A lot has been made of Brian Fleury’s arrival to take over as the Seattle Seahawks’ new offensive coordinator. The man he is succeeding, Klint Kubiak, is now the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Mike Macdonald hired Kubiak to run his offense before the 2025 season, and the veteran offensive mind presided over a unit that jumped from 18th to 3rd in the league in points scored. He managed that feat while incorporating a new quarterback into the mix.
Fleury has never called plays before. Until 2020, he had not even been an offensive coach. But over the last six years, he has had a crash course in offense under Kyle Shanahan, and Macdonald has expressed every confidence in his new OC.
New Seattle Seahawks offensive coaches could be the key to another title run
But the focus on Fleury has obscured several other changes to the offensive staff that could be almost as crucial as the one at OC. Several important position coaches will be new this season – either new to the Seahawks family or promoted into new roles within that family.
Seattle’s offense will largely be intact from 2025. Same quarterback. Same receivers and tight ends. The same offensive line. The return from injury of 2025 draftees Tory Horton and Elijah Arroyo could add some firepower to the passing game.
The one huge area of concern is running back. Kenneth Walker is gone, and Zach Charbonnet is returning from injury. One of the team’s greatest strengths is now its biggest question mark.
The job of developing top draft pick Jadarian Price into a viable RB1 falls first and foremost on new running backs coach Thomas Hammock. Hammock succeeds Kennedy Polamalu, the veteran who Macdonald hired when he arrived in 2024. Polamalu’s departure came toward the end of last season and has never been fully explained.
Hammock has a long, very successful history of coaching running backs in college. He was the position coach for Garrett Wolfe, Montee Ball, James White, and Melvin Gordon at various points. All went on to professional careers. For the past seven years, Hammock has served as head coach at Northern Illinois.
Now, he will not only be Jadarian Price’s primary mentor. He will also help develop George Holani and Emanuel Wilson, while also shepherding Charbonnet’s return from injury. His many years of experience with running backs should serve the team very well.
He will work closely with Justin Outten. Outten is not new. He was credited as “run game specialist” and assistant offensive line coach last year, though his responsibilities appear to have increased after Polamalu’s departure.
This year he has been promoted to run game coordinator, where he will be in charge of devising running game schemes every week. That role was filled last season by veteran coach Rick Dennison, who arrived along with Kubiak from New Orleans for the 2025 season. Dennison followed Kubiak to Las Vegas, where he will serve as the Raiders’ offensive line coach.
Outten is a highly touted coach. Though still only 42, he has extensive experience coaching tight ends, running backs, and offensive linemen. He began his professional career under Falcons OC Kyle Shanahan in 2016 and has also served under Matt LaFleur in Green Bay. He even had a stint as offensive coordinator himself in the disastrous 2022 Denver Broncos season with Nathanial Hackett.
Outten has obviously seen a lot and has come through it with his rep intact. He is now tasked with maintaining Seattle’s potent running game despite the loss of its lead back and health questions surrounding the RB2.
Finally, Tyson Prince steps into the QB coaching role held last year by Andrew Janocko. Like Rick Dennison, Janocko followed Kubiak to the Raiders, where he will be their offensive coordinator.
Prince is the biggest question mark amongst the coaches in new roles this year. He has been with the Seahawks for the past two years, and in his role as assistant QB coach, worked closely with Sam Darnold last season.
The relationship between a quarterback and his position coach can be vital. Trust is key, and Prince will have to serve as a counsellor as much as a strategist and teacher. Darnold is a veteran, but he still needs to establish a level of comfort with his position coach to thrive.
Janocko had a very solid rep – hence his promotion with Kubiak in Las Vegas. Prince could end up being the most important position coach the Seahawks have this season.
After some initial missteps in the staffing department, Mike Macdonald appears to have assembled a top-flight roster of coaches. He has earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to filling in that staff. If he is right about Hammock, Outten and Prince, that will go a long way to ensuring the Seahawks remain in contention for a championship in 2026.
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