Brian Schottenheimer coaching history: How many teams coached, career NFL record and more

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• Brian Schottenheimer teams coached
• Brian Schottenheimer coaching timeline
• Has Brian Schottenheimer ever been a head coach?
• Brian Schottenheimer offensive scheme
• When did the Cowboys hire Brian Schottenheimer?

Brian Schottenheimer has been in the NFL for most of his life, following in the footsteps of his legendary father, Marty. While Marty was the head coach for four different teams in his career, it took a while for Brian to get his first head coaching opportunity.

Still, Schottenheimer was patient-enough to become the head coach of one of the most iconic brands of the sport: the Dallas Cowboys. Schottenheimer's hope is to eventually win a Super Bowl for his father, who never reached the mountaintop in over two decades as a head coach.

Here's a look at how Brian Schottenheimer worked his way up in the NFL.

MORE: Revisiting Marty Schottenheimer's coaching record 

Brian Schottenheimer teams coached

Schottenheimer is well-traveled in the NFL during his career, as he has coached for many teams over the course of the last 25 years. Here's a list of all the teams for which Schottenheimer has worked in his career:

• Kansas City Chiefs
• Syracuse
• USC
• Washington Redskins
• San Diego Chargers
• New York Jets 
• St. Louis Rams
• University of Georgia
• Indianapolis Colts
• Seattle Seahawks
• Jacksonville Jaguars
• Dallas Cowboys

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Brian Schottenheimer coaching timeline

2001: Washington Redskins

After stints as an assistant with the Rams and Chiefs, along with a year each coaching on Syracuse's and USC's staffs, Schottenheimer's first steady NFL job came with Washington in 2001. Veteran coach Marty Schottenheimer, Brian's father, led the team for one season and brought his son with him on staff as a quarterbacks coach.

2002-2005: San Diego Chargers

Schottenheimer followed his father to San Diego when the Chargers hired Marty as their head coach. Brian served as the quarterbacks coach while Cam Cameron was the offensive coordinator for all four of those seasons, which included in 2004 when the team went 12-4.

2006-2011: New York Jets 

Schottenheimer is likely most known for his time with the Jets, as he was New York's offensive coordinator for six seasons. He first joined the team when Eric Mangini was hired as head coach, then remained on staff for Rex Ryan's first three years. In that span, the Jets made the playoffs three times, including back-to-back AFC championship game appearances in 2009 and 2010, which helped Schottenheimer earn several head coaching interviews.

2012-2014: St. Louis Rams

After the Jets fired Schottenheimer, the offensive coach landed on his feet in St. Louis. He joined the team for Jeff Fisher's first three years as head coach, but the team was slightly below average in all three seasons. With the Rams offenses never performing better than 21st in points allowed, St. Louis moved on from Schottenheimer after the 2014 season.

2015: University of Georgia

Schottenheimer briefly returned to college with Georgia in 2015, as he was the offensive coordinator for the Bulldogs with head coach Mark Richt. Georgia went 10-3 that season, but the school fired Richt after the year, meaning most of his coaching staff also had to look for new jobs moving forward.

2016-17: Indianapolis Colts

Schottenheimer re-joined the NFL in 2016 as the quarterbacks coach for the Colts under head coach Chuck Pagano. The veteran coach got to work with Andrew Luck during those two seasons, but Luck’s injuries also meant that Indianapolis had other quarterbacks rotate in to start throughout the next two years.

2018-20: Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks were looking to shake up their offense in 2018, as Pete Carroll moved on from long-time offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell. Seattle hired Schottenheimer as Bevell's replacement, and Schottenheimer remained in that role for three seasons as the Seahawks were top 10 in points scored and made the playoffs each year.

2021: Jacksonville Jaguars

In 2021, Schottenheimer was a member of the Jaguars’ failed coaching staff led by Urban Meyer. Schottenheimer served as the passing game coordinator for the team that ended up as the worst in the league, and with Meyer fired in the middle of the season, much of the staff was let go before the offseason began.

2022-25: Dallas Cowboys

Schottenheimer first joined the Cowboys in 2022 and he has held three different jobs with the organization. First, Schottenheimer joined the team simply as a coaching analyst for head coach Mike McCarthy, but he was promoted to offensive coordinator after the season when Kellen Moore left. Two years later, Schottenheimer replaced McCarthy as the team's head coach.

MORE: Who is on the Dallas Mount Rushmore of sports?

Has Brian Schottenheimer ever been a head coach?

Brian Schottenheimer had never been a head coach prior to his promotion in Dallas. The most powerful job he has held in football is offensive coordinator, which Schottenheimer was for six different teams across both college and the NFL.

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Brian Schottenheimer offensive scheme

Schottenheimer has been in the NFL for over two decades, which means his scheme has changed over the years. While he started with his dad, renowned defensive-minded head coach Marty Schottenheimer, Brian's offensive scheme is different now than when his dad was in the league.

At his introductory press conference, Schottenheimer explained that he uses his time with the Seahawks as a baseline for his scheme.

"I think if you go back and look at some of the things we did in Seattle, obviously the starting point for me would be things that our players do well. You’re always going to start with that. If your system is not flexible enough to do what your players do well, then you’re probably in the wrong business" he said, via Bloggin the Boys.

I’m a big believer in cut splits. I’m a big believer in shifts and motions to distort things. We’re going to do a great job of marrying our runs and our passes and make those look the same. I’m proud to say that two different times in my career as a coordinator we led the league in rushing. And they go hand in hand; the running game and the [play] action passing game go hand in hand.”

Schottenheimer added he likes to use cut splits, shifting and motioning in his offense, while he wants makes sure Dallas is "marrying our runs and our passes and make those look the same." That means that Dallas will want to makes sure the passing game feeds off the running game.

The veteran coach added he wants to makes sure his offense is using tempo.

"I would say there's a tempo element that we're excited to mix in that our players have all shown an affinity for," he said. "And let me expand on that a bit. Why do players like tempo? Well, they like tempo because it allows them to play free...Those will probably be the biggest things that I would say from an offensive standpoint."

When did the Cowboys hire Brian Schottenheimer?

The Cowboys hired Brian Schottenheimer after the 2024 season. With former head coach Mike McCarthy's contract expiring, Dallas opted not to bring McCarthy back and look for a new leader in 2025. However, the Cowboys conducted a small coaching search and eventually decided to promote Schottenheimer from offensive coordinator.

On January 24, 2025, the Cowboys officially hired Schottenheimer as their next head coach.

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