Brian Schottenheimer Departure Puts Rams in the Market for New Coordinator

Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer of the St. Louis Rams will give up his role as the play-caller and accept an offensive coaching job with the Georgia Bulldogs. 

Rams beat writer Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com confirmed the news through Twitter: 

"

Rams confirm. Brian Schottenheimer headed to Georgia. Rams are officially in market for an offensive coordinator.

— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) January 7, 2015"

Schottenheimer hardly won over the affection of fans during his three-year tenure with the team, which began in 2012. His offense finished in the bottom five in each of the last two seasons (going by yards per game), and his 2012 unit ranked just 23rd. 

The St. Louis offense finished 28th overall in 2014, averaging just 314.7 yards per game, and the team was just 21st in the league in points per game (20.2). 

The most frustrating aspect of Schottenheimer's tenure, however, is the underutilization of electric playmaker Tavon Austin. 

The Rams traded a second-round selection to move up from the No. 16 spot and select Austin with the No. 8 overall pick in 2013. Austin averaged just 4.4 touches per game on offense last season, and he was held to just 466 yards from scrimmage. 

Despite the struggles, the departure is still somewhat of a surprise. 

In fact, just over a week ago, head coach Jeff Fisher publicly voiced his support for Schottenheimer and hinted that he'd remain with the team in 2015, according to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 

“First off, I’m not anticipating any changes on the coaching staff,” said Fisher. “I think Brian is an outstanding play-caller. Outstanding play-caller. He’s very organized. He’s an excellent teacher. So you can’t put the record on his shoulders. That’d be very, very unfair.”

Still, it's hard to say if Fisher's comments were genuine. It's still unclear if the Rams encouraged the departure or if Schottenheimer left by choice for personal reasons. 

Rams Must Stick to Roots with New Offensive Coordinator

Jeff Roberson/Associated Press

Now that the Rams are in the market for a new coordinator, it's time to think about what the team will look for in an offensive leader moving forward. 

Of course, fans will campaign for a high-octane play-caller who's known for his creativity. They want someone who will fully utilize the talents of Austin as well as the other deep-ball threats on the team, such as Stedman Bailey and Chris Givens. 

However, the Rams need to stick to their roots as well. It's important that they don't end up with another Josh McDaniels situation. 

The fans want creativity and a lively passing game, but this is a team built to run the football. The new coordinator has to understand the team's strengths and build a scheme around it. 

It's also important that the playbook and terminology remains relatively the same.

Sam Bradford played under three different coordinators in his first three years, and the constant changes didn't do him any favors. There's going to be a learning curve somewhat no matter who they bring in, but the team needs to keep the old offense intact as much as possible. 

In fact, don't be shocked if the new coordinator is an in-house coach. Quarterback coach Frank Cignetti Jr. and wide receivers coach Ray Sherman are two possible options. 

Whomever the Rams bring in, they must ensure the continuity is there, as well as a desire to get the playmakers more involved. 

Steven Gerwel is the longest-tenured Rams Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report and serves as the Rams' game-day correspondent. You can find more of Gerwel's work by visiting his writer profile or by following him on Twitter.