Now that the Seattle Seahawks have their new head coach in place, the focus has turned to filling out the staff under Mike Macdonald.
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The Hawks have reportedly already added Leslie Frazier to be an experienced voice as the associate head coach for Macdonald, who at just 36 is taking on a head coach role for the first time. But there are some glaring holes remaining on the staff, most notably at offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator.
A few names have been tied to the Seahawks’ OC search, most notably current UCLA coach Chip Kelly and former UW Huskies OC Ryan Grubb, who seemed to state his commitment to staying in his new job as Alabama’s OC. The DC search has been quieter, which makes speculation over who could be the choice more open-ended.
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With that in mind, former Seahawks wide receiver and current analyst Michael Bumpus answered a question on Wednesday’s edition of Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy that provided a possible approach Macdonald and general manager John Schneider could take in finding a DC.
Bumpus was asked by co-host Stacy Rost if the Seahawks should talk to Rex Ryan, a longtime former NFL DC who was also a head coach for the Jets and Bills. Bumpus explained why he thinks talking to multiple coaches like Ryan, who is now an ESPN analyst, is the way to go.
“Rex is a great defensive mind. I love watching him when he’s on ESPN or whatnot. I think you interview as many people as possible,” he said. “Whether it’s Rex Ryan, whether it’s (former Panthers head coach) Ron Rivera, whether he’s old, whether they’re young, it doesn’t matter, right? You interview everybody.”
Even if they have different philosophies from Macdonald, who is coming off a wildly successful run as a DC himself with the Baltimore Ravens and plans to call defensive plays in Seattle.
“I want them to interview people that are different – from the old to the young, to the 3-4 to the 4-3. I mean, the more you know the better, and you can learn some things from a guy like Rex Ryan. Even if the personality doesn’t match up perfectly, or you don’t believe in his philosophy, a guy like Rex Ryan is going to drop some nuggets and make you think about some things. A guy like Ron Rivera is gonna do the same thing. A guy like (former Titans coach) Mike Vrabel will do the same thing, as well. You can almost bring these guys in, really no intent to hire them, and you might get blown away by one of these guys and say, ‘You know what, I want him on my staff.’”
Should the Seahawks go the route of hiring a coordinator with notable NFL coaching experience, though, there’s one thing that Seattle needs to be sure of.
“The main thing is they have to be willing to support Mike McDonald. They have to be able to take the back seat and let the young man get in front of the team and operate without him feeling like he’s being judged by the guy who’s been in the league 10 or 15 years,” Bumpus said.