Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald hasn't had the same offensive coordinator in two straight seasons since Macdonald became the head guy in the Pacific Northwest. The coach and fans have gotten to witness the awfulness of OC Ryan Grubb and the excellence of Klint Kubiak. But Kubiak left after last season.
In his place, Macdonald and general manager John Schneider hired Brian Fleury, a very smart coach who had worked in the San Francisco 49ers' system for years but had never been an offensive coordinator before. That also means he had never called plays before.
So far in 2026, Fleury's scheme has been more of a work-in-progress than a polished approach. That shows up nowhere more glaringly than in the team's attempts to convert third downs. Seattle isn't just struggling on third downs; it has been a complete mess.
Seattle Seahawks miss Klint Kubiak when it comes to picking up third downs
Through the first five games, Fleury's offense has converted only 29.8 percent of the time (the league average is 39 percent, and Seattle is second-worst overall), and only 33.3 percent on fourth downs, compared with the league average of 52 percent.
Last season under Kubiak, the Seahawks picked up 39.8 percent of third downs, 16th in the league, and 58.3 percent of fourth downs, 14th in the NFL. This season, after being hired by the Las Vegas Raiders as their head coach, Kubiak's team has converted 39.4 percent on third downs (14th) and 50 percent on fourth downs (18th).
It is a lack of conversions in high-stress moments, especially in short-yardage situations, that has crippled the Seahawks. The offense has scored points, but it has also had issues closing games out. Against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 4, for instance, Seattle led by 21 points, but LA closed to within a touchdown by the end.
Turnovers have obviously hurt Seattle more than in previous seasons. Quarterback Sam Darnold led the NFL in turnovers last season, but the running backs didn't fumble. This season, Darnold is still turning the ball over too much (five turnovers in three games and one drive of another), but the running backs have coughed up the ball four times already.
Those are correctable issues, one would hope. But what might not be correctable is the Seattle Seahawks' third-down problems. It is too early to have a good, fact-based opinion about how good an offensive coordinator Brian Fleury is, but that also means fans are still waiting to see if Fleury can have a more successful approach on third downs.
If that problem doesn't get fixed, and we know that Klint Kubiak would have made the situation better, then that could be what keeps Seattle from the playoffs in a tight NFC West. Let's just hope the 29.8 percent third-down conversions get closer to what Klint Kubiak is doing with the rejuvenated Raiders.
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