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The Seattle Seahawks are entering Year 2 with head coach Mike Macdonald. However, the 38-year-old might not be the one with the most pressure this 2025 season.
Over the offseason, Macdonald, who is more of a defensive coach, brought a new offensive coordinator, Klint Kubiak, to his coaching staff. Kubiak spent the 2024 season with the New Orleans Saints in the same position, and it was a forgettable season for the team as they went 5-12.
Nonetheless, a fresh start in Seattle could help Kubiak, but former NFL wide receiver Michael Bumpus sees the offensive coach facing pressure after he named him his X-factor for the Seahawks this season.
“The real X-factor of this has to be Kubiak, because Kubiak has to adjust,” Bumpus said during his Four Down Territory segment onSeattle Sports’ “Bump and Stacy.” “What if your offensive line does not perform the way that you want it to?
“What if you can’t get the run game going? How are you going to adjust? What if being under center and play action does not work for you? How are you going to adjust? But that’s the challenge of every offensive coordinator and every defensive coordinator. This is nothing new to Kubiak.”
Klint Kubiak Has to Turn the Seahawks’ Offense Around
The Seahawks brought in Kubiak to help jumpstart a run game that finished 28th in the league last season under former coordinator Ryan Grubb. A key challenge for him in his first year in the Pacific Northwest will be fixing the team’s long-struggling offensive line.
Beyond that, Bumpus said he’ll be looking beyond just the on-field results to evaluate the impact of Kubiak as the X-factor.
“They could not perform the way that they want to,” Bumpus added. “If I just see some adjustments, I get what you’re doing,” Bumpus added. “But the Jimmies and Joes got to win the game for you.
“If it all makes sense, they could not perform the way they want toand I can throw my hands up and be justfine with what Kubiak is doing. I believe in what he’s doing already, the approach that he’s taking during this preseason, but it’s all about adjustments.
“No matter what happens, whether they’re playing great or they’re playing horribly, Kubiak has to connect the dots and put it together. So my X-factor has to be the man calling the plays.”
Can Seattle Have a Physical Offense?
In a January 26 article, Seahawks.com senior reporter John Boyle noted that Macdonald knows the offensive line must improve for the Seahawks to be a playoff team. Bumpus’ take only echoes what the head coach recognizes as a key issue for Seattle.
“We want more from our offensive line, guys know that,” Macdonald said at his end-of-season press conference.. “But I believe in the guys that we have and any opportunity we have a chance to develop those guys and make our team better, we’re going to do it.”
It will be interesting to see whether Kubiak can turn the offensive line and running game issues around for the Seahawks this season.