defenses began to play them over the second half of the year.
"I would never anticipate changes in my staff and share that with you. Whether we're doing it or not, we got work to do," Carroll said in his press conference to wrap up the year on Monday.
Carroll said bluntly on Monday that he felt the team needs to run the ball better and more effectively moving forward to get the offense back where he wants it to be.
"I want to see if we can run the ball more effectively to focus the play of the opponents and see if we can force them to do things like we'd like them to do more, like we have been able to do that in the past," Carroll said. "That doesn't mean we're going to run the ball 50 times a game. It means we need to run the ball with direction and focus and style that allows us to dictate the game. I mean I just, frankly, I'd like to not play against two-deep looks all season long next year. And so we have to be able to get that done. It's not just the running game. It is the style of passes that will help us some, but we have to get after it a little bit differently. As it unfolded in the end of the season, it became really obvious. In the last four or five games, it became really obvious."
If Schottenheimer didn't view the needs of the offense the same way, that could have been the impetus for making a move.
The Seahawks ranked 8th, 9th and 8th in points scored in Schottenheimer's three seasons as offensive coordinator. Seattle was averaging 34.3 points per game and were the top scoring offense in the league through the first eight games of the season. That number dropped to 22.8 points per game over the final nine games of the year. If you take out a 40-point effort against the winless New York Jets, that number drops to 20.6 points per game. Seattle scored at least 25 points in just two games in the final nine weeks of the year, the 40-3 win over the Jets and a 28-21 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
Photo Credit: SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - AUGUST 08: D.J. Fluker #78 and Offensive Coordinator Brian Schottenheimer of the Seattle Seahawks walk off the field after a victory against the Denver Broncos preseason game at CenturyLink Field on August 08, 2019 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)