Coaching Matters: 2021 Seattle Seahawks Coaching Staff Preview

July 28, 2021

Eli Grabanski previews the 2021 Seattle Seahawks' coaching staff in search of buy-lows, fantasy football sleepers, and risers based on play-calling and historical data.

After every NFL season, NFL teams take the time to evaluate not only the players but also the coaching staff and front office as well. While many teams choose to retain the same head coach, offensive coordinator, and defensive coordinator, a few other teams opt to go in a new direction with their coaching staff.

The Seattle Seahawks decided to fire former offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, but otherwise, they will be bringing back many of the key coaching staff members from 2020. Pete Carroll will return as the Seahawks head coach and Ken Norton Jr. will be back as the team's defensive coordinator. Shane Waldron is the only new coordinator, joining the Seahawks as an offensive coordinator after serving as the Los Angeles Rams passing game coordinator in 2020.

This article will look at the potential impact this coaching staff will have on the players and try to pinpoint the Seahawks players' fantasy values in it.

The Baseline

To get a better understanding of the value the Seahawks coaches help bring to this team, we can look at the NFL league averages in each of the past two years in a variety of statistical categories and then compare them to the averages achieved by the Seahawks' coaches. Here are 'The Baseline' NFL league averages over the past couple of years:

QB Impact

RB Impact

WR Impact

TE Impact

Defense Impact

Previous Coaching Staff

In order to get an understanding of how the Seahawks' fantasy players may be impacted this year, we also need to take a look at how former Seahawks offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer utilized his players during his time with the team. By doing this, we will have a better understanding of where the new coaches are starting from and where the primary changes will occur.

Former Offensive Coordinator: Brian Schottenheimer

QB Impact

RB Impact

WR Impact

TE Impact

2021 Offense

2021 Offensive Coordinator: Shane Waldron

Shane Waldron Takeaways & Expectations

Shane Waldron will be a first-time play-caller in 2021, so there's less information to go off of in figuring out how he may utilize the Seattle Seahawks offensive weapons. In this section, we will do the best we can on projecting how his offense might look based on some of the offensive-minded coaches he's worked under - Josh McDaniels, Sean McVay, and Jay Gruden.

Over the course of his 236 game career as an offensive coordinator or head coach, Josh McDaniels' offense has generally been...

• Average/slightly above-average in passing attempts per game (35.97) and slightly below-average in quarterback carries per game (2.99)
• Above-average in running back carries per game (24.32) and slightly above average in running back targets per game (7.10)
• Above-average in wide receiver targets per game (21.40)
• Slightly below-average in tight end targets per game (6.45)

Over the course of his 112 game career as an offensive coordinator or head coach, Sean McVay's offense has generally been...

• Average/slightly above-average in passing attempts per game (35.87) and below-average in quarterback carries per game (2.71)
• Average/slightly above-average in running back carries per game (22.34) and below-average in running back targets per game (5.41)
• Above-average in wide receiver targets per game (21.50)
• Above-average in tight end targets per game (7.82)

Over the course of his 149 game career as an offensive coordinator or head coach, Jay Gruden's offense has generally been...

• Average in passing attempts per game (35) and slightly below-average in quarterback carries per game (3.02)
• Average in running back carries per game (21.48) and below-average in running back targets per game (5.46)
• Average in wide receiver targets per game (20.38)
• Above-average in tight end targets per game (7.84)

Based on the coaches that Shane Waldron has worked under, we can project that he will have the Seahawks attempt around the same number of passes as last year (around 35 or 36) with a below-average number of targets going to running backs (around 5 or 6), an above-average number of targets (about 21) going to wide receivers, and about seven targets per game going to his tight ends. On the ground, we should expect a return to league average in running back carries per game (about 22) from the 19.75 carries per game the group averaged a year ago.

Overall, it appears that the workloads for each position group will largely stay the same from last year - with maybe some very slight increases in wide receiver targets, tight end targets, and running back carries per game, but a slight decrease in running back targets per game. With the workloads for each position group expected to largely stay the same, the key will be how much more/less efficient will Shane Waldron's offense be in comparison to Brian Schottenheimer's offense. The initial signs are positive since Waldron has worked under some great offensive minds, but only time will tell if Waldron will be an improvement over Schottenheimer.

Fantasy Relevant Players: Russell Wilson, Geno Smith, Chris Carson, Rashaad Penny, Travis Homer, DeeJay Dallas, D.K. Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, Freddie Swain, D'Wayne Eskridge, Tamorrion Terry, Gerald Everett, and Will Dissly

2021 Defense

2021 Head Coach: Pete Carroll

Pete Carroll has been the Seattle Seahawks head coach since 2010. Prior to being the Seahawks head coach, Pete Carroll had served as a defensive coordinator (1990-1993) and head coach (1994) of the New York Jets, as a defensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers (1995-1996), and as the head coach of the New England Patriots (1997-1999) at the NFL level. Given his defensive background, let's take a look at some defensive statistics from Carroll's time in a defensive coordinator or head coaching role.

2021 Defensive Coordinator: Ken Norton Jr.

Ken Norton Jr. has been the Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator since 2018. Prior to being hired by the Seahawks, Norton Jr. spent 42 games as the defensive coordinator of the Oakland Raiders (2015-2017). Given his defensive background, let's take a look at some defensive statistics from Norton's time in a defensive coordinator or head coaching role.

The Seattle Seahawks defense ended up being around league average for the most part in 2020, with mediocre finishes in points allowed, yards per play, and turnovers forced. They also managed to finish in the upper half of the league in rushing defense, giving up just 95.56 rushing yards per game. But one area of major concern is the Seahawks' poor passing defense in recent years. Last year, the Seahawks gave up 285 passing yards per game - the most in any season of Pete Carroll's 21-year coaching career. The Seahawks passing defense has gotten worse every year since 2017 and given they did not make a ton of moves on defense this offseason it's hard to see it suddenly being above average in 2021. From a fantasy perspective, the Seahawks D/ST should be viewed as more of a streamer for the 2021 season.

Other Notable Assistants

Special Teams Coordinator: Larry Izzo - Larry Izzo was the interim special teams coordinator in 2020, but the 'interim' label will be removed in 2021 as he becomes the official special teams' coordinator of the Seahawks. Izzo has previously been a special teams coordinator for the Houston Texans (2016-2017) and has served as an assistant special teams coordinator for the New York Giants (2011-2015) and Seattle Seahawks (2018-2020) in the past as well. Izzo also played linebacker in the NFL for the Miami Dolphins (1996-2000), New England Patriots (2001-2008), and New York Jets (2009).

QB Coach: Austin Davis - Austin Davis has been the Seattle Seahawks quarterbacks coach since 2020, after serving as an assistant quarterbacks coach in 2019. He also played quarterback in the NFL for the St. Louis Rams (2012-2014), Cleveland Browns (2015), Denver Broncos (2016), Seattle Seahawks (2017), and Tennesee Titans (2018).

RB Coach: Chad Morton - Chad Morton has been with the Seattle Seahawks since 2014 and served as the team's running backs coach since 2017. He also played running back at the NFL level for the New Orleans Saints (2000), New York Jets (2001-2002), Washington Redskins (2003-2004), and New York Giants (2005-2006).

WR Coach: Nate Carroll - Nate Carroll has been with the Seattle Seahawks since 2010 and been the team's wide receivers coach since 2018. Carroll has spent his entire coaching career with the Seattle Seahawks, working as a defensive assistant (2011-2012), offensive assistant (2013), and assistant wide receivers coach (2014-2017) prior to becoming the wide receivers coach.

TE Coach: Pat McPherson - Pat McPherson has been the Seattle Seahawks tight ends coach since 2010. Prior to joining the Seahawks, he spent his entire coaching career with the Denver Broncos, working as a defensive assistant (1998), offensive assistant (1999-2002), quarterbacks coach (2003-2006), and tight ends coach (2007-2008).

OL Coach: Mike Solari - Mike Solari has been the Seahawks offensive line coach since 2018 and coaching football since 1976. At the NFL level, he's previously served as an offensive line coach for the Phoenix Cardinals (1989), Kansas City Chiefs (1997-2005), Seattle Seahawks (2008-2009), San Francisco 49ers (2010-2014), and New York Giants (2016-2017).

DL Coach: Clint Hurtt - Clint Hurtt has been the defensive line coach of the Seattle Seahawks since 2017. He also serves as the assistant head coach on the Seahawks and has been coaching at the collegiate and NFL levels since 2003.

LB Coach: John Glenn - John Glenn has been with the Seattle Seahawks since 2012 and served in a variety of roles prior to being promoted to linebackers coach in 2018.

DB Coach: Deshawn Shead - Deshawn Shead is new to the Seattle Seahawks coaching staff in 2021 and will serve as a defensive assistant and defensive backs coach. He played cornerback at the NFL level for the Seattle Seahawks (2012-2017), Detroit Lions (2018), and New Orleans Saints (2019).

Enjoy this series? Be sure to check out all of the other 'Coaching Matters' team previews!

AFC South: Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Indianapolis Colts, Tennessee Titans

AFC North: Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals

AFC West: Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos

AFC East: New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills

NFC South: Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons

NFC North: Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings

NFC West: Arizona Cardinals

Follow Eli Grabanski on Twitter: @3li_handles

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