The Seattle Seahawks have now lost four of their last six games and have put themselves in the position of being worse than the CARDINALS if they lose to Arizona at home on Sunday. We can no longer say that losing to the Cardinals or being in last place in the NFC West is an improbability or absurd, as these are fair statements given Seattle’s OBVIOUS weaknesses this season.
The Seahawks are 32nd in red zone defense (83.3% converted for TDs)
29th in red zone offense (46.4% converted for TDs)
27th in third down offense (35.6% converted)
24th in yards per carry (3.9)
27th in turnovers (14 in eight games)
Being soft in the red zone on defense is extremely uncharacteristic of not only a Mike Macdonald team, but of any Seahawks defense. So that side of Seattle’s struggles is still confounding.
The problems on offense were far more predictable.
In terms of personnel, the offensive line’s regression to pre-2025 levels could potentially be tied to the play calling they were getting from Klint Kubiak. The Seahawks also overrated the potential for Rashid Shaheed to be a viable starting receiver, and overlooked obvious signs that Cooper Kupp has aged out of being a player who deserves 71% of the snaps.
Those two decisions absorbed tens of millions of 2026 spending power that could have been allocated to getting a receiver upgrade (Mike Evans pairing with Jaxon Smith-Njigba would have been an amazing complement for a year or two) or retaining Kenneth Walker III.
However, this does not absolve Sam Darnold of blame for some of the awful decisions and throws that he’s made under pressure. It does not totally explain why Grey Zabel and Abe Lucas look downright bad.
The Seahawks were 2nd in Net Yards/Attempt in 2025 (they’re 15th)
The Seahawks were 3rd in rushing attempts (they’re 12th)
The Seahawks have significant drops in third-down and red zone conversions
Seattle was third in scoring under Kubiak despite ranking 31st in turnovers. Some of that is a credit to their special teams — which has also been noticeably worse in 2026 — and defense, but the Seahawks are scoring 5.3 points per game fewer than they did last year.
Those are points that would have the Seahawks 7-1 instead of 4-4, at least.
Is this Brian Fleury’s fault?
I’m the type of person who is inclined to lean towards sympathy in these situations, not because I’m a good person but because I’m completely ignorant of what a coach is going through day to day. What if the players aren’t executing and we can’t see it? What if opposing teams have figured out Darnold more so than Fleury not being smart enough for the job?
We’ve seen very clear examples on film of players who don’t block, don’t run good routes, and literally trip over themselves when they’re supposed to be getting into the right position post-snap.
Seaside Joe is not a patient person, but is eight games enough to guarantee that Brian Fleury will never become a good offensive coordinator? If not at least a better OC than the next OC that Seattle hires?
In general, I KNOW that eight games is not enough.
Consider Joe Brady and Kyle Shanahan
An inexperienced hire by the Panthers in 2020, Brady was ridiculed, blamed, and then fired after two years on the job. Two years later he was the Bills offensive coordinator and now he’s Buffalo’s head coach.
One anecdotal example does not do anything to help Fleury’s case, but my point is that fans always blame coaches and sometimes that’s the right call and sometimes it’s not. Fleury’s offensive mentor Kyle Shanahan was ridiculed as an offensive coordinator at three different stops before he was hired by the Falcons in 2015 and even then there were calls to fire him after his first season with Atlanta.
Not even Ryan Grubb has necessarily called his last play as an NFL offensive coordinator.
But if Fleury, like Grubb, ends up being a one-and-done OC for Macdonald, who are some coaches the Seahawks could turn to like they did with Kubiak?
Coaches On The Run?
Hot Seat Offensive Head Coaches:
Kellen Moore, Saints
Dave Canales, Panthers
Shane Steichen, Colts
Nick Sirianni, Eagles
Brian Schottenheimer, Cowboys
If I put someone’s name out there, it’s not to say that they should be hired but that they simply qualify as an option. All five of these coaches could be fired, even including Sirianni two years after winning a Super Bowl; the Eagles fired Doug Pederson three years after winning a Super Bowl.
The bigger issue with Sirianni is just how much anyone respects him as a play caller. He spent three years as the Colts OC prior to being hired in Philadelphia and Indianapolis ranked top-10 in scoring twice.
Moore and Steichen were both OCs for Sirianni in Philadelphia. If the Seahawks ever decide to turn to Jalen Milroe at quarterback, the experience that the Eagles had in reaching two Super Bowls with Jalen Hurts could come in handy.
Canales and Schottenheimer would both be reunion hires, the latter option probably being less intriguing than the former. Even though Schottenheimer is far more proven as an OC than Canales, who fired himself as play caller this year. If Seahawks fans just want an OC who is comfortable with the responsibility after struggling under two inexperienced hires, Schottenheimer qualifies.
The Cowboys are 3-5 but rank 2nd in points per drive.
How would you feel about Schottenheimer returning?
A former head coach who is currently the most ridiculed offensive coordinator in the NFL is Mike McDaniel of the Chargers. He would have been the most popular OC hire in January, but now he’s lost all of that cache with the worst offense in the NFL. Still, his experience and past reputation could make him an option. If the Jets fire Aaron Glenn, then offensive coordinator Frank Reich becomes a free agent.
Not Play-Calling OCs
Press Taylor, Bears OC (Johnson calls plays)
Klayton Adams, Cowboys OC (Schottenheimer calls plays)
Grant Udinski, Jaguars OC (Coen calls plays)
Andrew Janocko, Raiders OC (Kubiak calls plays)
Klay Kubiak, 49ers OC (Shanahan calls plays)
Nate Scheelhaase, Rams OC (McVay calls plays)
Adam Stenavich, Packers OC (LaFleur calls plays)
Mike Kafka, Lions PGC
Tommy Rees, Falcons OC (Stefanski calls plays)
Josh McCown, Vikings PGC
Dan Pitcher, Bengals OC (Taylor calls plays)
Thomas Brown, Patriots pass game coordinator (PGC)
Jim Bob Cooter, Colts OC (Steichen calls plays)
Josh Grizzard, Eagles PGC
Kevin Patullo, Dolphins PGC
Frank Smith, Vikings assistant head coach
Davis Webb, Broncos OC (Payton took back play calling)
Pete Carmichael, Bills OC (Brady calls plays)
Jim Dray, Bears TE coach
Contrary to a popular myth, play calling is NOT considered a promotion; if the Seahawks want to interview Press Taylor as an OC, the Bears have to give him permission. And even then, the coach can say no thanks. The 49ers and Rams would almost certainly block their OCs from going to Seattle.
However, going from a pass game coordinator to an offensive coordinator is a promotion. Seattle has done extensive work on Mike Kafka in the past few years. The Lions have the number one offense in the NFL in terms of total yards. Drew Petzing is Detroit’s offensive coordinator. Unless Petzing leaves for a HC job and Kafka is promoted, the Seahawks should be able to reach out to him again for the OC job in 2027.
Janocko was Seattle’s QB coach in 2025, so there’s a history there. But the Seahawks didn’t offer Janocko the job when Kubiak left and that says a lot on both sides. It’s unclear how an attempt to bring him back would go.
If the Seahawks want an OC who has experience but isn’t “tired” and is currently experiencing success, Mike Kafka’s name should resurface.
Week 8: Seahawks vs. Bears “Greatest Expectations”
I chose Jaxon Smith-Njigba for Offensive Player (obviously) and Michael Dickson for special teams. The hard decision was Defensive Player of the Game and I went with DeMarcus Lawrence. His forced fumble gave Seattle a chance. I think Drake Thomas and Ernest Jones were also really impressive.
With that here’s the top-3 Expectation finishers this week:
SMK
Zezinhom400
Holy Catfisherman
Your scores were separated by a hair. The second-leading receiver was Tory Horton, which two of you went with. The first TD was scored by JSN, which two of you went with. Two of you picked Dickson for Special teams. What I love about this weekly competition is where can find the margins: Any of you three would have clearly won if you had picked “the other guy” in those categories.
The part where I screwed up: Emanuel Wilson didn’t get any yards.
Jadarian Price led Seattle with 29 rushing yards, so I went in two directions: If you predicted a really low total for Wilson, that counts as accurately sensing that he wouldn’t produce. However, in other cases I’ll transfer your expectations to Price.
Here are the 12 category results and your scores:
I’ll ask the readers: Who do you think had the greatest expectations?
I gave a 10% bonus to anyone who correctly predicted the Bears would win. Only one person did and that did not bump their score enough.
If they make a change, it will be somebody in the house. They have a couple candidates. Darnold is a mess. He has happy feet. He locks onto one receiver doesn’t look to a second and third options often enough. He still is the same guy, though he is mentally needs help and I don’t think he is getting it.
I don’t know what happened to the offensive line between last year and this year it doesn’t look the same
I’m firmly in the “8 games is not enough” camp for Fleury. He’s a work in progress, and the pieces he’s working with raise a lot more questions. 6 QB hits and 3 sacks - is that all on Fleury?
Defense had maybe its worst game of the McDonald era, special teams sh— the bed (except for Holani), Sam repeatedly threw the ball in the dirt in front of his receivers . . . and play-calling was the problem?