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Brady HendersonESPN
SEATTLE – Russell Wilson didn’t want the Seattle Seahawks to succeed Brian Schottenheimer as their offensive coordinator.
He does want some say in their next.
Wilson announced the latter to coach Pete Carroll and reporters on Thursday during a video conference.
“I think it’s vital, it’s critical, of course, super important that I’m part of that process,” said Wilson. “Coach and I have certainly talked about that, [general manager John Schneider] also. We’ve had a great dialogue about the thought process of who we want, the leader … the innovator, all those kinds of different things that you want. I think that’s super critical, of course at this point in my career because you spend every day with that person … As many hours as me and Schotty spent together, I’ll miss the guy because we’ve spent so much time together and stuff worked hard.
“The next person, whoever that is, it’s really important that we’re always on the same page and always talking and vibrating and really, really on the same page.”
The Seahawks announced on Tuesday that Schottenheimer was out after three seasons, citing philosophical differences. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Carroll and Schottenheimer met on Monday night and that the divorce was in the best interest of both parties.
“If you ask me if I was for it, no,” Wilson said, choosing his words carefully. “It was not my decision to change [from] Schotty. But I think Coach Carroll made that decision. I trust his decision. “
Schottenheimer’s departure came after the end of an odd season in which the Seahawks scored the most points in franchise history, but fell sharply in the second half of the season. Their fight continued in their wild card loss to the Los Angeles Rams last weekend.
Wilson led the NFL in touchdown passes with 28 in the first nine weeks of the season, while Seattle led the league with 34 points per game during that stretch. But Wilson threw only 12 touchdown passes in the last eight weeks of the regular season, while Seattle’s score dropped to 22.6 points per game.
Wilson praised Schottenheimer as a coach, leader and friend and said he developed a close relationship with Schottenheimer’s family.
“I think he’s going to be a great coach for someone else, hopefully for another team here,” said Wilson. “I think he will be the head coach. I think he has that kind of leadership skills. Unfortunately for us, I think it was some kind of time in Coach’s eyes to see if we could change anything. We were the best. football for the first half of the season. He was an important part of that. “
If Wilson has a specific name in mind that he hopes the Seahawks will hire, he hasn’t given much clues. When asked what he’s looking for in his next OC, Wilson mentioned leadership, passion for football, learning skills, and the ability to find the strengths of all 11 players.