My prediction was that Jake Peetz would be the next Seahawks offensive coordinator. However, Mike Macdonald said at his press conference today that they weren’t planning to promote any internal candidates. While I suppose that could change, I’m going to proceed assuming Peetz isn’t the man.

I think it’s hard to ‘root’ for anyone in these searches. A lot of people will attach to coaches based on who they work for, without any knowledge as to whether they’re actually suited to running Seattle’s offense. Sometimes positional coaches get an undeserved boost because their boss, be it a coordinator or Head Coach, is great at his job. Or perhaps they’re just lucky enough to coach great players.

Ben Johnson is currently the most highly rated, dynamic offensive coordinator in the NFL. Not many people knew who he was five years ago. His previous job before joining the Lions was working for Adam Gase in Miami. He wasn’t exactly on the Shanahan/McVay tree. The ideal candidate for the Seahawks might not be an obvious name, working for a trendy offense.

I have to admit a slight trepidation about the process. As I keep saying, plenty of defensive-minded Head Coaches fail because they can’t get the offensive coordinator right.

Ideally, you have a pairing that is ready made — either due to a recent connection or a long-lasting relationship. Sean McVay being able to lure Wade Phillips to be his defensive coordinator was a masterstroke when he joined the Rams. I wish Macdonald had been able to make a similar connection, rather than having to go looking as he’s having to do for a second time. Reportedly he had hoped to appoint Arthur Smith before he joined the Steelers.

Macdonald did say today the new coordinator doesn’t necessarily need previous play-calling experience. He also said they had ‘a couple’ of requests for interviews in with other teams. No names were mentioned.

At the moment, the name I hope they speak to is Vikings quarterback coach Josh McCown. His experience in the league, operating within a number of different schemes, is appealing. It’s very easy to see why he’s getting Head Coaching interviews in this cycle and was previously heavily linked with the top job in Houston. As a communicator, he is very effective. It’s easy to imagine him relating to modern NFL players.

He isn’t the most experienced coach having only had two roles — one lasting a matter of months before the Panthers had their latest meltdown. However, none of the up-and-coming coaches touted for coordinator jobs have a CV quite like McCown’s. He had an 18-year playing career taking in 13 different destinations. He was forced to learn and adapt to numerous different schemes.

Just think for a second the depth of knowledge you’d acquire doing that. Even as the backup quarterback — you’re always a play away from being on the field. You have to understand everything — philosophy, blocking, route concepts, why you’re doing what you’re doing. McCown’s journeyman career has exposed him to so many different ideas and he’ll have had to master every single scheme in each different job.

If you appoint someone from Andy Reid’s staff, for example, who’s only really worked for Reid, do they have that same depth of knowledge?

I’ve listened to interviews with most of the candidates people have suggested as possible targets for the Seahawks and I have to say, a lot of them don’t exactly light up the screen. McCown does. Communication, experience and variety feel like key aspects for an offensive leader.

It’s difficult to slice up who deserves what credit for Sam Darnold’s relaunch this season between Kevin O’Connell, McCown and Darnold himself. You can only judge from afar though, without the background knowledge teams have. McCown was Darnold’s quarterback coach the year he broke out.

It’s possible he would rather stay in Minnesota and continue to work with O’Connell having only been there for one season. It’s also possible he’ll be appointed to be a Head Coach by someone.

Of all the unknowns out there, he’s the one that would probably generate the most intrigue I think. Again, that comes with the caveat of not knowing enough about these candidates to say ‘I want him’ with any certainty.

I’d guess they’re open to the idea of an ex-Head Coach coming in, I’m just not sure who that is. Doug Pederson is mentioned a lot but he also spent last week discussing the possibility of retirement. Aside from that, who else is there? I’m guessing Josh McDaniels might go wherever Mike Vrabel goes. Various reports have suggested Jon Gruden is being considered by some teams as a Head Coach — but I’m not sure the Seahawks would be the franchise to restart his career, given the email revelations that led to his departure from the Raiders. I don’t think Chip Kelly’s Ohio State offense, at least during the regular season, is worthy of hoping he decides he wants to come back to the NFL. Jim Caldwell, now a Senior Assistant with the Panthers, would’ve been ideal a few years ago. He also previously worked for John Harbaugh. He turns 70 in January so I’m not sure he’d be looking to return to a lead role.

Peter King looked at potential offensive coordinator candidates a year ago. Funnily enough two of the names on his list — Jake Peetz and Charles London — ended up on Seattle’s staff as passing-game coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

He mentioned Brian Fleury the 49ers tight ends coach, a name that has been mentioned by some:

Unknown outside the Niners, valued highly inside the building as the run-game authority trusted by Kyle Shanahan. You get points with Shanahan for knowing the complete game, and Fleury has been a linebackers coach, director of football research, quality control coach and assistant position coach in his NFL years. Shanahan will not want to lose him.

King noted Tee Martin in Baltimore:

Has all the experience you’d want—fifth-round pick of the Steelers in 2000, journeyman pro QB for six years, coached at four colleges (USC offensive coordinator in 2016-’18), QB coach of Lamar Jackson under Todd Monken this year. Jackson loves him, and Ravens credit Martin as well as Monken for Jackson’s rise this year. Great credibility with players, and knows a lot of offenses.

One name to note who might be in the ‘not immediately obvious but has an interesting background’ is Justin Outten, the current Titans tight ends coach and former running game coordinator under Mike Vrabel:

Interesting career path after being a center for Syracuse two decades ago. Entered the league in 2016 as a coaching intern under Kyle Shanahan in Atlanta, then worked for Matt LaFleur, also off the Shanahan/McVay tree, in Green Bay for three years before Nathaniel Hackett hired him as OC in Denver last year. Now rebuilding his rep under Mike Vrabel. Bright and experienced.

Of course, Seattle had a chance to interview all of the names above and seemingly opted not to a year ago.

It’s a little bit surprising reading King’s blurb for Peetz, someone Macdonald noted he knows well, that he isn’t in contention:

“He’ll win every interview,” one peer told me. Former QB coach of the Raiders and Panthers, former offensive analyst for Nick Saban at Alabama, former OC at LSU. Well-respected by Sean McVay in his two years with the Rams. What impressed me is Puka Nacua telling me in October that he learned the Rams’ offense in long early-morning sessions with Peetz in May and June. Imaginative guy.

Perhaps Peetz doesn’t want to be a coordinator?

Maybe it’s worth looking at the teams with great production in the running game in 2024? Running quarterbacks inflate the numbers for teams like Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington. They make up the top-three for rushing production this season. Tampa Bay’s running game ranked fourth and they recorded 149.2 yards per game without a running QB, so maybe it’ll lead to an interview for someone like Josh Grizzard. He’s in his first season as the passing-game coordinator with the Buccs but I don’t think you need to be controlling the running game to understand what works. He went to Yale and has an eight-year coaching career.

The Dallas Cowboys ranked 5th in run-block win-rate and Rico Dowdle ran for 1079 yards at 4.6 YPC despite only taking on the starting role in October (and with little help from the passing game with Dak Prescott out). There’s been some clamour for Brian Schottenheimer to return — but who knows whether John Schneider was a fan of Schotty.

I’d be a little bit wary of focusing on run-centric coaches. The Lions originally hired Anthony Lynn to be Dan Campbell’s offensive coordinator. He lasted one year before being replaced by Ben Johnson, who has since turned the Lions into the most exciting team to watch in the NFL with Jared Goff at quarterback. As much as the Seahawks want to run the ball, their best hope is someone more aligned to Macdonald who is a visionary, rather than simply run-obsessed.

Nick Caley and Jerry Schuplinski, both with the Rams, get brought up but are they any more of a fit than Jake Peetz, who previously held a similar job for Sean McVay? I am still intrigued by McVay-tree coaches though. Shane Waldron flopped but O’Connell, Matt LaFleur and Liam Coen have thrived. I also really like the way they’ve changed up their offensive line personnel and blocking scheme and would like the Seahawks to adapt a similar approach (I’m going to write about this later in the week). Mike Munchak has been consulting with the Rams this year and could come in as a proven O-line coach.

Dave Ragone, the quarterbacks coach in LA, is another name. If Macdonald wanted to appoint Arthur Smith a year ago, Ragone was his (non play-calling) offensive coordinator in Atlanta. He’s been a NFL coach for 14 years and was a quarterback taken in the third round of the 2003 draft. He worked with McVay on the talented Washington staff a decade ago and the pair are said to be close friends. Speaking of Munchak, here’s what McVay said a year ago:

“(Ragone) and Coach Munchak have a great relationship and he actually was the first one to connect us… I’m grateful that he did and he’s been a tremendous asset to us this year.”

Kevin Patullo is very different in terms of personality to Nick Sirianni in Philadelphia and might be able to bring across some ideas around how to build an offensive line. Can Tanner Engstrand bring the Ben Johnson offense to Seattle, or is Johnson a unique character in Detroit? Would the Seahawks value Klint Kubiak’s experience with Kyle Shanahan and the way the 49ers run the football? I get the sense the Saints might hope to appoint Aaron Glenn as Head Coach and keep Kubiak as offensive coordinator. His brother Klay Kubiak is San Francisco’s current passing game specialist and could be an option. Shanahan let him call plays against Arizona in week 18 and he produced 436 yards of total offense with Joshua Dobbs at quarterback.

Marcus Brady worked with Jim Harbaugh this year. He’s an ex-quarterback in the CFL before becoming assistant QB coach in Indianapolis in 2018. He was then promoted gradually up to offensive coordinator, before a spell in Philadelphia. Brady then joined the Chargers as passing game coordinator. When he was with the Colts he fielded a dominant run-blocking unit but he could also rely on Quenton Nelson, Ryan Kelly and Braden Smith blocking for Jonathan Taylor.

Tommy Rees has only coached in the NFL for one year under Kevin Stefanski in Cleveland. He might not be ready to call plays at this level. However, when he coordinated at Notre Dame and Alabama, he was a big proponent of the run game as a focal point of the offense.

They might check in with the Giants again about Mike Kafka. There was a lot of buzz around Seattle’s interest in Kafka, both as a Head Coach and a coordinator. Eventually he was given a new title (Assistant Head Coach) to keep him in New York. I’m not sure they’d allow him to leave — they also clearly rate him, thus the promotion. As they prepare, in all likelihood, to draft a new quarterback — it would seem a weird time to let him walk, if you weren’t going to a year ago. He could be Schneider’s top target, he just might be unavailable. Joe Bleymaier, Andy Reid’s passing-game coordinator who replaced Kafka in Kansas City, is often touted as a future coordinator.

They only spoke to Miami’s Frank Smith about the Head Coaches position — and didn’t give him a second interview. He might not have impressed during that initial conversation but he was the Chargers’ run-game coordinator before joining Mike McDaniel in Miami. He previously worked for Jon Gruden and Sean Payton, who coached the Broncos to a league-leading O-line for run-block win-rate this year. Would he be interested in a change of scenery and a chance to lead an offense?

McCown is the name at the moment that I think would create the most buzz. However, given what I’ve written here, I’d probably be just as excited by someone who is obscure, who hasn’t worked for a loaded offense or a great boss and gained an undeserved reputation boost, and has maybe got the kind of unique vision that can help the Seahawks find the next Ben Johnson, rather than the next Shane Waldron.