John Schneider has an odd reaction to Seahawks ownership's 'mandate'

Whatever the process is for general manager John Schneider, Seattle Seahawks fans will just need to trust it. And why shouldn't 12s? Since Schneider became the team's general manager in 2010, Seattle has been one of the most successful teams in the NFL. Maybe Seattle only has one Super Bowl win since 2010, but there are a lot of teams that have none.

But should fans expect the Seahawks to compete for a championship in 2024 or 2025? Winning at the highest level is the "mandate" that has been given by team chairperson Jody Allen to Schneider, according to what the general manager told The Athletic (subscription required). And while Schneider now has the final say on all roster decisions, one could debate whether his offseason decisions have set the team up to win a Super Bowl.

For one, the offensive line is simply not good enough for a playoff contender. Schneider has implied he feels like specific spots along the O-line, such as guard, are overvalued. Yet, many teams do not win championships when their offensive line struggles. Instead of re-signing left guard Damien Lewis or adding free agent talent this offseason, Schneider has only brought in assumed backups Nick Harris and Tremayne Anchrum, Jr.

Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider still has to address a major issue

The offensive line certainly is not going to lead the Seahawks to a Super Bowl victory and is bad enough that the unit could keep Seattle from reaching the playoffs. The way Schneider has approached rebuilding the offensive line is a strange way of reacting to a mandate that he builds the team into a championship contender.

The overall success of Seattle since 2010 makes arguing with Schneider's philosophy of roster creation difficult. But was the relative success of the Seahawks since Schneider came to Seattle due in large part to how he was doing his job? Or was the success due more to former head coach Pete Carroll's roster decisions and coaching ability?

There is still time to make the offensive line into a decent unit. Schneider might take a player such as Washington's Troy Fautanu or Oregon's Jackson Powers-Johnson in the 2024 draft and that would definitely add potentially high-level talent to the group. Even then, that would be one player to a unit that would still have question marks at likely two other spots.

Schneider has earned the right for 12s to be patient. He is a good general manager. But if he fails to address the offensive line in full, and that is the reason Seattle cannot meet the mandate handed down by Jody Allen, then Schneider's methods will be exposed without a Pete Carroll to blame and Schneider's job could be in jeopardy sooner than later.

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