Should the Seahawks hire Arthur Smith to be the next OC?
12 Offensive Coordinator Candidates if the Seahawks decide to fire Shane Waldron and make a change, 1/8/2024
If the Seattle Seahawks intend to bring back Pete Carroll for a 15th season, and early indications are that they will do just that, then the next logical place to assign blame and accountability for another disappointing finish is on the offensive and defensive coordinators. In some instances around the league a team wouldn’t consider this at all and the 2022 Seahawks are a great example of that.
It could have been seen as an impulsive act of impatience to fire Clint Hurtt after only one season on the job or Shane Waldron when he helped get Geno Smith into his first career Pro Bowl, an act nobody thought possible a few months earlier.
However, times and circumstances have changed.
Would the Seahawks be better off with an OC who just got fired by the Atlanta Falcons (after a VERY successful career as OC with the Titans); or a former rival head coach with a team in the NFC West who is working with Caleb Williams; or maybe one of the hottest college OCs who happens to already live in Seattle; or poaching offensive assistants from the team that has had the most success in the NFC over the past six years?
I have come up with 12 names right now that I’d consider as viable candidates to replace Waldron, if the Seahawks decide they need to make a change after three seasons.
I am about to send another email—today’s free edition of the Seaside Joe newsletter—and I wanted to create this one first to link as a bonus article addition because both pieces ended up running long and I think they complement each other well.
These are my reasons for why the Seahawks could decide to part ways with Shane Waldron as well as a list of candidates who I am looking at to be considered as Seattle’s next offensive coordinator if they do. I will do defensive coordinator candidates next, which will be another bonus article so make sure to sign up now!
OC Shane Waldron
Should he be fired? The writing is on the Waldron…
If Pete stays, then somebody who owns a lot of responsibility for Seattle’s consistent shortcomings in recent seasons has to go; and if that doesn’t happen, then it shows that the Seahawks have EXCUSES for being so bad at running the ball and stopping the run, and no accountability for winning one playoff game in the last seven years.
Whether Pete Carroll will make changes at coordinator this month is not yet clear, but I have two really, really, really good reasons for why they should: Teams that are already better than them are expected to have new coordinators next season, so the Seahawks could go another year where they miss out on hiring the next potential Ben Johnson or Mike McDaniel and then watch him go to one of their competitors.
Plus, if teams aren’t clamoring to hire your coaches, would YOU even hire YOUR COACHES if you didn’t have them already?
That’s why I wanted to share lists of prospective offensive and defensive candidates, starting with 12 offensive coordinator candidates who the Seattle Seahawks must at least consider and weigh against who they already have in Shane Waldron and ask themselves if the grass is greener on the other teams.