An announcement was made early Wednesday afternoon that St. Louis Rams' offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer has taken the Georgia Bulldogs up on the open offensive coordinator position.

“This is a great opportunity to become a Georgia Bulldog for both my career and my family. I’m thrilled to be part of an elite program with such national tradition and a great staff already in place,” Schottenheimer has stated, “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.”

Schottenheimer’s transition from the big leagues to the SEC may come as a surprise to many, but it is a decision that brings some apparent advantages to the Bulldogs. Not only is Schottenheimer a big name in the football world, he’s also been an offensive coordinator at the NFL level for the past nine years, something which should definitely count for quite a bonus for the 'Dawgs in recruiting.

“I’m excited to have Brian join our coaching staff,” Georgia's head coach Mark Richt said in the release. “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.”

Meanwhile, the Rams' head coach Jeff Fisher said as recently as Christmas week that he did not expect any staff changes in the upcoming offseason, in spite of an exceptionally sluggish offensive season.

Regardless of what Schottenheimer’s move means for Fisher or the Rams’ staff, this is no doubt a conspicuous hire for Mark Richt and his Bulldogs. Schottenheimer’s arsenal of professional football experience will be difficult at best to match by many assistant coaches in college football, let alone the SEC.

In addition to being their offensive coordinator, Schottenheimer will also coach the Bulldogs' quarterbacks, something he also did at the professional level for four years with the Washington Redskins and New York Jets, from '01-'05.

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Ryan Fleming
Ryan writes for Garnet & Cocky, which is way better than VAVEL ever will be