One week removed from Seahawks Wild Card defeat: What’s changed?

Although most were expecting the Seattle Seahawks to be competing in the Divisional Round this week, the harsh reality is that they are not. One week removed from the playoffs and the disappointing Wild Card loss still stings just as much as it did on last Saturday. But, the players have emptied their lockers, coaches have had their final meetings and this Seattle Seahawks organization has moved onto the 2021 season.

Over the last week, the Seahawks had to sit back and evaluate what went wrong. Not only in the Wild Card round but on the season as a whole. Despite the 12-4 regular season record along with the NFC West banner, the Seahawks endured their fair share of struggles on both sides of the ball in the 2020 campaign.

Winter cleaning came early in Seattle this season and as a result, someone had to pay the price.

Well, you read the title, so what exactly has changed in just a weeks span?

In Terms of Seahawks Free Agents…

The Seattle Seahawks will be looking to bring in reinforcements as well as retaining some of their players. Most notably, the Seahawks need to work on fixing the offensive line. Now, Seattle may take the route of drafting an offensive lineman, but they are sure quality free agents can come in and contribute to this team.

In terms of bringing back their own guys, the likes of Chris Carson, Shaquill Griffin, Carlos Dunlap and K.J. Wright, the Seahawks will see if they can work out a deal that is beneficial for both parties. But, none of that will be known until the NFL year begins on March 17, 2021.

In Terms of Health…

The Seattle Seahawks enter the offseason relatively healthy. Last year at this time, the Seahawks were pretty banged up. LT Duane Brown finally enters an offseason healthy, which is important for his return next season. HB Chris Carson and Rashaad Penny also enter healthy (both of whom went into last offseason recovering from injures). SS Jamal Adams underwent surgery to repair his banged-up shoulder and broken fingers. Rookie DE Darrell Taylor also began practicing with the team late in the season and thus, should be good to go for next year.

Some players who got hurt earlier in the season are on the road to recovery and should be ready by the start of training camp. S Marquise Blair and DE Bruce Irvin, both suffered torn ACL’s early in the season. Both should be ready by the start of training camp barring any setbacks during rehab.

In Terms of Coaching…

Well, this is where it got interesting. While the Seahawks have a bunch of members on their coaching staff interviewing for other positions, such as passing game coordinator Dave Canales, the biggest move of them all was letting go of offensive coordinator, Brian Schottenheimer. On Tuesday, January 12th, just two days removed from the Wild Card defeat, the Seahawks and Brain Schottenheimer agreed to part ways on the reasoning of having “philosophical differences“. The differences of course, between head coach Pete Carroll and now former offensive coordinator, Brian Schottenheimer.

With that, the Seahawks are now in the market for a new offensive coordinator. In his final presser of the season, Russell Wilson touched upon how he wants a say in who they bring in. Wilson feels the Seahawks need to be “efficient” in all aspects of the game; offense, defense and special teams. Specifically on offense, Wilson — similarly to Carroll — wants to run the ball more efficiently. Meaning, they do not necessarily want to “run the ball 50 times”, rather, just run more effectively so they can keep opposing defenses off balance.

“We can’t settle for anything less than winning it all”, Wilson states when reflecting upon the season and discussing the future of this team.

Of course, the question now becomes, who do the Seahawks hire at offensive coordinator? As of late, there have been numerous reports. Most notably though, the Seahawks have been in contact with former Los Angeles Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn and former Super Bowl-winning head coach with the Philadelphia Eagles, Doug Pederson.

There have been other sources citing Los Angeles Chargers offensive coordinator, Shane Steichen, and Chargers quarterbacks coach, Pep Hamilton, having gathered interest from Seattle.

In other news, Scott Fitterer — former Vice President of Football Operations for the Seahawks — agreed to become the new general manager for the Carolina Panthers.

Finally — and, perhaps the best news thus far — the Seahawks have signed Executive Vice President / General Manager John Schneider, to a contract extension through the 2027 draft. Despite what has happened in the recent week, there is no denying Carroll and Schneider are a great team and have been a huge part of the success this Seattle franchise has seen over the last decade.