Seahawks hire Harbaugh's son as special teams coordinator

Izzo there any problem with nepotism? Seaside Joe 1801

Not that Pete Carroll was opposed to nepotism because he clearly was not, but Mike Macdonald’s certainly going to use his past connections and familial relations as a strategy in building out his coaching staff: The Seattle Seahawks are parting ways with special teams coordinator Larry Izzo and hiring Jay Harbaugh, son of Jim, in his place.

Izzo, a legendary special teams player in his own right and a coach with the Seahawks since 2018, is now a free agent and I imagine he will be popular for teams looking to improve the third phase.

The 34-year-old Harbaugh got his start as a grad assistant at Oregon State in 2008 under Mike Riley, then his uncle John gave him a job with the Baltimore Ravens in 2012, eventually winding up with his dad Jim Harbaugh as an assistant coach with tight ends and special teams in 2015. He has been the team’s special teams coach since 2017 and he briefly served as interim head coach in 2023 when his dad was suspended (the first half of a game against UNLV, which is the most sitcom-like idea for the coach’s son to be given a head coaching opportunity that I can think of) during Michigan’s national championship season.

There is not a more respected special teams coach in the world that I can think of than John Harbaugh (he’s the head coach now, of course, but Harbaugh is the only NFL head coach who was previously on special teams) and the Ravens consistently rank at or near the top in the third phase with future Hall of Fame kicker Justin Tucker at the forefront of those conversations.

If any of that has rubbed off on Jay Harbaugh, certainly this could be a small victory for Mike Macdonald’s coaching staff. Jake Moody, Michigan’s kicker from 2018 to 2022, was a third round pick of the 49ers last year.

There is a conversation to be had about nepotism but certainly one that I feel is a gray area. J.T. O’Sullivan, who creates the “The QB School” videos that I have shared in the past at Seaside Joe, has been making a fuss any time a famous last name moves up the coaching ranks…which means he has the chance to fuss a lot.

Look no further this month than another new defensive coordinator in the NFC West this year: The L.A. Rams have hired Chris Shula, grandson of the legendary Don Shula, to replace Raheem Morris. If you don’t want to see nepotism in the Super Bowl, then avert your eyes every time Brock Purdy throws a pass: Klint Kubiak, son of Super Bowl winner Gary Kubiak, is the passing game coordinator and just got promoted to offensive coordinator by the Saints. And be careful watching the Huskies, since Pete’s son Brennan Carroll is the new offensive coordinator at Washington. The defensive coordinator on the other side for the Huskies is Belichick…Steve Belichick.

Brennan and his brother Nate were longtime, albeit rarely seen, assistant coaches for their dad in Seattle.

O’Sullivan’s argument is not that these coaches are unqualified, although I’m sure many of them are when they get hired early in their careers, but that there are non-famous, unconnected coaches who will not be able to advance their careers because of these hires. Maybe O’Sullivan, who I imagine is not connected in any way, feels he should be a quarterbacks coach in the NFL instead of making YouTube videos…although I think in this era it might be better to be a famous YouTuber with a Patreon account than in the NFL.

Less work, more money.

Is it right? Seaside Joe doesn’t get into the weeds of right or wrong, mostly I am just interested in observation. But when the Seahawks hire any “Harbaugh”, it’ll set off more alarm bells for fans than just about any other name.

And to replace a very popular special teams coordinator, one who has had success with both Michael Dickson and Jason Myers, it will set the bar even higher for the replacement to justify the move. To be fair and completely honest, I do think that despite their success, both Dickson and Myers have the potential to be even better.

Dickson had a career-high 50 yards per punt in 2023, but also a career-high rate of touchbacks (12.1%) and his rate of punts to land in the 20 is down considerably (37.9%) from a career-best rate of 52.5% in 2020.

Myers has hit 74-of-75 extra point attempts in the past. two seasons, but he missed seven kicks in 2023 and should be better from every distance.

My focus is on numbers, not names. But those numbers better be good, or I can guarantee the media and the fans will go back to talking about the names.

The Seahawks haven’t hired an offensive coordinator yet, but when they do I will be sending you another edition of Seaside Joe. Become a subscriber to not miss it or any other articles in 2024: