An offseason overhaul to the offense has paid off through the first seven games of 2025 for the Seattle Seahawks.
After an underwhelming season in head coach Mike Macdonald’s first year, the Seahawks moved on from offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb and quarterback Geno Smith. They were replaced by new play caller Klint Kubiak and QB Sam Darnold.
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Under Kubiak, the Seahawks are running the ball more and using far more heavy sets featuring two tight ends, a fullback and the quarterback lining up under center.
Darnold has flourished in the system, leading the NFL with 9.1 yards per pass attempt while completing 68.2% of his throws for 1,754 yards, 12 touchdowns and four interceptions.
And Seattle’s 27.6 points per game are tied for fifth in the league.
The offense the team is running now with Kubiak as the play-caller reminds former Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck of what they did under Mike Holmgren in the 2000s.
“It’s back in style,” Hasselbeck said during a conversation with Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk on Monday. “That’s the funny thing – even when we did it in Seattle, I think it went out of style and came back in style, and now it’s back in style again.”
“The Seahawks have this great rhythm now where it’s all this check with me stuff,” Hasselbeck added. “We can be two tight ends, we can bring in a fullback, but we’re under center just as much as anybody right now.”
Hasselbeck described a couple of the benefits the Seahawks are getting from Kubiak’s scheme.
New school meets old school
As Hasselbeck mentioned, the offensive scheme the Seahawks are running this year is back in style.
The NFL underwent a major change in offensive philosophy after Hasselbeck was in his prime in Seattle in the 2000s, with offenses spreading the field and resembling much more of a college-like playing style. Defenses started to counter that by using more defensive backs and smaller linebackers with speed. Now offenses have reacted with more heavy personnel and between-the-tackles running from under center to take advantage of light boxes.
The switch back to offenses more in line with what Hasselbeck ran in the 2000s can give young defenders troubles, he said.
“I think a lot of the young defensive players in the league that have grown up … going against spread offenses and stuff like that, they don’t have time on task, they don’t have hours defending and reading the run game from under center with play-actions and bloody-nose flats,” Hasselbeck said. “And all the different things that we did 30 years ago, 20 years ago, even 10 years ago, it’s really coming on strong right now, and I think I give Mike Macdonald the credit because he had a vision for this. He had a vision for this when he retooled the offense, coaching staff and players (with) what he wanted to be offensively and how it would complement the defense.”
He made that look wayyy too easy. 🔥 @_ajbarner_ for 61 yards.
📺: @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/VCEt8fCDPi
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) October 12, 2025
How being under center impacts QB
The Seahawks rarely operated from under center last season. They’re one of the NFL’s leaders in doing it this year.
Hasselbeck recalled what Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana told him about the benefit a signal-caller receives when he’s under center.
“When you’re under center and the ball hits your hands and you have the ball immediately after it’s snapped, your eyes are on the free safety or your eyes are on the defender that you need to have them on immediately,” Hasselbeck said. “… When you’re in shotgun and you’re catching the snap, your eyes have to drop just for a second to make sure you catch the snap.”
That can be further complicated by the center, which the Seahawks know all to well after Connor Williams’ struggles with shotgun snaps last year.
“If we’re telling the truth here, not every center is great at snapping in shotgun. Sometimes it’s here, sometimes it’s all over the place,” Hasselbeck said. “Either way, even if it’s a perfect snap, your eyes have to drop down and you’re just a half-second late seeing what the free safety or the corner or whatever (is) doing. So, that is a real factor.”
There are some benefits to the shotgun Hasselbeck pointed out, like starting the play five yards away from pass-rushers.
“There’s give and take,” he said. “… I like both. I like mixing it up. I just think that the teams that can’t go under center and they’re not good at going under center, I think you’re just giving the defense less to worry about.”
Hear the full conversation with former Seattle Seahawks QB Matt Hasselbeck at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Listen to Brock and Salk weekdays form 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
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