The Seahawks are doing something they haven’t done since the 1990s — a legitimate head coaching search.
The three previous head coaches — Pete Carroll, Jim Mora, and Mike Holmgren — were either handpicked ahead of time by ownership or in Mora’s case, were predetermined as the successor, which ultimately worked out horribly.
If it wasn’t clear in what I thought was a pretty illuminating press conference (I know others felt differently), John Schneider made it clear he is going to be thorough in his search and interview a variety of candidates with different backgrounds. Of the eight interview requests reported so far, four are offensive coaches and four are defensive coaches, and based on what I am hearing, there will be more names that emerge. Bill Belichick, however, will not be one of them, and it is extremely unlikely that Jim Harbaugh will either, given how Schneider wants to oversee the coaching staff.
Last year — all of the final four teams in the playoffs were led by offensive coaches. The league has shifted that way in general. This year the final eight teams have coaches from different backgrounds. Three are offensive play callers (Kyle Shanahan, Matt LaFleur, Andy Reid), two are CEO style head coaches (Dan Campbell, John Harbaugh) while three come from the defensive side (DeMeco Ryans, Sean McDermott, Todd Bowles).
Will Schneider follow the league trend and go an offensive play caller as his coach? Will he stick with someone he already knows? Or will he prefer a proven leader with head coaching experience? All are legitimate questions.
With all of the candidates starting to emerge — I wanted to do my homework and spoke to a variety of a different league sources — both on the agent and team side — and gathered a lot of information that I shared on Wednesday’s episode of Real Hawk Talk.
I was thinking about the best way to share that before I logged on Twitter this morning (yes, Elon, I will not call it X) and saw Brian, Hawkblogger himself, posted his tiered rankings among a series of tweets of who he’d like to see get the job.
While I did not entirely agree with some of his logic/context for certain candidates, I found it fascinating nonetheless and wanted to post my own version, with bullet points based on all of the feedback I have collected over the past week. If you disagree, send all feedback to Evan Hill. He is a much better arguer than me.
TIER 1: Ben Johnson, Detroit Lions OC
· Everyone I talked to absolutely raves about Johnson. He feels like the best combination of leadership, Xs & Os, play calling, and player utilization. He was Nathan Ernst’s No. 1 ranked coach on his vibes list.
· He is most appealing to me because of all the hand in glove fits with Detroit and Seattle’s offensive personnel – Montgomery and Gibbs remind me of Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet. JSN would be perfect fit in the Amon Ra St Brown role (Johnson has unleashed St. Brown), and even Geno Smith playing style very similar to Jared Goff.
· Johnson got great reviews for his work incorporating rookie TE Sam Laporta into the offense. Rookie TEs tend to take more time. Picturing him with a physical freak like DK Metcalf has to excite Schneider.
· Drawback would be that he doesn’t come with Lions’ offensive line. Seattle’s left tackle not very physical compared to what he’s used to in Detroit. Will need to get that group sorted out. Both of Detroit’s guards are UFAs.
· A lot of my sources think Washington is likeliest team to land him. He has ties to GM Adam Peters, and they have No. 2 overall pick to draft a QB. The expected No.2 pick went to same school as Johnson (Drake Maye at North Carolina). He can really build that thing from the ground up.
TIER 2: Bobby Slowik, Houston Texans OC
· Slowik has gotten reviews as brilliant play caller, schematic expert. Has a lot of play-calling similarities with Kyle Shanahan with the way he uses formations, motion, players to manipulate defenses and get wide open receivers. Has done amazing work with CJ Stroud, but how much of that is Stroud?
· Could see his schematic excellence against the Browns last week. A lot of the play designs, details were brilliant and created wide open receivers in space. Per Next Gen Stats, eight of Stroud’s 21 passes were to receivers that had at least five yards of separation to the nearest defender. That was against a defensive coordinator that has historically beaten up on Shanahan and his protégé whooped Jim Schwartz.
· DJ Bien-Aime of ESPN.com wrote a great feature article feature on Slowik, his background, and how he has elevated CJ Stroud. Really good examples of what he brings to the table. Believe it or not, he even worked at Pro Football Focus between coachng jobs.
· He is young (36 years old) and some worry he’s a bit too green as a leader of a locker room. Will be really interesting to see him battle Ravens DC Mike MacDonald with an inferior roster.
Mike McDonald, Ravens DC
· Really creative and innovative defensive mind. Has elevated the Ravens defense into an elite unit with creative scheme and a variety of looks that beat up on Shanahan and Mike McDaniel. How could you not want the guy that took down Brock Purdy’s MVP campaign?
· Player utilization has been amazing. Got career year of Clowney, turned Kyle Van Noy as a bottom-tier free agent signing into a plus starter. Got career year out of Justin Madubuike and it’s hard to have elite defense without alpha on the defensive line.
· Beloved by both Harbaugh brothers. Didn’t get great ranking on Nathan’s vibes rankings, however.
· Concern is how many contacts he has around the NFL. Has only worked for the Harbaughs and Jim is in the mix to go to Chargers, so he’ll have to build a full staff. Who does that leave MacDonald with?
· Not in demand as much as the offensive coaches. Seahawks don’t’ need to rush to interview him, and his official request is expected to emerge next week.
TIER 3: Mike Vrabel, former Titans head coach
· I like him more than the others did on Real Hawk Talk, but he is clearly two tiers below the others on my list. Vrabel is a proven leader and culture builder – has very similar profile to Dan Campbell. His teams have a real style to them. They play tough and physical– blue collar kind of style. Seahawks were very soft the last two years. Even his terrible Titans roster was able to push Jaguars around in must-win Week 18 game. His former players rave about his leadership.
· A lot of buzz about his relationship with Schneider, which Adam Schefter mentioned on Dan Patrick Show earlier this week. Peter King also tied Vrabel to this job and Dan Graziano of ESPN.com said he has a hunch and so do a lot of his sources that Vrabel is a sneaky candidate. Does not need interview request as a fired head coach.
· Had pretty solid run in Tennessee without an elite QB. Was No. 1 seed in AFC in 2020. Beat Lamar Jackson and Tom Brady in the playoffs in 2019 with punch-you-in-the-mouth style. Beat the crap out of Stafford/Rams during their Super Bowl year in primetime game. Bad personnel decisions doomed the Titans moreso than coaching. Everyone’s seen Vrabel reaction to AJ Brown in the draft room.
· Do you follow Carroll with a coach that isn’t known for offensive innovation – or brilliance on one side of the ball? Is he who you want identifying a staff to develop a QB of the future? Brian raised these points last night and they are very fair.
· How would he be without Derrick Henry? Who is the an OC? Does he go back to Arthur Smith? Did well identifying Lafleur and then promoting Smith, who had top-five offense with him, but next two OCs didn’t jump off the page. Is he with the times enough?
TIER 4: Raheem Morris, Rams DC
· Morris has really grown since his first head coaching experience in Tampa Bay. One of the best pure leaders and teachers available. Reminds some of Pete Carroll with the amount of juice/energy he brings. Amazing support around the league – Andrew Whitworth, Jalen Ramsey, and Bobby Wagner all have posted about him in recent days.
· Has first-hand knowledge of both McVay/Shanahan- Very logical person for Seattle to interview and pick his brain. Came up on defensive side but was WR coach on Quinn’s staff with Shanahan and later became interim head coach when Quinn was fired.
· Did really good work on the field with the Rams defense no one expected to be competitive. Got a lot of young players, developed a lot of rookies (Byron Young/Turner) and had really good second half adjustments against Detroit in the playoff game. Some thought he used Bobby Wagner much better than Seattle did
· He is a great leader, but he is slightly behind Vrabel for me due to experience. Morris wouldn’t get me super excited but he’s a worthy candidate.
Dan Quinn, Cowboys DC
· Brings a lot of to the table as a leader – excellent communicator, really strong at player development (Daron Bland is great example), commands respect of the room. Ex-Seahawks rave about Quinn. Brian made good point on Real Hawk Talk last night about Seattle already having a good secondary in place, and his defensive line background would pairthe defense together nicely.
· Really well connected around the league – built really good staff in Atlanta, has identified good assistant coaches in Dallas. That was big issue for Carroll and would be refreshing change. Identified Shanahan at time where his stock was down after Browns/Manziel experience.
· Who is the OC? If you are hiring Quinn, this is one of the biggest question marks. Hard to overlook spotty record post Shanahan in Atlanta.
· Can he beat Shanahan/McVay? Shanahan protégé just crushed his defense in the disastrous playoff game. Stock went way down in public eye but still getting a lot of interviews. Got killed by Shanahan earlier in the season. If Seahawks were in NFC/AFC South, would be much easier sell as someone to rebuild a culture. Carroll got lapped by Shanahan/Mcvay. How would you sell this to your fans?
· Last point is where I am. I cannot quite get excited by this one after seeing a Shanahan guy whoop him with a much better defense than Seahawks have and no Micah Parsons. Dan Orlovsky mentioned how Quinn’s defense struggled defending teams with motion. That’s bread of butter of Shanahan tree.
TIER 5: Ejero Evero, Panthers DC
· Came up on Sean McVay’s staff – really well regarded by everyone with the Rams – was with them when they won the Super Bowl in 2021. Very logical guy to talk to and learn from.
· Has done excellent work as a defensive coordinator. Was DC In Carolina last year and had top 5 defense with the worst offense in the league. That’s really hard to do. Was DC with Nathaniel Hackett in Denver the year before — where they had anemic offense with Russ — We all watched that team closely and saw how well their defense played.
· Schneider has a lot of ties to Carolina –ex-GM Scott Fitterer, Dan Morgan, and Dom Capers were all there last year – likely got really good reviews. Up and comer, but does he have the offensive staff to land the head coaching job?
· Uncertain future in Carolina. He would be ideal DC to pair with Johnson or Slowik if he doesn’t land the main gig.
TIER 6: Mike Kafka, Giants OC
· He was someone I expected the Seahawks to talk once it became clear Schneider was running search. Has similar profile with someone Green Bay would have historically looked at.
· Profile similar to Doug Pederson – a bit of Kevin O’Connell. Former NFL backup/journeyman QB. Drafted by Andy Reid in Philadelphia and began coaching career under Reid in Kansas City. Reid really liked how he worked with quarterbacks. Would be good for a QB developer.
· On the surface, why would you want the OC of one of the worst offenses? However, that is not how you evaluate coaches. You don’t judge a coach based on having best players. Hardest thing is separating coaches from their situation.
· Seems a bit early for him, based on people I spoke with. Was runner up in Arizona last year. Likely needs more time as play caller. Hard to get a feel for him with that toix situation in New York. Working with a bad offense with unstable quarterbacks. New York Daily News did article on Brian Daboll’s explosive temper/issues in New York earlier in the week and Kafka did not strike me as an alpha.
· I believe he’s a much more logical option as an OC if Seahawks hire a defensive coach.
Frank Smith, Dolphins OC
· Interesting background — didn’t come from the Shanahan tree, but has been Mike McDaniel’s right-hand man in Miami. Did a lot of the same role McDaniel did in San Francisco.
· Has worked with a variety of different schemes — McDaniel views him as very aligned with him schmeatically. He worked with both Sean Payton and Jon Gruden in other coaching roles, and has really good reputation among players. Darren Waller said he was the most important coach in getting his career back on track due to a lot of off-field issues.
“Frank is my favorite coach I’ve ever had,” Waller told The Athletic. “It was really just about helping people be better. I feel like that’s what would make a great (head) coach. If all you want is the platform, if all you want is the title, you’d be willing to sell somebody out or step on somebody to get there as opposed to elevating them and allowing that good karma to come back to you. I feel like this is an opportunity for him to have all the good karma and good energy to come back his way because all he’s ever done is give it out.”
· Doesn’t have most eccentric and energetic personality. Might be a bit too low key.
Patrick Graham, Raiders DC
· Seems like a long shot candidate. Would excite me the least of any of the aforementioned candidates. Similar to Kafka, I wonder if he is a possible DC/assistant head coach to pair up with one of the younger offensive coaches high on the list.
· Comes from Belichcik tree –worked with Joe Judge in New York, Josh McDaniels with the Raiders. Really smart defensive mind, but Belichick tree does not have history of producing great leaders.
· When Seahawks had embarrassing loss where Russell Wilson got outplayed by Colt McCoy/outcoached by Judge – Graham was the designer of the game plan that completely shut down Wilson/Brian Schottenheimer.