Seahawks had to let Tom Cable go for two big reasons

The Seahawks fired Tom Cable this week. Cable had been the offensive line coach in Seattle since 2011. But after six seasons of a devolving Seattle line, Cable had to be fired. Here are two reasons why.

Tom Cable of the Seahawks has been a highly respective offensive line coach. In Seattle, he had more control over the drafting of players for the unit he coached than did any other position coach over their own. He was the run game coordinator. Basically, along with Darrell Bevell, Cable was the co-offensive coordinator.

Tom Cable is now expected to be the new offensive line coach with the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders.

But when the Seahawks fired both Cable and Bevell this past Tuesday, it may have portended a scheme change in Seattle. Since Marshawn Lynch left two years ago, Seattle has become a pass-heavy offense, and this is away from what coach Pete Carroll ideally wants to do. In 2014, for instance, Seattle led the league in rushing at 172.6 yards per game. In 2017, Seattle averaged 101.8 a game, good for 23rd in the NFL. Of course, quarterback Russell Wilson accounted for 36.6 yards rushing a game by himself.

Also, in 2015, Seattle was third in the NFL with 31.2 rushing attempts per game. In 2017, Seattle averaged 25.6 attempts per game, 20th in the league.

Carroll saw a need for change and he made the needed moves offensively. My feeling is that this is why Carroll hired Brian Schottenheimer as offensive coordinator because he likes to run. And he will use a different blocking scheme than Cable used.

And that is one of the two big reasons Cable is no longer with the Seahawks.