Brian Schottenheimer To Falcons Rumor Begins With Joe Theismann Slip

Did Joe Theismann just accidentally tip the Atlanta Falcons' hand in hiring a new offensive coordinator?

Joe Theisman might have just slipped! He SAID:"Brian Schottenheimer...so much more to work with in Matt Ryan as off coord for the Falcons"
— Sandra Golden (@sportsandra) January 12, 2012

The legendary quarterback and analyst appeared on 680 AM The Fan's "Rude Awakening" morning show in Atlanta Thursday morning, and in talking about Brian Schottenheimer's situation with the New York Jets - the offensive coordinator's now-previous employer - and the struggles of quarterback Mark Sanchez, he veered off and began discussing Schottenheimer's skill set being better suited for Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan: (transcription courtesy of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

"[Brian] felt like he was saddled and limited by what Mark Sanchez can do in New York," Theismann said. "Mark is really not that good. He’s a hard-working kid. He wants to be good. But he doesn’t understand the game of football the way Matt does.

"You have to play the position with the knowledge of where you are on the field, what the score is in the game. What [you] can do. What [you] can’t do. What are the things that are required of me. Really, the only route that Mark throws effectively is the quick post. He’s going to have a whole lot more to work with, with Matt Ryan."

They asked him to clarify his comments.

"I’ve [unaudible] Brian was going to be the offensive coordinator."

Now that's weird, certainly, but it could just be that Theismann confused his phrasing when discussing the POTENTIAL of Schottenheimer coaching Ryan, the quarterback of the franchise in the city in which Theisman was currently being interviewed. Or some of those tightly guarded state secrets of Arthur Blank and Thomas Dimitroff were just leaked in a wonderful brain fart.

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