Seahawks News Thread
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The overhaul of the Seahawks' offensive coaching staff will be completed under Pete Carroll with none of the members of Jim Mora's staff expected to be retained.
Jeremy Bates, Carroll's offensive coordinator at USC, will hold the same position with the Seahawks, replacing Greg Knapp.
Alex Gibbs is expected to coach the offensive line and serve as associate head coach. Mike Solari, Seattle's offensive line coach the past two seasons, was given a chance to stay on staff as tight-ends coach, but opted against that.
Jedd Fisch, Minnesota Gophers offensive coordinator, is expected to be the Seahawks' quarterbacks coach, a spot held by Bill Lazer the past two seasons. There were no indications on who will coach wide receivers and running backs. Robert Prince coached receivers for Seattle last season. Kasey Dunn coached running backs.
Carroll is still searching for a defensive coordinator after DeWayne Walker indicated he will remain head coach at New Mexico State. The Seahawks have received permission to interview Jerry Gray, the secondary coach of the Washington Redskins.
Defensive line coach Dan Quinn will be retained from Mora's staff, and there's still a chance Gus Bradley — last season's defensive coordinator — will remain, though at what position is unclear. Bradley was hired by the Seahawks after receiving a ringing endorsement from Monte Kiffin, longtime Tampa Bay defensive coordinator, who is very close to Carroll.
Ken Norton Jr. is coming with Carroll from USC, as is special-teams coach Brian Schneider. He will replace Bruce DeHaven, who was at the end of his coaching contract with the Seahawks. Norton coached linebackers for the Trojans.
The Seahawks appear to be nearing the end of their first round of interviews for the general-manager position, and many around the NFL consider Floyd Reese, a veteran personnel executive, to be the front-runner.
The league's Web site reported Thursday that Reese is one of two finalists. The other was not identified. Seattle also interviewed Marc Ross of the Giants, Omar Khan of the Steelers and John Schneider of the Packers. All three are in their 30s.
Reese, 61, is senior football adviser for the New England Patriots. He previously was general manager of the Tennessee Titans.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/seahawks/2010797759_hawk15.html?syndication=rss
Jeremy Bates, Carroll's offensive coordinator at USC, will hold the same position with the Seahawks, replacing Greg Knapp.
Alex Gibbs is expected to coach the offensive line and serve as associate head coach. Mike Solari, Seattle's offensive line coach the past two seasons, was given a chance to stay on staff as tight-ends coach, but opted against that.
Jedd Fisch, Minnesota Gophers offensive coordinator, is expected to be the Seahawks' quarterbacks coach, a spot held by Bill Lazer the past two seasons. There were no indications on who will coach wide receivers and running backs. Robert Prince coached receivers for Seattle last season. Kasey Dunn coached running backs.
Carroll is still searching for a defensive coordinator after DeWayne Walker indicated he will remain head coach at New Mexico State. The Seahawks have received permission to interview Jerry Gray, the secondary coach of the Washington Redskins.
Defensive line coach Dan Quinn will be retained from Mora's staff, and there's still a chance Gus Bradley — last season's defensive coordinator — will remain, though at what position is unclear. Bradley was hired by the Seahawks after receiving a ringing endorsement from Monte Kiffin, longtime Tampa Bay defensive coordinator, who is very close to Carroll.
Ken Norton Jr. is coming with Carroll from USC, as is special-teams coach Brian Schneider. He will replace Bruce DeHaven, who was at the end of his coaching contract with the Seahawks. Norton coached linebackers for the Trojans.
The Seahawks appear to be nearing the end of their first round of interviews for the general-manager position, and many around the NFL consider Floyd Reese, a veteran personnel executive, to be the front-runner.
The league's Web site reported Thursday that Reese is one of two finalists. The other was not identified. Seattle also interviewed Marc Ross of the Giants, Omar Khan of the Steelers and John Schneider of the Packers. All three are in their 30s.
Reese, 61, is senior football adviser for the New England Patriots. He previously was general manager of the Tennessee Titans.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/seahawks/2010797759_hawk15.html?syndication=rss
Update on the coaching staff
Head Coach: Jim Mora -> Pete Carroll
General Manager: Tim Ruskell ->
Offensive Coordinator: Greg Knapp -> Jeremy Bates
Tight Ends: Mike DeBord ->
Running Backs: Kasey Dunn ->
Quarterbacks: Bill Lazor -> Jedd Fisch
Wide Receivers: Robert Prince -> Kippy Brown
Offensive Line: Mike Solari -> Alex Gibbs
Defensive Coordinator: Gus Bradley
Defensive Backs: Tim Lewis -> Jerry Gray
Defensive Line: Dan Quinn
Linebackers: Zerick Rollins -> Ken Norton Jr.
Strength & Conditioning: Mike Clark
Special Teams: Bruce DeHaven -> Brian Schneider
Head Coach: Jim Mora -> Pete Carroll
General Manager: Tim Ruskell ->
Offensive Coordinator: Greg Knapp -> Jeremy Bates
Tight Ends: Mike DeBord ->
Running Backs: Kasey Dunn ->
Quarterbacks: Bill Lazor -> Jedd Fisch
Wide Receivers: Robert Prince -> Kippy Brown
Offensive Line: Mike Solari -> Alex Gibbs
Defensive Coordinator: Gus Bradley
Defensive Backs: Tim Lewis -> Jerry Gray
Defensive Line: Dan Quinn
Linebackers: Zerick Rollins -> Ken Norton Jr.
Strength & Conditioning: Mike Clark
Special Teams: Bruce DeHaven -> Brian Schneider
I sure hope this works.... its hard to set yourself up to be let down.
if carroll fucks this up worse than mora did he better get canned just as fast. im putting a lot of faith into him and our new coaches
paul allen is not fucking around and wants a ring before the cancer takes him it seems. cant wait to start seeing what roster changes and additions they have in mind, and waht the team identity will be. im really anxious for next year
if carroll fucks this up worse than mora did he better get canned just as fast. im putting a lot of faith into him and our new coaches
paul allen is not fucking around and wants a ring before the cancer takes him it seems. cant wait to start seeing what roster changes and additions they have in mind, and waht the team identity will be. im really anxious for next year
Seahawks will move away from one single boss for football operations
Collaboration.
It has become the Seahawks' buzzword, one used repeatedly to describe the division of authority between new coach Pete Carroll and the general manager the team is expected to hire in the next few days.
Carroll said "collaboration" three different times during his introductory news conference, and CEO Tod Leiweke has repeated it as well. Once he even said "fantastic collaboration."
It's enough to make it sound like the Seahawks are in the midst of one big corporate retreat. Next up: a guide to thinking outside the box, followed by a lesson on doing more with less.
But all jokes aside, the most insightful analysis of the changes in the Seahawks' management structure comes from the business world. Because after Seattle fired Jim Mora last week, the Seahawks went and flattened their hierarchy.
Don't worry, that sounds more painful than it is.
In the world of corporate management, a flattened hierarchy refers to a move away from the conventional organization chart that funnels up to a singular central authority. Put more plainly, the Seahawks are no longer one man's football fiefdom, as they have been for most of the past decade.
Seattle tried consolidating power in a single coach when it hired Mike Holmgren in 1999. The Seahawks tried investing a similar level of power in a personnel man in Tim Ruskell in 2005, and while they reached the Super Bowl that season, a two-year nose dive out of playoff relevancy prompted the Seahawks to start over at the top of the team.
Now, there will be a trio of officials at the top making the Seahawks' football decisions. Carroll will report up to Leiweke. So will the general manager that is next to be hired, as well as the person who negotiates the contracts and handles the salary cap, which is currently vice president of football administration John Idzik.
In business terms, flattening a hierarchy reduces the number of layers of management, which should enable a freer flow of information and more debate. You don't wait for one ultimate authority to make a decision on an issue that he or she may be three or four steps from dealing with directly.
Decision-making authority is not consolidated at the very top. In theory, management has both a wider reach and faster response time.
"Decentralizing is a way to be as big as a dinosaur and as nimble as a cat at the same time," wrote designer Jeremy Faludi at worldchanging.com, a Seattle-based nonprofit that addresses models and ideas for a greener future.
As big as a dinosaur? That would really help Seattle's offensive line. Quick as a cat? The Seahawks could use some of that, too, considering their most dangerous offensive player in the open field this season was Justin Forsett, a running back who slid to the seventh round of the draft in part because of a lack of speed.
But unfortunately, those size-and-speed comparisons were metaphors for a different way of doing things. And in the NFL, this is certainly a departure from the dictatorship that runs many football franchises where one guy gets to declare, "It's my way or the highway."
That route didn't work so well these past five years when Holmgren chafed under Ruskell's rule, which is understandable if you consider this franchise's precipitous tumble the past two seasons.
"I walked into a tough situation here because we did not have alignment of an organization," Leiweke said Tuesday. "And it doesn't make any one person not a good person. I have huge respect for Mike Holmgren. I consider Tim Ruskell a good friend of mine. But there was not alignment, and we're going to make sure we build a structure here where there's alignment."
Is running a football franchise by committee going to prevent that sort of staredown from happening again?
That remains to be seen, but the Seahawks are assured of at least starting out on the same page, because there won't be another arranged marriage atop the franchise as there was in 2005 when Ruskell was hired and took over a team with a Hall of Fame coach he didn't hire. Seattle isn't going to hire a general manager this week that doesn't get along with Carroll. In fact, the Seahawks aren't going to hire someone he doesn't want on staff.
"His voice is going to count in a significant way," Leiweke said of Carroll's input on the GM hire.
And once that general manager position is filled, Seattle will have its fresh start with a flattened hierarchy.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/dannyoneil/2010822249_oneil18.html?syndication=rss
Collaboration.
It has become the Seahawks' buzzword, one used repeatedly to describe the division of authority between new coach Pete Carroll and the general manager the team is expected to hire in the next few days.
Carroll said "collaboration" three different times during his introductory news conference, and CEO Tod Leiweke has repeated it as well. Once he even said "fantastic collaboration."
It's enough to make it sound like the Seahawks are in the midst of one big corporate retreat. Next up: a guide to thinking outside the box, followed by a lesson on doing more with less.
But all jokes aside, the most insightful analysis of the changes in the Seahawks' management structure comes from the business world. Because after Seattle fired Jim Mora last week, the Seahawks went and flattened their hierarchy.
Don't worry, that sounds more painful than it is.
In the world of corporate management, a flattened hierarchy refers to a move away from the conventional organization chart that funnels up to a singular central authority. Put more plainly, the Seahawks are no longer one man's football fiefdom, as they have been for most of the past decade.
Seattle tried consolidating power in a single coach when it hired Mike Holmgren in 1999. The Seahawks tried investing a similar level of power in a personnel man in Tim Ruskell in 2005, and while they reached the Super Bowl that season, a two-year nose dive out of playoff relevancy prompted the Seahawks to start over at the top of the team.
Now, there will be a trio of officials at the top making the Seahawks' football decisions. Carroll will report up to Leiweke. So will the general manager that is next to be hired, as well as the person who negotiates the contracts and handles the salary cap, which is currently vice president of football administration John Idzik.
In business terms, flattening a hierarchy reduces the number of layers of management, which should enable a freer flow of information and more debate. You don't wait for one ultimate authority to make a decision on an issue that he or she may be three or four steps from dealing with directly.
Decision-making authority is not consolidated at the very top. In theory, management has both a wider reach and faster response time.
"Decentralizing is a way to be as big as a dinosaur and as nimble as a cat at the same time," wrote designer Jeremy Faludi at worldchanging.com, a Seattle-based nonprofit that addresses models and ideas for a greener future.
As big as a dinosaur? That would really help Seattle's offensive line. Quick as a cat? The Seahawks could use some of that, too, considering their most dangerous offensive player in the open field this season was Justin Forsett, a running back who slid to the seventh round of the draft in part because of a lack of speed.
But unfortunately, those size-and-speed comparisons were metaphors for a different way of doing things. And in the NFL, this is certainly a departure from the dictatorship that runs many football franchises where one guy gets to declare, "It's my way or the highway."
That route didn't work so well these past five years when Holmgren chafed under Ruskell's rule, which is understandable if you consider this franchise's precipitous tumble the past two seasons.
"I walked into a tough situation here because we did not have alignment of an organization," Leiweke said Tuesday. "And it doesn't make any one person not a good person. I have huge respect for Mike Holmgren. I consider Tim Ruskell a good friend of mine. But there was not alignment, and we're going to make sure we build a structure here where there's alignment."
Is running a football franchise by committee going to prevent that sort of staredown from happening again?
That remains to be seen, but the Seahawks are assured of at least starting out on the same page, because there won't be another arranged marriage atop the franchise as there was in 2005 when Ruskell was hired and took over a team with a Hall of Fame coach he didn't hire. Seattle isn't going to hire a general manager this week that doesn't get along with Carroll. In fact, the Seahawks aren't going to hire someone he doesn't want on staff.
"His voice is going to count in a significant way," Leiweke said of Carroll's input on the GM hire.
And once that general manager position is filled, Seattle will have its fresh start with a flattened hierarchy.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/dannyoneil/2010822249_oneil18.html?syndication=rss
Carroll hires young guns as top Seahawks' assistants
New Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll has been away from professional football the past nine years, but he's still chosen to go with two relative NFL newcomers as his coordinators on offense and defense.
Carroll was on Sirius NFL Radio earlier this weekend and said he'll be retaining previous defensive coordinator Gus Bradley from Jim Mora's staff, while confirming that he's bringing Jeremy Bates with him from USC to run the offense.
Bates, 33, has never been an NFL coordinator before. Bradley, 43, got his first shot last year under Jim Mora.
Bates was the Denver Broncos' quarterback coach in 2007-08 before replacing Steve Sarkisian as Carroll's offensive coordinator at USC last year.
Bradley has 10 years under his belt in college as an assistant at North Dakota State, but he was in the NFL just three years as a linebackers coach at Tampa Bay before becoming Mora's defensive coordinator last season.
The retention of Bradley is an interesting move as he was regarded as a young up-and-comer when hired by Mora last season, but Seattle's defense failed to live up to the aggressive brand of play promised.
Carroll clearly feels that situation had more to do with player personnel than coaching, however.
"Gus is going to stay with us and be the coordinator and we're really pumped up about that," Carroll said on Sirius. "I can have the kind of influence that I like (and) let these guys run with it and really make this thing come to life.
"It's a group, we need to improve on our play, we need to get a couple of players to fit in, but we'll be fired up, we'll be energetic, it's young, the kind of group with the energy that I like to see."
Carroll, whose own background is as as a defensive coordinator, said at his introductory press conference in Seattle that he planned to completely change the offense, but would stick largely with the defensive schemes already in place.
In that vein, he said he's also retaining defensive line coach Dan Quinn, who also had the title of Seahawks' assistant head coach last year after being hired away from the New York Jets.
Ken Norton Jr. will coach the linebackers, a position he previously held at USC. Special teams coach Brian Schneider is also coming up from USC, though he previously worked with the Oakland Raiders.
Carroll said the announcement of a secondary coach would be forthcoming and it appears the job has been offered to Jerry Gray, who held the same position with the Washington Redskins the past four years.
Carroll isn't retaining any of last season's offensive staff. But while he's going extremely young at coodinator there, Bates' inexperience is offset by the addition of veteran offensive line coach Alex Gibbs.
Gibbs, who turns 69 next month, coached last season with the Houston Texans and has an exhaustive track record of working with some of the best running games in the league. He's a 25-year NFL veteran with eight different teams.
Gibbs' run game knowledge melds nicely with Bates' passing background, as he was the quarterbacks coach with the Broncos in 2007-08 when Jay Cutler had considerable success.
Meanwhile, reports out of Knoxville, Tenn., indicate that Kippy Brown, who had been the wide receivers coach on Lane Kiffin's staff at Tennessee, has accepted an offer to coach that same position for the Seahawks.
Brown, 54, has 16 seasons of NFL assistant coaching on his resume and was briefly the interim coach at Tennessee following Kiffin's dismissal.
University of Minnesota offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch, 33, who worked with Bates with the Broncos for one season, is reportedly under consideration as Seattle's quarterback coach, though Carroll didn't confirm that in his Sirius interview.
It's still uncertain who will coach the running backs and tight ends.
http://blog.seattlepi.com/football/archives/191359.asp
New Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll has been away from professional football the past nine years, but he's still chosen to go with two relative NFL newcomers as his coordinators on offense and defense.
Carroll was on Sirius NFL Radio earlier this weekend and said he'll be retaining previous defensive coordinator Gus Bradley from Jim Mora's staff, while confirming that he's bringing Jeremy Bates with him from USC to run the offense.
Bates, 33, has never been an NFL coordinator before. Bradley, 43, got his first shot last year under Jim Mora.
Bates was the Denver Broncos' quarterback coach in 2007-08 before replacing Steve Sarkisian as Carroll's offensive coordinator at USC last year.
Bradley has 10 years under his belt in college as an assistant at North Dakota State, but he was in the NFL just three years as a linebackers coach at Tampa Bay before becoming Mora's defensive coordinator last season.
The retention of Bradley is an interesting move as he was regarded as a young up-and-comer when hired by Mora last season, but Seattle's defense failed to live up to the aggressive brand of play promised.
Carroll clearly feels that situation had more to do with player personnel than coaching, however.
"Gus is going to stay with us and be the coordinator and we're really pumped up about that," Carroll said on Sirius. "I can have the kind of influence that I like (and) let these guys run with it and really make this thing come to life.
"It's a group, we need to improve on our play, we need to get a couple of players to fit in, but we'll be fired up, we'll be energetic, it's young, the kind of group with the energy that I like to see."
Carroll, whose own background is as as a defensive coordinator, said at his introductory press conference in Seattle that he planned to completely change the offense, but would stick largely with the defensive schemes already in place.
In that vein, he said he's also retaining defensive line coach Dan Quinn, who also had the title of Seahawks' assistant head coach last year after being hired away from the New York Jets.
Ken Norton Jr. will coach the linebackers, a position he previously held at USC. Special teams coach Brian Schneider is also coming up from USC, though he previously worked with the Oakland Raiders.
Carroll said the announcement of a secondary coach would be forthcoming and it appears the job has been offered to Jerry Gray, who held the same position with the Washington Redskins the past four years.
Carroll isn't retaining any of last season's offensive staff. But while he's going extremely young at coodinator there, Bates' inexperience is offset by the addition of veteran offensive line coach Alex Gibbs.
Gibbs, who turns 69 next month, coached last season with the Houston Texans and has an exhaustive track record of working with some of the best running games in the league. He's a 25-year NFL veteran with eight different teams.
Gibbs' run game knowledge melds nicely with Bates' passing background, as he was the quarterbacks coach with the Broncos in 2007-08 when Jay Cutler had considerable success.
Meanwhile, reports out of Knoxville, Tenn., indicate that Kippy Brown, who had been the wide receivers coach on Lane Kiffin's staff at Tennessee, has accepted an offer to coach that same position for the Seahawks.
Brown, 54, has 16 seasons of NFL assistant coaching on his resume and was briefly the interim coach at Tennessee following Kiffin's dismissal.
University of Minnesota offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch, 33, who worked with Bates with the Broncos for one season, is reportedly under consideration as Seattle's quarterback coach, though Carroll didn't confirm that in his Sirius interview.
It's still uncertain who will coach the running backs and tight ends.
http://blog.seattlepi.com/football/archives/191359.asp
Seahawks' GM decision remains a mystery
Just back from a weekend getaway to Port Townsend and am happy to see I didn't miss too much on the Seahawks' front.
The powers-to-be are still pondering the general manager hire and are expected to make a decision in the next day or two.
It's been reported that former Tennessee Titans GM Floyd Reese and Green Bay Packers director of football operations John Schneider are the two finalists, but let's be careful about assuming anyone on the outside knows too much about what actually is happening in the Seahawks' front office right now.
CEO Tod Leiweke has been successfully secretive so far when it came to firing Jim Mora and having Pete Carroll in his sights, so it would be silly to presume much knowledge now in the GM hunt.
What we do know is that the Green Bay Press-Gazette is reporting that sources indicate Schneider flew back to Seattle late last week to meet with owner Paul Allen after originally interviewing for the position Tuesday with Leiweke, Carroll and others, which would indicate he indeed is still being considered.
Several media outlets -- including nfl.com -- previously reported that Reese also had talked a second time with Allen and was believed to be the leading candidate, though that might have been overstated.
Just to muddy the waters, it has also been reported by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that Steelers executive Omar Khan is one of two finalists, though there's no clear indication he's returned to Seattle for a meeting with Allen.
In other words, nobody knows for sure which way the Seahawks are leaning or if they've made a decision and are waiting to make it public -- at least nobody that is sharing information at this point.
New York Giants scouting director Marc Ross was the other candidate interviewed. And since nobody is mentioning him as a finalist, that probably automatically makes him the front runner ...
http://blog.seattlepi.com/football/archives/191356.asp
Just back from a weekend getaway to Port Townsend and am happy to see I didn't miss too much on the Seahawks' front.
The powers-to-be are still pondering the general manager hire and are expected to make a decision in the next day or two.
It's been reported that former Tennessee Titans GM Floyd Reese and Green Bay Packers director of football operations John Schneider are the two finalists, but let's be careful about assuming anyone on the outside knows too much about what actually is happening in the Seahawks' front office right now.
CEO Tod Leiweke has been successfully secretive so far when it came to firing Jim Mora and having Pete Carroll in his sights, so it would be silly to presume much knowledge now in the GM hunt.
What we do know is that the Green Bay Press-Gazette is reporting that sources indicate Schneider flew back to Seattle late last week to meet with owner Paul Allen after originally interviewing for the position Tuesday with Leiweke, Carroll and others, which would indicate he indeed is still being considered.
Several media outlets -- including nfl.com -- previously reported that Reese also had talked a second time with Allen and was believed to be the leading candidate, though that might have been overstated.
Just to muddy the waters, it has also been reported by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that Steelers executive Omar Khan is one of two finalists, though there's no clear indication he's returned to Seattle for a meeting with Allen.
In other words, nobody knows for sure which way the Seahawks are leaning or if they've made a decision and are waiting to make it public -- at least nobody that is sharing information at this point.
New York Giants scouting director Marc Ross was the other candidate interviewed. And since nobody is mentioning him as a finalist, that probably automatically makes him the front runner ...
http://blog.seattlepi.com/football/archives/191356.asp
Top 5 2010 Hawks Salaries... wow
Marcus Trufant LCB
$8,100,000
.
Matt Hasselbeck QB
$6,754,200
.
Ken Lucas RCB
$5,400,000
.
Sean Locklear LT
$5,050,000
.
Walter Jones T
$5,002,880
http://www.seattlepi.com/forum/boards/viewtopic.asp?topicid=144459
Marcus Trufant LCB
$8,100,000
.
Matt Hasselbeck QB
$6,754,200
.
Ken Lucas RCB
$5,400,000
.
Sean Locklear LT
$5,050,000
.
Walter Jones T
$5,002,880
http://www.seattlepi.com/forum/boards/viewtopic.asp?topicid=144459