Seahawks Eyeing Jim Zorn As QBs Coach
- Michael Lombardi reports (via Twitter) that the Seahawks are eyeing Jim Zorn as their quarterbacks coach. The 64-year-old held that role for much of his career, including stints with the Lions, Ravens, Chiefs, and Seahawks. He also served as the head coach of the Redskins between 2008 and 2009. Zorn hasn’t coached in the NFL since 2012.
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Seahawks Interviewed Clint Hurtt For DC
- Prior to the Seahawks hiring Ken Norton Jr. as their new defensive coordinator, they also interviewed incumbent defensive line coach Clint Hurtt for the position, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Although Hurtt was passed over for the job, he will stay on Seattle’s staff going forward, per Rapoport. Hurtt, who was the Bears’ outside linebackers coach from 2015-16, was hired by Seattle last January after an odd dance in which it seemed he’d land with the Jets. Hurtt’s decision to remain with the Seahawks shouldn’t obfuscate the fact that Seattle has revamped its defensive staff this month by firing both former DC Kris Richard and assistant head coach/linebackers Micahel Barrow.
Seahawks’ Cliff Avril Wants To Keep Playing
Although Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll recently said Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril is “going to have a hard time playing football again” after suffering a serious neck injury that caused numbness in his arms, Avril hopes to continue his career, as he explained to Steve Wyche of NFL.com.
“I believe so,” Avril said when asked if he will return to the NFL. “Right now it’s all about recovery. I had surgery. I’m in the process of recovering. It’s a long process, a long journey. When I get to the end of that, then I’ll figure out what’s next.
“I mean, it’s something I love to do. It’s what I’ve been doing forever and, just as a competitor, I want to show that I can come back if it’s possible, you know?” Avril said. “You do see all the injuries. You see the game from a different perspective when you’re on the sideline. And those thoughts do definitely pop into my head of ‘should I come back or not?’ But again, right now it’s all about recovery.”
The 31-year-old Avril has previously indicated that he’d prefer to continue playing in the NFL despite repeated comments from Carroll that both Avril and Seattle safety Kam Chancellor — also dealing with a neck injury — may be forced into retirement. Avril, a 10-year veteran, is under contract for the 2018 campaign with a cap charge of $8MM.
In 2017, Avril played only 151 defensive snaps before going down, and garnered a disappointing 44.1 overall grade from Pro Football Focus. That was the lowest mark of Avril’s career, and he’d been an exceptional player as recently as 2015. It’s unclear, however, whether the Seahawks — or any other club — would be willing to risk putting Avril on the field given his recent injury history.
Seahawks Fire DC Kris Richard
In a move that should come as no surprise given that the Seahawks hired a new defensive coordinator in Ken Norton Jr. on Monday, Seattle has fired ex-DC Kris Richard, the club announced today. The Seahawks also parted ways with assistant head coach/linebackers Michael Barrow.
Reports last week indicated that Seattle was prepared to move on from Richard, with head coach Pete Carroll reportedly suggesting Richard should develop further as a coach elsewhere. Richard is clearly held in high regard throughout the NFL, as he garnered a head coaching interview with the Colts earlier this month. Indianapolis is closing in on Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels as its next head coach, so Richard won’t have a viable opportunity with the Colts going forward.
Richard could conceivably receive further interest as a head coach from other clubs, but it seems unlikely that teams will add a new candidate to their respective searches at this late stage. More likely, Richard will have the chance to resurface as a defensive coordinator with another team. As PFR’s 2018 Coordinator Tracker shows, there are currently no DC vacancies around the league, but a few more spots should open as new head coaches are hired.
Richard, 38, was named Seattle’s defensive coordinator in 2015 after spending five years as a defensive assistant with the club. While directing the Legion of Boom, Richard helped the Seahawks finish fourth, fifth, and 13th in DVOA in his three years as play-caller. That dip in 2017 coincided with a number of injuries on the defensive side of the ball, but may have also convinced Carroll & Co. to bring in a fresh voice.
Seattle has committed to a fresh start from a coaching standpoint, as the club has now fired its top four assistants, including two from each unit: Richard and Barrow on defense, plus offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and assistant head coach/offensive line Tom Cable.
Austin Davis On Brian Schottenheimer
- The news that Pete Carroll would be replacing Darrell Bevell with Brian Schottenheimer as Seattle’s next offensive coordinator was met with some skepticism across the football world. However, Seahawks backup quarterback Austin Davis thinks that the change will bring some positivity to the team’s offense in 2018, reports Brady Henderson of ESPN.com. Schottenheimer coached Davis for three seasons while the two were in St. Louis. “We were very creative in St. Louis,” Davis told 710 ESPN Seattle. “We threw a lot of things at the defense, whether it was drop-back, whether it was play-action, whether it was quarterback movement, we had it all. And we were a really good screen team. If there was one thing I could pick out from last year, we couldn’t run screens.” The Seahawks offense was carried by Russell Wilson last season and is in need of a new identity as the team looks to get back into the postseason.
Seahawks Hire New O-Line Coach
- In other offensive line coach news, the Seahawks have brought in Mike Solari to replace Tom Cable as the primary guy handling the offensive front, according to Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network (Twitter link). Solari has a history in Seattle, he served as the team’s offensive line coach from 2008-09. The team also recently hired Ken Norton Jr. to replace Kris Richard as defensive coordinator earlier today.
Seahawks Hire Ken Norton Jr. As DC
The Seahawks have made another coaching change, but this time on the defensive side of the ball. The team has parted ways with current defensive coordinator Kris Richard in favor of bringing in the recently hired 49ers linebackers coach Ken Norton Jr. to lead their defense next season, reports Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network (Twitter link).
It’s an odd turn of events because Richard had not been officially relieved of duties as of today, although there had been rumblings that the Seahawks were ready to move on from their once highly-touted defensive coordinator. Richard had been with Seattle since 2010, where he’s worked with the defense in a variety of roles. However, the 38-year-old coach had served as defensive coordinator for the past three years.
To add onto the twist, Norton Jr. comes over from San Francisco where he just agreed to become an assistant head coach/linebacker coach for Kyle Shanahan. Although, the move is reportedly in-play because there is an out in his deal that allows him to take this gig in Seattle, Garafolo adds. It’s an odd decision in a sense because Norton Jr. was fired as the Raiders defensive coordinator this past year because of the clear struggles that his defense had throughout the early portion of the season. In his favor, Norton Jr. does have familiarity with the Seahawks organization as he was the team’s linebackers coach from 2010-14.
The news does put Richard in limbo in terms of where he lands next season. He has clear credentials in the NFL community as he did land a head coach interview with the Colts last week, but being that Indy is expected to hire Josh McDaniels, Richard’s options seem somewhat limited. There’s currently no open defensive coordinator positions available, but a few should open up as new head coaches are officially brought in.
Coming off a year without a postseason appearance, head coach Pete Carroll has been aggressive in re-shaping his staff. They have already hired Brian Schottenheimer to replace Darrell Bevell as offensive coordinator, so this move represents another decision to move away from the status quo that failed the franchise in 2017.
Jeremy Lane Arrested For DUI
- Seahawks corner Jeremy Lane ran into trouble early Monday morning when he was arrested for a DUI, Brady Henderson of ESPN.com reports. This arrest occurred on or near Mercer Island (near Seattle), per Henderson, who adds the cornerback was booked into jail at 5:30am PT. He was released on his own recognizance approximately four hours later. Henderson notes the Seahawks were already expected to move on from Lane after this season, one that saw him nearly traded to the Texans before a failed physical sent him back to Seattle. The 27-year-old defender is set to make $6MM in base salary in each of the next two seasons. It would cost the Seahawks $2.5MM in dead money to release Lane while providing nearly $5MM in cap savings.
Seahawks To Name Brian Schottenheimer OC
It doesn’t look like the Seahawks will not be waiting for the divisional round to conclude to identify their next offensive coordinator.
The Seahawks intend to hire Colts quarterbacks coach Brian Schottenheimer for the role, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. This coming to fruition would represent the third coordinator role for Schottenheimer, who spent nine seasons (2006-14) guiding the Jets’ and Rams’ offenses.
Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (on Twitter) Pete Carroll called Schottenheimer and the parties are working on a deal, noting the Seahawks identified the veteran OC as the leader for this job and wanted to pounce before other teams jumped into the mix.
Schottenheimer was mentioned as a candidate along with Eagles quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo. The 44-year-old Schottenheimer was part of Chuck Pagano‘s final two staffs in Indianapolis, and in 2015 served as Georgia’s OC.
Seattle would have needed to wait for Philadelphia to lose in order to interview DeFilippo for this job. The team expressed interest in Schottenheimer, but no interview was reported. Schottenheimer will succeed Darrell Bevell, who was fired after seven seasons at the helm.
Three of Schottenheimer’s teams made the playoffs — the 2006, ’09 and ’10 Jets — but just one (the ’08 Jets) ranked in the top 10 in total or scoring offense. None of Schottenheimer’s Rams attacks ranked in the top 20 in either category during his three seasons running the St. Louis offense. The Seahawks ranked 15th in total offense in 2017.
Andrew Luck did complete a career-high 63.5 percent of his passes under Schottenheimer in 2016, however, and Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times tweets some in the Seahawks organization were impressed with how he tailored an offense around Jacoby Brissett‘s mobility.
Seahawks GM John Schneider has a connection with the Schottenheimer family. He was with the Chiefs and Redskins during the end of Marty Schottenheimer‘s run in Kansas City and during his short stay in Washington in the early 2000s. Brian Schottenheimer worked with the ’98 Chiefs and ’01 Redskins. The latter position — as Redskins QBs coach — represented the second-generation coach’s first NFL coaching gig.
Seahawks Targeting John DeFilippo As OC
Earlier this week, SI.com’s Albert Breer reported Eagles quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo is set to be a coaching free agent and could be a candidate for an OC job should he not become the Cardinals’ head coach.
The Seahawks are interested in DeFilippo to succeed Darrell Bevell as OC, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets, adding he will join Brian Schottenheimer as a sought-after interviewee for Seattle — should the Eagles lose to the Falcons today.
The Eagles prevented their QBs coach from speaking with the Jets about their OC job last year, with Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reporting Jeffrey Lurie overruled Doug Pederson‘s decision to let DeFilippo do so, but can no longer block him from interviews going forward. Seattle has interest in Schottenheimer but has yet to set up any interviews with candidates. This is the first time in seven years the Seahawks have had an OC vacancy.
DeFilippo played a key role in Carson Wentz rocketing from Division I-FCS product to one-time MVP frontrunner. The Seahawks, who are the first team to have reported interest in the soon-to-be 40-year-old coach as a coordinator, have a franchise quarterback but struggled offensively this season. Seattle had the league’s No. 13-ranked scoring offense this season — its lowest finish since 2010.