Russell Wilson: I was not, and am not, in favor of Seahawks firing Brian Schottenheimer
Russell Wilson has made it clear: He did not want Brian Schottenheimer gone as his play caller. Still doesn’t.
But despite his franchise-topping $140 million contract, the Seahawks’ quarterback also makes it clear he just works there, that he’s all for any decision coach Pete Carroll makes that positions the team to win more Super Bowls.
“No. You ask me am I in favor of it? No,” Wilson said Thursday.
It was two days after the Seahawks announced they had “parted ways” with Schottenheimer because of “philosophical differences.” He spent three seasons as Wilson’s offensive coordinator
The Seahawks won the NFC West in 2020, yet lost in the first round of the playoffs last weekend at home to the Los Angeles Rams while the offense sank after soaring in the first half of the season. The offense set a team record for points. Wilson threw a franchise-record 40 touchdown passes in the regular season.
Asked by The News Tribune on a end-of-season Zoom call whether he favored keeping or changing his play caller, Wilson paused.
“How do I answer this here?” Wilson said, speaking from his vacation home in Mexico while noticeably wearing a pullover from Super Bowl 48 that he won with the team at the end of the 2013 season.
“I think that it wasn’t my decision to change ‘Schotty,’ in other words. But I think that Coach Carroll made that decision. I think that I trust his decision. But at the same time, obviously Schotty and I have been so close. I mean, he’s going to be a tremendous coach somewhere else.
“But what I am in favor of is our football team getting better. If you ask me what’s really important, it’s winning championships. That’s what I’m in favor of. I think what’s really critical is whatever decision—whether it’s the offensive coordinator or the guys that we sign or draft to every decision throughout the season, the offseason, everything else—the philosophy, the most important thing, is it’s about this winning process, and doing everything to make sure we do that.
“That’s what I’m always of favor of, is winning. So Coach Carroll decided it was time to make a change. Listen, he has been doing this a lot longer than I have. So you have to trust his decision.
“But at the same time, I’m obviously going to miss ‘Schotty.’ I think he’s going to be great wherever he goes.”
Wilson said the “really important thing is, what’s next” for him and the team in year 10 as Seattle’s quarterback, at age 32.
Wilson said he and Carroll had been having “substantial” conversations in the last 48 hours, and that he, Wilson, is already an integral part of Carroll’s upcoming choice on a new offensive coordinator. He said there is no conflict between him and the head coach who is the final authority on all of the franchise’s football matters—personnel, scheme, coaches, trades, signings, draft picks, music blaring at practices.
“I think what’s really, really important is making sure that moving forward that we’re all on the same page with me and coach,” Wilson said. “We’ve had great conversations about what’s the next step of this organization in terms of who the next person (will be as play caller).
“I think also, too, what’s really important is also for my career to go as far as I can possibly go.”
He made it clear he wasn’t a part of Carroll’s decision Monday night to fire Schottenheimer, though.
“I get paid a decent amount,” Wilson said, “but Coach makes those decisions.”
With Schottenheimer calling Wilson’s plays the Seahawks went from 10-6 to 11-5 to 12-4 the last three seasons. This season Seattle got off to its first 5-0 start in franchise history. Wilson challenged Peyton Manning’s NFL record for touchdown passes to begin a season, and DK Metcalf was leading the league in yards receiving.
“We were throwing the ball A LOT,” Wilson said Thursday.
By midseason, defenses changed. They began taking away Wilson’s deeper passes to Metcalf and Tyler Lockett by playing more coverages with two safeties deep down the field, instead of one.
The offense went from scoring 38, 31 and 34 points routinely the first half of the season to losing at home 17-12 to the Giants, beating Washington 20-15, then getting dominated twice in three games by the Rams this season, including the final game.
Carroll said repeatedly, in November, December and after the team’s dismal, season-ending loss to the Rams Saturday in which Wilson completed a season-low 11 passes that the Seahawks’ offense needed to “adapt better.” Carroll wanted more balance, more running the ball, to get teams out of the two-high-safety schemes and bring a safety closer to the line of scrimmage to defend the run, as in previous years.
Schottenheimer, in Carroll’s view, never countered the opponents’ counter. Wilson ended the regular season having thrown the ball 558 times, the most in his nine-year career.
Wilson said “general” football wisdom is to run to take defenses out of two-high safety looks.
“But you can also throw it,” he said.
“We have to do everything well...we have to be able to throw it down the field,” plus throw shorter passes, and screens, and run the ball, and with faster tempo, Wilson said.
”I want to do it ALL well,” he said. “I want to be the best in the world, at everything.”
Wilson’s one differing point with Schottenheimer: playing with a faster pace, particularly wanting more no-huddle play than Schottenheimer had with Seattle. Wilson reiterated he thinks the offense is best at a faster pace, and with him calling plays on the fly instead of receiving them in a huddle from the coach through his helmet headset.
For years, Wilson and the Seahawks have been particularly effective using no-huddle sporadically in games.
“Pace,” Wilson must have said at least 10 times Thursday.
“I don’t think we are crazy-far off,” he said.
Of course, it’s difficult to go no-huddle when you are 2 for 14 on third downs and getting sacked five times in games, as Seattle did against the Rams Saturday. For the season, the Seahawks converted third downs 40.2% of the time. That was only 20th in the 32-team NFL. Washington, which made the postseason at 7-9 as the NFC East champion because its division was so bad, was the only playoff team with a lower conversion rate on third downs in 2020.
Wilson said Schottenheimer called him Monday night or Tuesday, to tell the quarterback Carroll was about to call Wilson and inform him Schottenheimer was no longer the defensive coordinator. The team made the announcement Tuesday afternoon.
Wilson called Schottenheimer “one of the best people I’ve ever known” and “a friend.” He said he’s gotten close with the play caller’s family.
“I think he’s going to be an amazing coach for somebody else,” Wilson said.
“I think he’s going to be a head coach, he’s got that kind of leadership ability.
“Unfortunately for us, in Coach’s eyes, it was kind of time to see if we needed to make a change. ...The bottom line is, we were the best offense in football for the first, middle part of the season. And (Schottenheimer) was a major part of that.”
Wilson said he and Schottenheimer have talked since Carroll fired him.
“It hurts,” Wilson said. “The reality is, we did some amazing things. I have an amazing relationship with him. I am always going to be rooting for him, man.”
This story was originally published January 14, 2021 at 2:40 PM.
