Seahawks add potential next defensive coordinator
Seahawks Xs and Os breakdown video dump and more
Mike Macdonald reunited with Zach Orr on Friday, adding the coach who succeeded him as Ravens defensive coordinator as the Seahawks new inside linebackers coach. Orr’s playing career burned hot and flamed out quickly, retiring after his first and only All-Pro season in 2016 due to injuries when he was only 24.
Orr started his career as a Ravens coach in 2017 and was the inside linebackers coach during Macdonald’s two seasons as the defensive coordinator. If the Seahawks lose Aden Durde in 2026, Orr and Karl Scott would be a prime candidates to replace him.
Scott was confirmed to be staying with the Seahawks in 2026 after getting some interest as a defensive coordinator with other teams. In addition, the Seahawks added Daniel Stern, another former Baltimore coach who was most recently a director of football strategy/assistant QBs and per Adam Schefter could be a “pass game specialist” in Seattle.
Orr was not exactly beloved as Baltimore’s defensive coordinator over the past two seasons, but did have really tough shoes to fill.
He’s the second former Ravens linebacker to join Macdonald’s staff with the other being defensive backs/linebackers assistant Josh Bynes. How soon until C.J. Mosley gets a call?
These are the last of this week’s Super Joes questions and then next week there will not be a Super Joes Q&A because I’m preparing for a two-week trip out of the country, my first real vacation since this newsletter started in 2019. However, the newsletter streak will continue as I’m scheduling posts for every day that I’m gone!
If you want to get in on the next Super Joes or just support the newsletter however you feel is fair, become a subscriber today:
Gavin: I read that the Raiders wanted to interview Outten for OC, but the Seahawks blocked the request. My question is under what circumstances can teams block a request to interview one of their assistant coaches?
The Raiders only wanted to interview Justin Outten to be the run game coordinator, which is a lateral move to his position with the Seahawks, allowing Seattle to block it because it’s not a promotion.
Roger Woitte: Who are your favorite Seahawks writers? What are your favorite Seahawks podcasts? Thanks!
I have always said from the very beginning when I started blogging that I was setting out to create the content that I wanted to read and couldn’t find anywhere else. So I am my favorite Seahawks writer.
I don’t mean that in a cocky way, but that question specifically addressed to a writer is hard for any writer to answer because I’m biased and I don’t hide the fact that I’m biased or that I’ll read my own stories after they’re published and enjoy them, except for when I’m noticing another typo, of which there are too many.
I only read other Seahawks writers for news, so there are reporters who I respect like Brady Henderson and Bob Condotta. Those are the two most respectable Seahawks beat writers.
The only types of podcasts that I think make fans smarter are ones that teach the game and not ones that rehash the news into a one-hour or two-hour time suck. So as you all know, I usually only use YouTube for film breakdowns.
Here are a bunch of Super Bowl-related episodes:
Winning the Super Bowl is good for content lovers.
Derek A: Wondering about Super Bowl winners and blue chip players: As a young team did we win with players that may grow into blue chip talent, or was this an unusual exception of a team succeeding with a lower amount of blue chip talent due to a better scheme and true team commitment?
Setting aside blue chip special teamers, of which there are a few, who are blue chip players on the Seahawks right now? To me I lean on the quote “If you’re undeniable, you can’t be denied” which should mean that even 49ers fans agree you are a great player.
This initial list will look a little unfair:
WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba
DL Leonard Williams
DB Nick Emmanwori
CB Devon Witherspoon
OLB DeMarcus Lawrence
I tried to pick players who have so much heat on them nationally that fans who don’t get deep into the weeds of analytics or look beyond awards would say, “Oh yeah, he’s a blue chip player”. I don’t actually think that Emmanwori is better than Byron Murphy right now.
So then you’ve got that list of the guys like Murphy who could be undeniable next season or were underrated last season (no order):
DT Byron Murphy
RT Abe Lucas
LG Grey Zabel
RB Kenneth Walker
TE A.J. Barner
LB Ernest Jones
S Julian Love
LT Charles Cross
QB Sam Darnold
Yes, you are alive at a time when the Seahawks have three offensive linemen on a “watch for future blue chip status” list!
I think a lot of people see Walker as a great running back NOW because he just won Super Bowl MVP to cap off a great postseason, but he still had fewer than 50% of the running back snaps in the regular season so there’s yet more he can do to prove himself as an elite back.
A lot of people were doubting Darnold even after the Super Bowl, but if he simply has another season like the last two and Seattle wins 13+ games again, I think a lot of those naysayers are going to become yaysayers because now Darnold has the benefit of being a Super Bowl winner. Quarterbacks have had career narratives change mid-career before.
Yeah, I think the rest are self-explanatory.
The only players on either list who are 30+ are Williams and Lawrence. To answer your question, I think because the Seahawks won so many games thanks to their defense and special teams putting them over the top, and because their defense and special teams has so much blue chip talent, yes Seattle won with blue chip players.
The flip side of the coin is that in 1-2 years the Seahawks could have more blue chip talent on offense than defense and maybe win a Super Bowl the other way around. From what I’m seeing, Seattle could have a top-3 offensive line next season and then where’s most of the blue-chip talent??
(Omissions are subject to opinions but yes Riq Woolen was omitted and yes I think someone like Elijah Arroyo or Derick Hall have high enough ceilings to get there, but no Drake Thomas or Tory Horton probably don’t.)
Ryan: What are the advantages / disadvantages of extending JSN and/or Spoon this offseason vs. exercising 5th year options and waiting another offseason? What does SSJ predict happens with those two blue chip talents this offseason?
The Seahawks have not negotiated with players who have more than one year left on their contracts and after Seattle picks up the fifth-year options for JSN and Witherspoon then they will have two more years left on their rookie contracts.
It would be great if we could look back at other situations like this to say “Well what about that guy…” but unfortunately the Seahawks did not make a first round pick even under consideration for a fifth-year option until Jordyn Brooks in 2019!
The fifth-year option started in 2011: James Carpenter, Bruce Irvin, Germain Ifedi, Rashaad Penny, L.J. Collier, Jordyn Brooks
It wasn’t until the Seahawks picked Charles Cross in 2022 that they finally had a first rounder worthy of an extension. Seattle picked up the option in May and then extended him last month.
By this logic, the Seahawks will pick up the JSN/Witherspoon options in May and extend them at the end of the regular season or the 2027 offseason.
In Smith-Njigba’s case, it only makes sense to wait.
If JSN were to sign an extension in February, he might get over $40 million per year. Which sounds like, “Wow, how is that not an auto-sign?”
Except that Puka Nacua is going to sign a contract extension this year. That’s going to be over $40 million. Drake London and Chris Olave are also going to sign extensions. George Pickens is going to get tagged or sign an extension.
By waiting until 2027, JSN could be looking at $45 million per year and over $120 million guaranteed. So if Seattle insists that they won’t negotiate with JSN until the end of the season, it wouldn’t make sense for JSN to argue.
In Witherspoon’s case he might rather get paid sooner than later, but he doesn’t have any leverage. Teams have all the power so if the Seahawks want to extend him in 2027, then it’s either play out the season or don’t get paid. By the way, Witherspoon’s 5th-year option pays him $21 million in 2027 so it’s not like he’s being underpaid.
Chuck Turtleman: Coming in late here, but I've now watched the Super Bowl and both playoff games again and guess who kept jumping off the screen at me? Derick Hall. I'm starting to wonder if he might be one of those slow developing guys who turns into a perinatal 10+ sack player. Not really a question I guess, other than have you noticed him looking more dominant even when he doesn't quite get there?
I think that the guys who do The O-Line Committee are mostly smart, but they were reviewing a sack by Derick Hall in the Super Bowl and kept saying, “Look at how long Boye Mafe’s arms are!” No, those are Hall’s arms.
Derick Hall doesn’t turn 25 until next month. Given how the NIL is keeping players in college longer now, Hall isn’t going to be much older than some rookie edge rushers, if at all.
He’s still had a disappointing career but Hall’s got nothing left to do but play for the Seahawks again in 2026 and earn that mega-contract. He’ll never be more motivated than right now.
Cavmax: I've read about the taxes the Hawks have to pay in California, but who pays for the rings?
To be honest, I don’t understand how my own taxes work in California, let alone the state’s “jock tax”. I’ve heard some conflicting reports on whether Sam Darnold made or lost money in the Super Bowl?
Actually I just explained Super Bowl rings to my wife Seaside Jay, as she had no idea that players like got rings for winning the Super Bowl. But I didn’t know how they’re paid for: Apparently the NFL picks up part of the tab and the rest falls on the team owner.
“The price for a Super Bowl ring varies, often wildly. While the league doesn’t give a figure, some reports have put the cost of a set of team rings at $5 million or so. And the fancier the owners want them to be, the higher the price. In 2015, the New England Patriots gave players a ring with 205 diamonds, which cost $5.475 million, an estimated $36,500 each (according to ESPN).
Only part of that cost is picked up by the NFL—roughly somewhere between $5,000 and $7,000 per ring. Team owners pay the remainder.”
No wonder Jody Allen is selling the team now. She doesn’t want to pay for the rings!
Glassmonkey: How will the Seahawks fill the voids in the secondary next year?
I’ll explain my reasoning in next week’s free agent features while I’m on vacation, but I think you’re right in that Seattle will be parting with their secondary free agents. At least two of them.
Ty Okada can replace Coby Bryant and the team can find comparable value in the middle of the draft/free agency. (Look at Geno Stone’s career before and after Mike Macdonald)
Tariq Woolen was only a 2/3rd snaps player last season and Josh Jobe was a relatively easy find once so couldn’t the Seahawks do it again? (Between the two, Jobe would be the one to keep.)
I don’t know for certain that Nehemiah Pritchett can’t play cornerback in the NFL. Corners and safeties are easier to find than offensive linemen and edge rushers so it’s a little less concerning than it seems and how do I know that?
John Schneider didn’t wake up today thinking, “Oh no, I forgot to extend Woolen and Jobe and Bryant!!!”
Teams plan years in advance. They’ve been prepared for this.
Mark Edwards: Which positions might have the most attractive FA markets for a team like the Seahawks right now?
The Seahawks made one splash last year with a player who was an unrestricted free agent and it was Sam Darnold and that’s a rare case of signing a starting quarterback—so rare in fact that a year later everybody is still not sure how the Minnesota Vikings could let that happen.
Cooper Kupp and Lawrence were notable signings and relatively expensive signings, but they weren’t pending free agents. They were cap casualties. So it’s not quite the same and would necessitate me knowing all the players who are going to get cut. (It’s pretty obvious, but I haven’t done that homework yet.)
I say all that to say that the Seahawks don’t mess with big name free agents. Darnold is a huge exception to the rule, and it IS a rule. And he broke it because he’s a quarterback and because he had prior experience with Seattle’s OC at the time.
I would expect the Seahawks to continue punching in the middle of free agency or the bottom of free agency for values.
Which is where you’ll find…the cornerbacks, the safeties, the wide receivers. I’ve mentioned Jalen Nailor a couple of times before.
I’ll look more into free agents in the coming weeks and I would expect that my predictions continue to be a little bit underwhelming sounding but hopefully still slightly more accurate than others.
+1 SSJ is my favorite Seahawks writer also.
Regarding Walker not being an elite back because of getting less than 50% of snaps, I see it differently.
JS has the experience of signing past-prime Lynch and Turbin, because of RB injuries. This year, even with a committee, we lost Charbs to an ACL.
I think the Seahawks want an exceptional back and they want him fresh in the postseason. Gift JS any RB on the planet, and he will still ask Macdonald and the OC to limit his exposure to injury before Christmas.
It’s good for all parties. While the RB won’t break Shaun Alexander’s numbers, he’ll have the opportunity for a longer career and strong postseasons in uniform, rather than street clothes. The team gets depth with experience, multiple skill sets out of the backfield, a *fresh* elite back, and hopefully no need to make desperate signings. As long as the RB gets lots of YPC, he can get paid. And with lower tread wear, he’ll get more suitors.
To me, an elite back doesn’t fumble, can make good reads, can make something from nothing, can break tackles, and has the speed to make explosive plays. Sound like anybody we know?