What Seahawks hiring Shane Waldron and Andy Dickerson means

The Seattle Seahawks officially hired Shane Waldron as offensive coordinator and Andy Dickerson as run game coordinator on Friday. Neither has called plays in the NFL and neither has been a coordinator before. But their hires might mean very good things for Seattle’s offense with other added benefits.

One benefit is that the Rams, the Seahawks’ main nemesis for several years now, will not have Waldron and Dickerson to teach their offensive scheme. Waldron was a coach with the Rams for four years and Dickerson for the last nine seasons. Waldron was Los Angeles’ passing game coordinator for the last three. Dickerson the assistant offensive line coach for all nine seasons with the Rams.

It says a lot about Dickerson that Rams head coach Sean McVay chose to retain Dickerson when McVay became head coach of the Rams four years ago. Now Dickerson will be the run game coordinator but not the offensive line coach. This could mean lots of changes, however, for Seattle’s offensive line.

But don’t worry, 12s, current Seahawks offensive line coach Mike Solari is very good at adapting his teaching to whatever his teams need overall. Solari might like huge offensive linemen who can push straight forward to try to attack a defensive line but this will likely change under Waldron and Dickerson.

Seattle plays with a tight offensive line, 22nd in the NFL in 2020 with an average of 6.13 yards from tackle to tackle. The Rams, though, were 13th in the NFL at an average of 6.36 yards. The idea behind this is it widens the space between offensive linemen but also should widen the gap between defensive linemen and allow for bigger lanes for a running back to run through up the middle, with the correct blocking, of course.

A wider offensive line allows means edge rushers get a wider start but this also puts pressure on offensive tackles to be able to move and be quick.

Seahawks need more athletic linemen

This means Seattle will need a focus on more athletic linemen rather than brutes. D.J. Fluker, for instance, would not fit into what presumably will be Seattle’s new offensive philosophy. Fluker was a massive man who could bully his way straight forward, but if he was asked to move left to right much or block a space instead of a man, he wouldn’t have done so well.

Left tackle Duane Brown should be able to fit right in. Even though he will be 36 years old when the 2021 season begins, he retains most of his athleticism. Right guard Damien Lewis appears to have the strength and athleticism to play any blocking scheme. The rest of the line remains a question mark, though.

Seattle will need to fill a hole at left guard as Mike Iupati is a free agent and not likely to be re-signed, less likely now that Seattle will approach things a bit differently offensively. Center Ethan Pocic digressed as the 2020 season went on and Seattle might try to sign a center more familiar with Waldron and Dickerson’s ideas, such as Austin Blythe who started every game for the Rams at center last year and is a free agent. Right tackle Brandon Shell might be athletic enough but is also injury prone.

I do think this all means that the Seahawks need to make a massive effort to re-sign free agent Chris Carson. He would be an excellent fit, with his power but also his ability to catch passes, in what Waldron and Dickerson want to do. If healthy, Carson could get close to 1,800 total yards in such an offense.