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Unlocking the Seattle Seahawks secrets to success in 2021

By Andy Excell

Jul 25, 2019; Renton, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, right, talks with general manager John Schneider during training camp practice at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 25, 2019; Renton, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, right, talks with general manager John Schneider during training camp practice at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Since Pete Carroll became the Seahawks head coach and John Schneider became the general manager in 2010 only three franchises have a better record than the Seahawks. The top five are as follows:

  1. New England (132-44)
  2. Green Bay (115-59-2)
  3. Pittsburgh (114-61-1)
  4. Seattle (112-63-1)
  5. New Orleans (112-64)

One of the secrets to their success and that of the Seahawks is knowing when to recruit and when to release.

The less successful franchises seem unwilling to recognize some obvious traits when it comes to durability and therefore fail to recognize when the best time to release and replace at key positions.

Doing so not only ensures continued success but allows you to sell high and buy low. This stands out most obviously at the so-called skill positions with the exception of QBs.

Unlocking the Seahawks secrets to success

Durability traits by position

Running backs have the shortest career durability of any position, which given the pounding they take is hardly surprising. Traits indicate that once an RB goes past his sixth season in his NFL their production will tail off significantly. Years two through five are their prime years generally and paying over the odds to retain them after six years is not good in terms of efficient use of the salary cap.

Wide receivers last a bit longer overall, but by their tenth season, they need to be pretty exceptional to be able to maintain the levels of the earlier stages of their career. Years two through eight are the optimum years for a wide receiver.

Tight ends tend to take longer to mature in NFL terms but like WRs are generally on the downgrade from year eight onwards, unless they are exceptionally good that is.

These are all traits that NFL GMs and HC’s need to bear in mind when deciding whether to recruit, re-sign or release/trade players and also what length of contract to give them.

As I said at the top, Pete Carroll and John Schneider have done a great job of doing so since 2010, which is a large part of the reason that the Seahawks have been one of the windiest franchises since 2010.

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