Getty Former Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson evading pressure from the New York Jets defense.
This week New York Jets fans got a blast from the past.
Russell Wilson was involved in a blockbuster trade this offseason between the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos.
The 33-year-old quarterback was originally selected with the No. 75 overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft. He spent the next decade destroying the record books and winning a Super Bowl championship.
Most thought he would retire in a Seahawks uniform yet everything fell apart apparently due to an eroding relationship with a former Gang Green assistant coach.
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Unexpected Plot Twist
Brian Schottenheimer has been coaching football since 1997. In those 25 years, he has worked for nine different NFL franchises.
The longest of his professional tenures came with the green and white as their offensive coordinator from 2006 through 2011.
After leaving the green and white he eventually found his way to the opposite coast as the play-caller for the Seahawks.
In those three seasons from 2018 through 2020, he helped Wilson achieve a new level of success:
- 111 total touchdowns
- Threw for 11,770 passing yards
- Three Pro Bowls
After that third season, Schottenheimer was let go due to “philosophical differences” as head coach Pete Carroll called them.
Despite public praise from Wilson before, during, and after Schottenheimer’s tenure, the painting wasn’t as pretty behind the scenes according to Smith.
Wilson and his representatives “pushed hard” for the Seahawks to make a change after that fateful 2020 campaign:
“Don’t let his comments mask his real thoughts,” the source remarked via SI. “He had grown tired of Schotty from a play-calling perspective and wanted something fresh. As much as he benefited from his coaching, he didn’t think the two could co-exist anymore in a football marriage.”
Wilson would eventually force his way out and is now quarterbacking the Broncos. While the Seahawks are left with some combination of Geno Smith and Drew Lock.
Schottenheimer after leaving Seattle worked for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021 as a passing game coordinator. Now in 2022, he will serve as a coaching analyst for the Dallas Cowboys.
Checking in on an Old Friend
With the 2022 NFL draft officially in the rearview mirror, the Jamal Adams trade is officially written in ink.
All-in-all both sides ended up with two players:
- Seahawks received: Adams and a 2022 fourth-rounder (Coby Bryant)
- Jets received: offensive lineman Alijah Vera-Tucker and wide receiver Garrett Wilson
AVT is a promising prospect that NFL Network Insider described as a future “All-Pro” in the trenches. While Wilson was unanimously thought of as the top wideout available in the 2022 NFL draft.
Adams is a proven player that has achieved a variety of accolades including the most sacks by a defensive back in a single season in NFL history.
The Jets avoided paying a monster contract and was able to reinvest those resources into two premium positions.
Ultimately we’ll have to see what these two young players become before we can come to any definitive conclusions, however, Gang Green is more than happy with the results thus far.
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Russell Wilson Wanted Ex-Jets Coach Fired: Report