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Scott Linehan
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Scott Thomas Linehan (born September 17, 1963) is the offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions. He previously held the head coaching position of the St. Louis Rams. He also served as the offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins in 2005 and the Minnesota Vikings for three seasons (2002–04).
t Linehan was born and raised in Sunnyside, Washington, a town of 14,000 about three hours southeast of Seattle that bills itself as the "Asparagus Capital of the Northwest." He graduated from high school in 1982, and accepted an athletic scholarship to play college football at the University of Idaho, two hundred miles to the east.
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Encyclopedia
Scott Thomas Linehan (born September 17, 1963) is the offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions. He previously held the head coaching position of the St. Louis Rams. He also served as the offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins in 2005 and the Minnesota Vikings for three seasons (2002–04).
Biography
Early life
Scott Linehan was born and raised in Sunnyside, Washington, a town of 14,000 about three hours southeast of Seattle that bills itself as the "Asparagus Capital of the Northwest." He graduated from high school in 1982, and accepted an athletic scholarship to play college football at the University of Idaho, two hundred miles to the east.
Playing career
Linehan was a quarterback for the Vandals under head coaches Dennis Erickson (1982–85) and Keith Gilbertson. He redshirted in 1982, was the back-up to senior QB Ken Hobart in 1983, and became the starter in 1984 as a redshirt sophomore. In 1985, Linehan led Idaho to the Big Sky title and consecutive I-AA playoff appearances in 1985 and 1986. His career passing yardage for the Vandals was over 7000 yards. He signed a rookie free agent contract with the Dallas Cowboys in 1987, but a shoulder injury quickly ended his playing career when he was cut at the start of his rookie training camp.
Coaching career
Linehan began his coaching career as a volunteer coach at Sunset High School in Portland in 1987. At this time he was also helping a friend with his business, selling class rings for Jostens.
His college coaching career began in 1989 as the wide receivers coach at his alma mater, Idaho. He subsequently coached in the college ranks at UNLV, Washington and Louisville. He took his first NFL job as the offensive coordinator/ wide receivers coach with the Minnesota Vikings in 2002. He served in a similar capacity with the Miami Dolphins in 2005 before being handed his first head coaching position by the St. Louis Rams on January 19, 2006.
During his tenure as Rams head coach, he experienced on and off the field disputes with star players such as Steven Jackson, Torry Holt, and, most notoriously, quarterback Marc Bulger whom he benched for his final game as head coach. Linehan was fired early in the 2008 season.
On January 9, 2009, Linehan interviewed with the San Francisco 49ers as a candidate for the open Offensive Coordinator position. A second interview with the 49ers was held on January 15, 2009.. He then declined the offer of the offensive coordinator position of the 49ers.
Linehan was announced as the offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions on January 23, 2009 by new head coach Jim Schwartz.
Personal life
Linehan is the youngest of seven children of Bill and Margaret Linehan — he has three brothers and three sisters. His father was a high school principal after serving in WWII.
Scott and his wife of over 20 years, Kristen, have three sons: Matthew, Michael and Marcus. He is of Irish descent and is a devout Catholic.
Head coaching record
| Team | Year | Regular Season | Post Season |
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| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result |
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| STL | 2006
| 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 2nd in NFC West | - | - | - | - |
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| STL | 2007
| 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | last in NFC West | - | - | - | - |
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| STL | 2008*
| 0 | 4 | 0 | .000 | last in NFC West (team finished 2-14) | - | - | - | - |
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| STL Total | 11 | 25 | 0 | .306 | | - | - | - | - |
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| Total | 11 | 25 | 0 | .306 | | - | - | - |
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*Fired four games into 2008 season
Trivia
- Linehan credits Dennis Erickson, his coach at Idaho, as the "biggest influence" on Linehan's attack-style offensive philosophies.
- Urban Meyer has stated that he borrowed heavily from the passing game that Linehan had in place in Louisville as a starting point for Meyer's version of the Spread offense which has become his trademark.
- Fellow NFL head coach Tom Cable and ESPN analyst (and former NFL player) Mark Schlereth both blocked for Linehan during his playing days at Idaho.
- Actor James Caviezel is Linehan's brother-in-law – Linehan's wife, Kristen, and Caviezel's wife, Kerri, are sisters.
External links
- Idaho Vandals results - 1985-89
- - Scott Linehan biography
- - transcript of introductory press conference - 2006
- - The Seattle Times - 11-Oct-2006
- - Tacoma News Tribune 13-Oct-2006
- - All-time football scores (pdf)
- - Home Page of the University of Louisville Cardinals Athletics
- - Linehan accepts coaching offer from the Detroit Lions.
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