It’s hard to think of a more chaotic Seattle Seahawks offseason than the one they’re going through right now.
Seahawks sign experienced returner who adds WR depth
First, Seattle let offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb go after just one season on the day following the season finale. A few months later, they signaled a full reset on offense by trading a pair of Pro Bowlers – quarterback Geno Smith and wide receiver – and moving on from 10-year veteran receiver Tyler Lockett.
There were then notable moves in the first week of free agency, including signing QB Sam Darnold and former All-Pro receiver Cooper Kupp.
All that might lend you to think that things have been pretty scrambled behind the scenes for the Seahawks. But compared to a year ago, it’s not that way at all.
While the Seahawks have made big headlines with their changes this offseason, it was actually last year where they were scrambling more. That’s because they had a lot of catching up to do after hiring Mike Macdonald to replace Pete Carroll as head coach at the end of January 2024, then fill in the coaching staff around him while navigating free agency and the draft.
Seahawks general manager and president of football operations John Schneider spoke about that during his weekly visit with Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob.
“We’ve felt like the coaches are more involved this year in the total process,” he said on a special Wednesday edition of The John Schneider Show. “… We’re actually much further ahead at this point (than) last year in the draft process, because they were all coming in last year, just getting used to everybody, installing all their stuff, implementing all their stuff, getting used to the I.T. guys, video people – getting ready for everything.”
It’s clear that having a full season under their belts with Macdonald, who was a first-time head coach in 2024, has helped the Seahawks coaching staff and front office get more on the same page.
“It’s really cool to be able to sit there and study and, like, now have a better feel for the coaches,” Schneider said of the scouting process this offseason. “How they evaluate players, how they communicate with the players. And then it actually gives us a really good feel when we’re studying the players as well as what kind of fit is it going to be with that specific coach.”
Schneider said it’s been a factor for both identifying players for the defense led by Macdonald and the wide zone offensive scheme that new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak is installing.
“From a communication standpoint, it does (feel different this offseason compared to 2024),” Schneider said. “Not drastically, (because) what we did in free agency and draft prep has been the same. But our communication on free agency, much better this year because we know the individuals, we know how they evaluate, what they’re looking for, how they’re going to communicate with their players, what the fit’s going to be, and style of defense and what our offense is going to look like.”
While this week’s edition was a day early due to the Mariners’ season opener, The John Schneider Show typically airs at 4 p.m. each Thursday during Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob leading up to the first round of the NFL Draft on April 24.
You can hear Wednesday’s John Schneider Show in the podcast at this link, or in either of the video and audio players near the top of this post.
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