Seahawks and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer decide to end employment relationship

SEATTLE – In a surprise decision, the Seahawks and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer decided to end their employment relationship after three seasons.

In making the announcement, the Seahawks pointed to “philosophical differences” as the reason they ended the employment relationship, and called Schottenheimer “a fantastic person and coach.”

Last season, the Seahawks scored the most points in franchise history, but their offense suffered a notable drop in performance in the second half of the season. Seattle led the league with 34 points scored per game in the first nine weeks, but the average fell to 22.6 points in the final eight weeks of the calendar.

The Seahawks’ offensive woes continued in the 30-20 loss in the NFC Wild Card Round to the Los Angeles Rams. Quarterback Russell Wilson’s 40.7 completion percentage (11 of 27) was tied for second-lowest of his career, while his 17.6 QBR Total was the worst in his 16 Playoff games, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

The Seahawks’ deep passing game was one of the reasons for the offense’s poor performance in the second half of the season. Wilson completed at least one pass in which the ball was at least 30 yards in the air in each of Seattle’s first eight games, but had only three such passes in the last nine, including the Playoffs.

Coach Pete Carroll declined to discuss the future of his coordinators when asked at his last press conference of the season if he expected them back.

Schottenheimer’s offense set several Seahawks records, but after a meeting Monday night, it was apparent that there were philosophical differences between Schottenheimer and Carroll, Adam Schefter reported, so the two decided that ending the employment relationship was the best for both parties.

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