Following the departure of Mike Bobo to the Colorado State job, Mark Richt has hired Brian Schottenheimer as his offensive coordinator. He will also coach the Bulldogs' quarterbacks.
The backgrounds of the two men could not be more opposite. Bobo had spent his entire life in the state of Georgia and, save for a single year, his entire adult life wearing Bulldog red, first as a quarterback, then rising the ranks from graduate assistant to quarterbacks coach and then to offensive coordinator. Scottenheimer was born in Denver, followed his father's career around the country and played college ball at Kansas and Florida. And, like his father, Schottenheimer spent the vast majority of his coaching career in the NFL. Until today.
Scottenheimer comes to Georgia from the St. Louis Rams, where he worked as offensive coordinator for the St. Louis Rams under Jeff Fisher for the past three years. The Rams finished 6-10 this season while ranking 18th in the NFL in yards per play, 28th in total offense and 21st in scoring offense.
The son of longtime NFL head coach Marty Schottenheimer, Brian has spent the past decade and a half in the NFL, first as the quarterbacks coach for the Washington Redskins (2001) and San Diego Chargers (2002-05), and then spent six years as the offensive coordinator with the New York Jets.
Scottenheimer has two years of college experience, one as the wide receivers coach at Syracuse in 1999, and one as the tight ends coach at USC in 2000.
"I'm excited to have Brian join our coaching staff,” Richt said in a statement. "His NFL experience will be a perfect fit for how we like to play offensive football here at Georgia. He'll be excellent in developing our players in both the running and passing games which will benefit them while they are at Georgia and for their future.”
He inherits an offense that returns three offensive lineman and a deep pool of running backs, led by 2014 freshman sensation Nick Chubb. The 10-3 Bulldogs ranked seventh nationally in yards per play, eighth in scoring and 12th in rushing. Schottenheimer will look to replace outgoing starting quarterback Hutson Mason as well as pass catchers Chris Conley and Michael Bennett.
Georgia led the SEC in scoring this fall, and ranked among the top four in the conference in five of the past seven seasons. Only Alabama has been equally consistent over that span.
“This is a great opportunity to become a Georgia Bulldog for both my career and my family,” said Schottenheimer in a statement. “I'm thrilled to be part of an elite program with such national tradition and a great staff already in place. I look forward to working with young men and being a positive and significant influence on their lives as we develop them athletically, academically, and socially.”
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