There is a world in which Brian Fleury becomes the Shohei Ohtani of NFL coaches: A play caller capable of succeeding at a high level as both an offensive and defensive coordinator. Fleury wasn’t pigeonholed into a single career path from the start and forced to stick with it like so many other coaches, and that could be why the Seattle Seahawks feel good about the hire already.
If he’s as good as the Seahawks believe he is—and the early returns have been favorable—Fleury could become a role model for young coaches who want to move between roles more frequently. How favorable?
6th in yards per play (6.2)
3rd in touchdown passes (8)
3rd in net yards per pass (8.1)
3rd-lowest sack rate (3%)
14th in points per drive (2.27)
That’s data. Some good, some average, some (rushing) underwhelming.
What about context?
The context is that Seattle’s quarterback missed 98% of the first two games and Drew Lock had one of the best starts of his career in Week 2. The starting right guard has been out for two weeks. The team replaced the Super Bowl MVP with a rookie who has fumbled twice. And look around the league and compare stats because most teams who didn’t have to sub for their starting QB aren’t having nearly as much success as the Seahawks offense.
Plus, let’s be honest: What stars do the Seahawks have on offense besides Jaxon Smith-Njigba?
Good players, maybe one day some great players, but how many of Seattle’s current offensive players do you think you could ask your non-Seahawks fan friends of yours about and they’d agree with you that he’s a stud? Kyle Shanahan has at least four of those guys, right? Maybe at least six.
The average fan can calculate the 49ers’ success much easier than they can do off the top of their heads with Seattle’s depth chart.
So the context + results definitely points to:
Brian Fleury is off to a great start
And the Seahawks have the best second half offense in the NFL.
The “Chutes and Ladders” of Coaching
One of the most interesting quotes from Fleury’s past goes all the way back to 2010, when he was working at Towson University as the secondary coach … and special teams coordinator.
"Having played quarterback for as long as I did, I guess it's ironic that I am a defensive coach," Coach Fleury says. "But, my offensive experience has actually helped me understand defenses. For years, I was studying defensive secondaries. So, that knowledge has translated into knowing how to coach defensive backs. Plus, my offensive background enables me to bring a different dimension to our defensive staff meetings."
Now digest that quote with hindsight:
Seattle’s current offensive coordinator told reporters that it’s ironic that he’s a defensive coach given his background as a quarterback. That was 16 years ago and since then Fleury has basically spent equal time on offense and defense, which means he’s qualified to weaponize the tools he’s picked up along way to defeat the other side.
In a 2020 interview, Fleury compared his career to a board game: “When you’re coaching football, your career is like a game of Chutes and Ladders.”
Instead of being resistant to change, Fleury is uniquely able to adapt for any assignment because he’s been moved so often.
Playing
In the late 90s, Fleury was a championship high school quarterback in Maryland. The Washington Post even wrote a story about Fleury struggling to get noticed, even by his own head coach, who was also his stepfather.
After Fleury transferred from Frederick High to Seneca Valley following his freshman year, Changuris said he would not start his stepson until he was certain Fleury was ready. Fleury's chance finally came this season, and he responded by throwing for 2,025 yards, with 26 touchdowns and four interceptions. He led the Screamin' Eagles to a 13-0 record, the Maryland 4A championship and co-No. 1 final ranking with Robinson High of Fairfax.
The Post also mentions that despite his success on the field, prototypical size, and a 1420 SAT score, that Fleury only received a modicum of interest from colleges, all of which were Division-II schools. Fleury’s stepfather Terry Changuris blamed himself for not giving him a chance sooner but he held no ill will against Changuris.
"My stepfather is the best coach; I have learned everything I know from playing for him. I have something to prove to the college coaches who did not offer me a scholarship. But in high school coaches mean everything, and just being around my stepfather I realize how much he knows about football and how much playing for him has helped me."
Damn, this article is like the back of a quarterback’s hand and the bottom of a center’s undercarriage: