Getting to Know the New Coaches

by: Michael Steffes

Couple of different articles this morning chose to focus on some of the newer member of the Seahawks coaching staff.

First off, Clare Farnsworth has written about how Matt Hasselbeck and new QB coach Bill Lazor are getting along. How could you not get along with Matt Hasselbeck right? The guy is a walking quote, by all accounts a funny guy, and best of all, he just wants to spend every day getting better and preparing to win.

Next, Scott Johnson wrote a nice piece about Mike DeBoard. DeBoard has probably made the biggest transition of all the coaches. Not only is this his first venture into the NFL, he also moved across the country, and didn't previously know anyone on the Seahawks staff. However, any guy who is willing to go from a big name program coordinator to an assistant line coach just so he can learn from a HOFer like Holmgren and a grizzled coach like Solari is alright in my book. Read More!

A Look at Next Years Staff

by: Michael Steffes

The rumors about the Jim Mora's staff continue to mount. The original place that some some of the speculation began from was this article by John Czarnecki, which states...

"It's also no secret that current Oakland assistans Greg Knapp and Tom Rathman will be on Jim Mora's 2009 Seattle coaching staff."

Now we can add another possible name to the staff. The Silver and Black Blog at the San Francisco Chronicle has this recent post, which says...

"But, tuck this one away for future reference: current offensive line coach Tom Cable is under contract through this year, but he is rumored to be headed to Seattle after this to rejoin future Seahawks coach Jim Mora."

It appears that there could be quite a house cleaning on the offensive side of the ball come next season. None of these coaches are bad coaches. They all coached on the San Fran teams in the early part of the decade under Steve Mariucci. They worked under Mora in Atlanta. Oakland just happened to be where they caught on. That said they did a decent job last year with little to work with. It will be interesting to see how that offense functions this year, with two years in the system and few more playmakers on that side of the ball. A side note on Cable, he played high school football for Snohomish.

The good news is that the 2008 staff has a whole bunch of guys who are coaching with the knowledge that they will need a new gig next year. Think of this year as an audition. They are likely to do some very good work in an effort to build their resumes.

As for the defense, well Mora coached a top ranked defense with John Marshall in SF, so hopefully we can keep some continuity on one side of the ball. There is going to be a lot more to talk about next offseason, that is for sure. END Read More!

Calling The Plays

by: Michael Steffes

In Seattle, it is done my Coach Mike Holmgren. He is one of 11 head coaches who still do this. Mike Sando over at ESPN has written a nice article looking at this phenomenon.

It seems, judging by his article that head coaches who call plays is something that is predominant in the Mike Holmgren coaching tree. I guess that shouldn't be a surprise. Out of the 11, many have ties to Holmgren, or a Holmgren disciple. They include Jim Zorn, Andy Ried, John Gruden, Mike McCarthy, and Brad Childress, who learned under Ried. Add Holmgren to that list and you have 6 of the eleven.

This of course begs the question, who will be calling plays next year. Gregg Knapp is the guy that most people assume will be at the helm. He called plays for Mora in Atlanta, and learned the craft under Steve Mariucci in San Francisco. Because of this, he is also from the Mike Holmgren coaching tree, one generation removed. The Seahawks are truly losing a legend. Luckily, it would seem there are plenty of coaches out there who the team can select from and still keep some continuity in the system. END Read More!

Hey Wadda Ya Know?

ESPN's Mike Sando must have heard our pleas. After the articles praising the Niners for the Martz hire, and the Rams for the Saunders hire, the Seahawks get their due.

Mr. Sando has a nice piece on Mike Solari and his importance to the Hawks success this season. It also talks a lot about the moves made to help invigorate the run game.

Thought everybody would want to check it out. END




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New Running Backs Coach?

It has recently been brought to my attention that another new coach has been hired on to the Seahawks staff. I can only assume he may be the new running backs coach. His name is Kasey Dunn.

The reason I believe this stems from an ESPN college football blurb. On the right, under extra points it reads.....

Hull replaced Kasey Dunn, who left last week after just two months in College Park to join the Seattle Seahawks.

This coincides with a WA Post report from March 2nd, that reads...

Kasey Dunn has resigned, according to a team spokesman. From the sounds of things, Dunn had an offer elsewhere in the business that was too good to pass up, although it has yet to be finalized.

Dunn had only been on the Terps staff for two months coaching receivers. Previously, he coached at several universities, including Washington State. Welcome on board Kasey!

END Read More!

Seahawks Hire New Coach

Ex University of Michigan assistant Mike DeBord has been added to the Seahawks staff. The only position that was open was for running backs, that I know of. DeBord has experience working with O lines and tight ends. He also has coached special teams.

Being that I was born in Ann Arbor and my father was a U of M grad student, I like any addition of a Wolverine coach. If there is one place in the world they know how to run the football, it is Michigan.

END OF POST Read More!

Mack Being Considered For RB coach

This was mentioned here the moment Stump Mitchell left, however, now it is official that he is in the running. Frank Hughes confirmed this by talking to Mike Holmgren. Ernest Byner is also being considered. The story is right here at Seahawks Insider. It would appear that the job is Mack's if he wants it. Read More!

News and Notes.....

Well I was thoroughly enjoying the Inaugural Live Blog on Seahawkaddicts.com, lots of news seemed to break. Anyway, nothing that shatters the foundations of what we know, well except that Ken Hamlin was franchised. Never thought i would say that! Anyway...

- Hawks have hired a new Quality Control Coach. His name is Chris Beake and he was Mora's former LB coach. Frank Hughes broke the news at Seahawk Insider, he also has link to a bio on the guy. Check it out.

-Also, Deshaun Foster has been released. Adds to the RB market, however, i would not expect the Hawks to even take a look. If there is one think Holmgren hates, it is a fumbler!

-The Hawks have already met with a bunch of players at the combine, including some TE's. As I mentioned in the LIVE BLOG, the Hawks will probably meet with 90% of the tight ends, the 10% being the ones with criminal records.

I think what i will do is recap who the Hawks have met with at the end of the day, all in one post. Unless it is something that needs immediate discussion, that is the plan. Besides, the LIVE BLOG was so much fun I think I will do it again tomorrow during the combine coverage on NFLN. Hope more of you stop by, it is pretty cool! Go into the post and check it out! I am taking the afternoon off unless something major happens. I think later I am going to answer some questions, so get em' in. Read More!

All Signs Point to a Great 08'

Things are looking up as we head in Mike Holmgren's final year. First, after saying the team wouldn't be involved in the ruckus that is the first week of free agency, the team one upped that by getting involved before the players hit free agency.

Then there is this. While some would have you believe that there is dissension in the ranks over in Kirkland, this blurb by Profootballweekly says the arrangement has energized the Big Show. It would also appear that he is more than willing to be a mentor to Mora, teaching him to "stay above the fray." Also, the article states that the players are on board with the move as well, especially the defense. This will be extremely important if the Seahawks want this transition to go as smoothly as they say it will. Read More!

Mora Jr--Part II

HawkfaninOklahoma made an interesting comment in the previous post about Jim Mora Jr. He suggests that Brian Billick should be given another shot to coach. No matter what you think of Billick, this is valid point. In fact, the similarities to Billick and Mora jr are undeniable. Lets take a look.

Billick was a first time head coach in Baltimore, so we are comparing him to Mora Jr's Atlanta days. Both coaches had unprecedented success in their first few years. Billick won a Superbowl in year 2, while Mora got to the NFC championship game in year 1. What does that SB win buy you? About 7 meddling seasons instead of 2. Mora was out after three years, but more so because of his follies with the media, not his overall record. Anyway, if Hawk fans think that Mora is going to be a good coach, then we have to believe Billick should get another shot. Why? Because most of the time coaches in their second job do a substantially better job.


Mike Sando wrote this for ESPN the other day about the coaching landscape. Part of this article is about the success that coaches have had in their second stint. It is truly impossible to ignore.

Seven current head coaches were fired as head coaches by other NFL teams: Mike Shanahan, Bill Belichick, Tony Dungy, Coughlin, Jauron, Wade Phillips and Norv Turner. They have guided their current teams to eight Super Bowls, winning seven, in 35 combined seasons with their current teams.

Lets look at the overall record of these coaches...

	1st stint	win %	2ndstint	win %	improvement
Shanahan	8-12	0.4	130-78	0.625	0.225
Belichick	36-44	0.45	91-37	0.711	0.261
Dungy	54-42	0.563	73-23	0.76	0.197
Coughlin	68-60	0.531	35-29	0.547	0.016
Jauron	35-45	0.438	14-18	0.438	0
Phillips	29-19	0.604	13-3	0.813	0.209
Turner	49-59	0.454	9-23	0.281	-0.173

Median improvement = .197
Average improvement = .105

This only includes the fired coaches, and doesn't include Norv Turners success last year in his third job. Consider this.... These coaches, last year alone, counted as 2 of 2 in Superbowl appearances, 3 of 4 in championship game appearances, and 5 of 8 in divisional round appearances

Mora's record in Atlanta was 26-22 (.542). If you figure in the average improvement it goes up to .647, which is better than Shannahan has done with Broncos. In you figure in the median improvement, it goes up to .739. This is far more accurate in this case because Norv's awful record with the Raiders is pulling the average down. He seems to be doing better in his third job. A winning % of.739 is better than Belichick and just under Dungy. Pretty impressive company. It is also far better than Holmgren's Seahawk winning %.

Obviously, each situation is different. Am I saying Mora Jr is better than these coaches? Absolutely not! I am just showing that numbers support Mora having quite a big success in his second job. Some get worse. Look up Mooch's record with the Lions. However, consider he was just passed up for the Skins Job, a job that Mora could have had if he wanted.

As for hawkfaninOK-- Figure in the improvements to Billick's record and his winning % would move to .659 and .753. So who ever gets him in his second job will probably have quite a bit of success as well. Kinda makes you appreciate exactly how crazy Daniel Snyder is, hiring Jim Zorn above proven coaches like Mariuchi, Billick, or Fassel. Is it about winning, or appeasing the fans? Read More!

Interesting Sidenote

Check out John Czarnecki's article 10 buring questions this offseason. In the article, you may notice that he mentions that Paul Allen sided with Tim Ruskell in not offering Holmgren a contract extension.

Now Holmgren has lead us all to believe that he wanted to step down. I tend to believe him too because his mentor Bill Walsh is often cited as saying no coach should be with a team more than 9 years. This could be just another manifestation of this perceived rift between Holmgren and Ruskell because of Holmgrens stripped powers. Personally, I think that the national media really wants their to be this sort of inner power struggle. It makes the Seahawks more interesting to them. What I see, granted it is from the outside looking in, is that Ruskell appreciates and respects Holmgren I also think Holmgren trusts and respects Ruskell. Does he secretly think he could do a better job? Probably. But that is his enormous, walrus sized ego. The same one that has helped turn him from a high school teacher to a HOF NFL coach. Read More!

Stump Mitchell Offically a Skin

So be it. Jason Reid of the Wa Post's take is here. "We previously reported that the Redskins hoped to, in essence, trade Mitchell for Byner, but Seattle could have other plans for their vacant running backs position."

Bring on Mack Strong!!! New Seahawk RB coach!!!! Read More!

Looking Ahead by Looking Behind

This was part of a chat with KC Joyner on Espn the other day...

Steve (Wa): Do you think it was smart of the Seahawks to annouce Mora as the new coach already?

KC Joyner: It's not a matter of whether or not the early announcement is good for them. I just don't think Mora is the right coach for that team. He coaches on emotion and will be taking over a talented team that doesn't play up to its talent level often enough. What they need is a coach who can get them to play more consistently but consistency isn't Mora's strength (just look at his Falcons' teams up and down performances).

So I thought this would be an interesting topic to discuss. Is Mora the right coach??? I think it is safe to say everybody has an early opinion on this, but most of us are probably basing them on a gut feeling. So lets look at how Mora's teams preformed over the 3 years he was there, and other coaches who are in their 2nd jobs are preforming.

2004- Atl- Everybody remembers this year. NFC Championship game against Philly. They crushed the Lambs after we lost for the third time and at home (GOD DAMMIT!) in the playoffs.
Lets look at how the team preformed.

						Passing							Rushing
	Pts	Yds	Ply	Y/P	1stD	Cmp	Att	Yds	TD	Int	NY/A	1stD	Att	Yds	TD	Y/A	1stD	TO	FL	1stPy
Team Offense	340	5084	969	5.2	284	217	395	2412	15	16	5.4	120	524	2672	20	5.1	133	30	14	31
Team Defense	337	5207	999	5.2	513	328	517	3526	19	19	6.2	183	434	1681	20	3.9	310	32	13	20
Lg Rank Offense	16	20			19		31	30	28	14	26		5	1	3	1		22	25
Lg Rank Defense	14	14			19		19	22	11	9	16		12	8	29	10		11	9

This was obviously a very run oriented team. 31st in passes attempted. 1st in rushing yards. They obviously had a QB much more interested in running than the Hawks will have. He was their second leading rusher that year. Whenever a team dominates the league in a category, it is combination of players and schemes. This is true for a horrendous result as well. The D was good not great, they stopped the run a little better than they stopped the pass, which is a bit surprising considering Mora's work w/ our dbs.

They played pretty consistently (2 bad games, 56-1o @ KC and loss to Det) If I recall they had clinched a bye before losing to NO and SEA in the last two games.

2005--What happened??? They started the year 7-1 with the only loss to NE by 3 points. Then came an awful second half to finish 8-8 and miss out on the playoffs. Here are the #'s

Pts	Yds	Ply	Y/P	1stD	Cmp	Att	Yds	TD	Int	NY/A	1stD	Att	Yds	TD	Y/A	1stD	TO	FL	1stPy
Team Offense	351	5225	1021	5.1	313	247	451	2679	19	13	5.5	149	531	2546	17	4.8	139	29	16	25
Team Defense	341	5200	1001	5.2	516	320	526	3137	18	16	5.6	167	438	2063	18	4.7	319	29	13	30
Lg Rank Offense	14	12			11		27	27	19	7	24		3	1	8	1		19	28
Lg Rank Defense	18	22			23		19	14	9	14	9		16	26	25	31		14	10

Very similar stats, even the turnover differential was the same ranking as the year before. They one thing i see different is that the rushing D dropped off dramatically in yds allowed. That could be the reason they suffered so bad in the second half, a tired D. Or as is suggested in this article, the feeling was that the league had begun to figure out how to defend Michael Vick. This was the year he really began taking heat from fans and media. We can question if this was Mora's coaching?, or did Vick's early success almost make him uncoachable. I believe that this was the year that Mora committed his first big boo boo. He was seen on the phone on the sideline checking to see if they could get the final wild card during the game.

2006--Mora's final year. Obviously, this was the year he talked to Hugh at KRJ and caused quite a stir. This was late in the season, during which time they lost 7 or their last 9 and fell from 1st all the way to 3rd in their division. Here are the #'s

						Passing							Rushing
	Pts	Yds	Ply	Y/P	1stD	Cmp	Att	Yds	TD	Int	NY/A	1stD	Att	Yds	TD	Y/A	1stD	TO	FL	1stPy
Team Offense	292	5310	1000	5.3	287	222	416	2371	21	15	5.1	133	537	2939	9	5.5	134	20	5	20
Team Defense	328	5325	994	5.4	529	321	515	3668	20	12	6.6	183	442	1657	14	3.7	313	26	14	33
Lg Rank Offense	25	12			20		32	32	13	14	31		1	1	23	1		5	1
Lg Rank Defense	15	22			28		17	29	14	25	31		12	9	17	6		21	8

Looking at the numbers, the Falcons maintained their #1 rushing attack and dramatically improved their rush defense. They even moved way up the ranks in turnover differential, which is a surprise considering Mike Vick's rep for throwing bad picks. Maybe the were just bad passes as the Falcons finished dead last in passing offense. Obviously, when there is such a lousy result it is a combination of factors. Clearly there was a disconnect with Michael Vick and the coaching staff. Also, they had young WR's who were not developing at all. It is very hard to get WR's to contribute immediately in a WCO. Overall this team had great team stats, one has to wonder if the sub .500 record was because the person who touched the ball the most, Michael Vick, was not on top of his game.

If you look at the teams record in the second halves, one would conclude Mora's teams in year 2 and 3 were not a consistent bunch. I would argue that they were consistent. They finished first in rushing every year. They ranked 12 in offense in both those year. Their turnover margin was never negative and was in the top half of the league in all three years. What was inconsistent was the passing game. Lets be real, Michael Vick. Was Mora at fault for not coaching Vick better. Sure. But lets ask ourselves, with the info we have now, do we think he was really putting in a full effort? I would say the fact that the majority of the team performed capably but was undermined by the fact that the man who touched the ball most often was horribly inconsistent.

In Seattle, Mora will not have this problem!!! At least not in his first few years. Hasselbeck has had some ups and downs, but he will be a much steadier player/leader than Vick. Now ask yourself if this extends beyond QB. It does. Seattle has created a culture of "character guys" who work hard and self motivate. This is the type of player that should respond very well to a ra ra coach like Mora. Hypothetically, if the Hawks were to win one for Big Show in 08', the change in personality may be a huge benefit that could take them all the way back, hypothetically.

This is a really long post already, so i will come back later and take a look at how coaches do their second time around. I am sure my loyal readers are just brimming with anticipation. In the mean time, discuss, is Mora JR the right guy?? Read More!

Skins to Interveiw Mitchell, Hawks Grant Permission

This info from Mike Sando at the Hashmarks blog on Espn. Are ALL the Seahawk beat writers asleep or what????

The Redskins have also stepped up their efforts to land Seattle running backs coach Stump Mitchell. The Seahawks were reluctant to grant permission for the Redskins to speak with Mitchell, their running backs coach, about a lateral move. But sources said the Redskins want Mitchell enough to give him another title as well (along the lines of "assistant head coach").

Ernest Byner is under contract as the Redskins' running backs coach, but new head coach Jim Zorn has sought to bring Mitchell to Washington. Mitchell knows the offense well, particularly the running game. He has been with the Seahawks since Mike Holmgren's first season as coach in Seattle (1999).

Seattle's offensive staff has already lost offensive quality-control coach Gary Reynolds, receivers coach Nolan Cromwell and Zorn, the Seahawks' longtime quarterbacks coach. The team also fired offensive line coach Bill Laveroni, replacing him with Mike Solari.

Read More!

Zorn Trying to Loot the Coaching Staff ???

This article here, by Jason La Canfora of the Washington Post, suggests that Captain Zorn would like to bring Seattle RB coach Stump Mitchell aboard the Titanic over in DC(Dave Krieg Strike Beard reference). This is to be expected, i guess. This article suggests that they may try to broker a trade, handing the Hawks Erynst Byner in return.

I think that Jimmy Boy is in a tough spot. He probably wants to bring a bunch of coaches aboard, however, many of them probably feel an obligation to help Big Show ride off into the sunset (lets hope he doesn't break the horses back). Next year might be a different story, with big chunks of the current staff possibly looking for work, however, by then Zorn might be asking the Hawks for his job back!

UPDATE(1:45pm) Here is more on Stump Mitchell becoming the new OC for the Washington Redskins. Anybody else think this is like an episode of the Twilight Zone. Zorn and Mitchell as top coaches on the staff of a storied franchise--never saw that coming. Read More!

For Those of you Who Don't Like the Mora Jr Hire...

I came across this article this morning as well. The Twin Cites Pioneer Press suggests in this article that...

"Some football people were surprised that Jim Mora - and not ex-Vikings coach Mike Tice - was named to succeed Mike Holmgren as Seahawks coach for 2009."

Are you f-ing kidding me??? And how can you write that sentence and then give no explanation. If anybody else heard that Tice was on the Seahawks radar let me know. Until then, here is my favorite memory of Mike Tice as a Seahawk....

Actually, I will use any excuse to get this onto my blog....
Read More!