In the middle of Wednesday's Jaguars press conference, sandwiched in between questions about rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars' offensive scheme: a reporter asked Brian Schottenheimer if he could ask him a question about Schottenheimer's late father.
"Absolutely!" the younger Schottenheimer replied. "I appreciate you asking, I really do."
After all, Marty Schottenheimer's list of accomplishments deserves to be celebrated -- as raw as the wounds of his relatively-recent passing may be.
205 wins as an NFL head coach with three teams.
The eighth-winningest head coach in league history.
13 playoff appearances.
A coaching tree that has spawned Super Bowl-winning coaches Tony Dungy, Bill Cowher, Mike McCarthy, and, most recently, Tampa Bay's Bruce Arians. Not to mention his son, the former offensive coordinator of the Jets, Rams, and Seahawks-turned-Jaguars quarterbacks coach.
"My dad was one of my mentors. One of my idols... He has always been my rock," Brian said Wednesday. "I'd bounce things off of him all the time."
Little things like power-running scheme. Big things like career moves.
"I remember when I left the Jets, in 2011. I was trying to decide what I wanted to do and I had a number of options. He was the guy I went to. It wasn't my agent. It was him. Because I knew he would give me the best advice. The most sound advice. And cared about me the most of anybody.
"In reality, the last two or three years, it's been harder [to do that]."
Marty Schottenheimer first showed signs of Alzheimer's Disease a decade ago. When it was publicly announced in 2016, he still maintained most of his memory and function. But in the last calendar year, Marty's condition took a turn.
Simultaneously, after three years in Seattle, Brian Schottenheimer was fired by the Seahawks in January.
"When things played out like they did in Seattle, I had a lot of time to reflect on my career and just different things and places I wanted to go. In the mean time, we were thrown a pretty big curve ball when my father was put into hospice," Brian explained. "But I truly believe this: that allowed me the freedom -- because I was without a job -- to really go and spend three weeks by his side. Some of which was by his bed-side. Those are days and nights and long conversations -- mostly me talking -- that I'll remember for the rest of my life.
"My father was taken a while ago from us from a mental stand-point, but I know when I walked in to see him for the very first time, in hospice, he wasn't able to speak, but his eyes lit up," he recalled. He paused and adjusted his jaw. "And to me, that was pretty awesome."
Five days after entering hospice care, Marty Schottenheimer passed away on February 8, 2021. The day after Super Bowl Sunday. He was 77 years old.
It may have only been three weeks. But it was three weeks that changed Brian Schottenheimer's perspective on life.
"We're all so competitive in this business and we're all driven. We all wanna get to the top of the ladder, if you will. But you're reminded how fragile the world is... To be able to be there with my mom, my wife, my kids, my sister, her kids -- it really showed me the importance of family."
A week after his father's passing, Brian was formally announced as the Jaguars' passing game coordinator, the de facto, first in line-of-command to prodigal rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence. He's been in Jacksonville for a little over five months. As the 2021 season approaches, the Jaguars hype train has never been greater. That fast-paced world of football that has consumed Brian for decades beckons once more.
Yet Brian Schottenheimer is thinking about another date that is fast approaching.
"I miss him every day. Father's Day this weekend will be tough. But I know he's looking down on me," he said. "When he was in the memory care center, he wore a hat. A red ball-cap that had 'Coach' written on it. It sits in my office, so he's with me every day."
In the words of his late father, Brian is taking it one play at a time. One day at a time.