INDIANAPOLIS —Another former Indianapolis Colts coach has found a new home.
Brian Schottenheimer, the Colts' quarterbacks coach the past two seasons, has been hired as the offensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks, the team formally announced on Tuesday.
Schottenheimer gets another shot in that role, as he was offensive coordinator for six seasons with the New York Jets (2006-11) and for three seasons with the St. Louis Rams (2012-14), and was also the offensive coordinator at the University of Georgia in 2015.
He returned to the NFL in 2016 to coach the Colts' quarterbacks. That season, Andrew Luck had perhaps the best-overall performance of his career, as he established a new single-season career-high in completion percentage (63.5) and also finished the season ranked among the top 10 in the NFL in passing yards (4,240, eighth), passing touchdowns (31, fifth) and quarterback rating (96.4, ninth).
Then, in 2017, Schottenheimer was praised for his quick work with second-year quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who was acquired just before the start of the season in a trade with the New England Patriots and was inserted into the starting lineup by Week 2.
Working with Schottenheimer to increasingly learn the playbook week by week, Brissett, in 16 games with 15 starts, threw for 3,098 yards with 13 touchdowns to seven interceptions, while he also ran the ball 63 times for 260 yards and four scores. Brissett would also have four touchdown passes for 60-plus yards, just one short of John Unitas' franchise record of five set in 1960.
Schottenheimer takes over a Seattle offense that ranked 15th in the league in total yards (330.4 per game) and 11th in points (22.9). The Seahawks, who finished 9-7, were led once again by quarterback Russell Wilson, who completed 339-of-553 passes (61.3 percent) for 3,983 yards with 34 touchdowns to 11 interceptions, while he also led the team in rushing with 95 carries for 586 yards and three scores.
Schottenheimer is the third coach from the Colts' 2017 staff to formally join another staff for 2018; former special teams coordinator Tom McMahon and defensive backs coach Greg Williams were hired to those same positions by the Denver Broncos last week.
The Colts, meanwhile, are yet to hire a new head coach after their decision to part ways with Chuck Pagano after six seasons. General manager Chris Ballard said after the season that the team's new head coach will have input into the members of his staff in Indy.
