Scott Linehan

Scott Thomas Linehan (born September 17, 1963) is an American football coach who currently works as an offensive analyst for Missouri.

He was most recently the passing game coordinator for LSU.

He was previously the head coach of the St. Louis Rams and the offensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions.

Linehan's brothers, Ron and Rick, had played at Idaho in the 1970s, and were team leaders on defense.

Linehan graduated from high school in 1982 and accepted a scholarship to play college football at the University of Idaho in Moscow, about 200 mi to the east.

He was a member of Dennis Erickson's first recruiting class as a collegiate head coach.

Linehan was a quarterback for the Vandals under head coaches Erickson (1982–85) and Keith Gilbertson.

He backed-up junior All-American Ken Hobart as a true freshman in 1982, then redshirted in 1983.

Linehan became the starter in 1984 as a redshirt sophomore, but broke his clavicle early in the second game and missed most of that game and two additional starts.

Following two successful seasons behind Hobart, the Vandals struggled to a 2–5 record in 1984, then won four straight to finish 6–5 and third in the Big Sky.

Linehan led the Vandals to a 5–1 record as a starter in 1985, then a stress fracture in his right foot required surgery and sidelined him for the season.

Idaho won the Big Sky title and had consecutive Division I-AA playoff appearances in 1985 and 1986.

Finally healthy for a full season as a fifth-year senior in 1986, Idaho went 8–3 in the regular season and he threw for 2,954 yards, ending his college career with over 7,000 yards.

Tom Cable and Mark Schlereth both blocked for Linehan during his college career at Idaho.

Linehan credits Erickson as the "biggest influence" on his attack-style offensive philosophies.

Not selected in the 1987 NFL Draft, Linehan signed as an undrafted free agent with the Dallas Cowboys on May 6, 1987.

A shoulder injury quickly ended his playing career, when he was cut at the start of his rookie training camp.

Linehan began his coaching career as a volunteer coach at Sunset High School in Portland in 1987.

At this time, he also was helping a friend with his business, selling class rings for Jostens.

Linehan's college coaching career began in 1989 at his alma mater, the University of Idaho, as wide receivers coach under first-year head coach John L. Smith.

After two seasons at Idaho, Linehan coached a year at UNLV, and returned for two more seasons at Idaho as offensive coordinator.

Linehan then spent five years at Washington in Seattle under Jim Lambright and three at Louisville under John L. Smith.

It concluded with a 37–0 shutout at Bronco Stadium for a third consecutive win over rival Boise State, a streak that extended to twelve straight in 1993.

Prior to becoming an NFL coach in 2002, Linehan was a college assistant coach for 13 seasons.

Linehan was born and raised in Sunnyside, Washington, about three hours southeast of Seattle, in the lower Yakima Valley of eastern Washington.

He was a three-year starter at quarterback at Sunnyside High School, where his father was principal.

Linehan took his first NFL job as the offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach with the Minnesota Vikings in 2002.

After three seasons in Minneapolis, Linehan served in a similar capacity with the Miami Dolphins in 2005 under Nick Saban, then was hired as head coach by the St. Louis Rams on January 19, 2006.

Linehan inherited a team in transition.

Most of the Rams' stars from earlier in the decade had gone elsewhere, and the remaining players from "The Greatest Show on Turf" era had noticeably lost a step.

Nonetheless, Linehan's tenure started out on a promising note, as the Rams went 4–2 in their first six games.

However, a four-game losing streak in October and November effectively ended any chance of making the playoffs.

Despite this slump, the NFC West was so weak that year that they finished 8–8, missing the division title by a single game.

However, the Rams regressed to 3–13 in his second season.

Years of questionable draft and free-agent acquisitions caught up with the team, and the season degenerated into a fiasco due to a rash of injuries to the offensive line.

The season was also marked by disputes with star players such as Steven Jackson, Torry Holt, and, most notoriously, quarterback Marc Bulger.

Holt and Jackson openly feuded with Linehan on the sidelines during games.

On February 10, 2020, LSU hired Linehan as passing game coordinator.

Following the 2020 season, Linehan was let go by LSU.

In May 2021, the University of Missouri announced that Linehan had official joined the Tigers' staff as offensive analyst.