Report: Seahawks to hire Rams’ Shane Waldron as next OC
Jan 26, 2021, 8:54 PM | Updated: 9:12 pm
Shane Waldron has been with the Rams for four seasons. (Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty)
(Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty)
A little more than two weeks after letting go of Brian Schottenheimer, the Seahawks reportedly have their next offensive coordinator in Shane Waldron, the Los Angeles Rams passing game coordinator.
Groz: Maybe Pete Carroll agrees with DK Metcalf
According to ESPNs Adam Schefter, Seattle will make Waldron, 41, its fourth offensive coordinator under head coach Pete Carroll.
Seattle is planning to hire Rams’ passing game coordinator Shane Waldron for its offensive coordinator job, per source. Waldron will take over for Brian Schottenheimer.
Rams losing Waldron, Brad Holmes, Ray Agnew, Joe Barry and Aubrey Pleasant.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 27, 2021
Waldron, who would be the Seahawks’ third offensive coordinator since star quarterback Russell Wilson was drafted in 2012, began his NFL coaching career in 2008 with the New England Patriots as an offensive quality control coach before coaching tight ends in 2009. He then coached receivers in the United Football League in 2010 before becoming offensive coordinator for Buckingham Browne and Nichols School, a New England-area high school, in 2011. He returned to the college ranks at UMass as a tight ends coach in 2012 and 2013, then was the school’s offensive line coach in 2014 and 2015.
After that, Waldron returned to the NFL as a offensive quality control assistant for Washington in 2016, where he worked alongside current Rams head coach Sean McVay, who was the team’s offensive coordinator. When McVay was hired by Los Angeles in 2017, Waldron followed him to the West Coast, serving as tight ends coach in 2017 before being promoted to passing game coordinator in 2018, a title he’s held since. He also was quarterbacks coach in 2019.
Waldron has ties to the Pacific Northwest. He’s a Portland, Ore., native who went to high school at La Salle in nearby Milwaukie. In college he played tight end and long snapper for Tufts University in Massachusetts.
McVay calls offensive plays for the Rams, but it’s been reported that Waldron has had a lot of sway and influence in how the Los Angeles offense operates. The Rams have been extremely successful under McVay, making the playoffs three of the last four years including a trip to the Super Bowl in 2018.
Text I received from a source on staff with the Rams. “This is a bigger loss for us than people realize. Shane is a great match for Russ.”
Yeah, I’m excited! 🔥 https://t.co/wDm3I8VV5k
— Jake Heaps (@jtheaps9) January 27, 2021
The Seahawks’ offense began 2020 as one of the best units in football over the first eight weeks, regularly scoring 30-plus points and throwing the ball seemingly more than ever under Carroll. But when Seattle lost three of four games from Week 7 to Week 10, including a loss to the Rams, the offense started to play more conservatively and deep shots downfield were harder to come by.
After the season ended with another loss to the Rams, this time in the playoffs, Carroll told reporters he wanted to run the ball more and have more balance offensively, especially as teams took away deep passes with two-high safety looks. Wilson, meanwhile, told reporters he wants to play with more tempo and pace to have faster starts.
The Rams have done a great job in recent years on offense and are known for running the ball, using play-action bootleg passes and pre-snap motions to help receivers and tight ends get open. Based on the Rams’ recent success on offense, it looks like Waldron could provide Carroll and Wilson what they’re looking for.
The Seahawks took more than two weeks to tab Waldron as the pick, and he was one of 11 names that Seattle reportedly reached out to since Schottenheimer was let go. Waldron was one of the newer names on that list, with Schefter reporting just over the weekend that the Seahawks were looking to talk to both him and Buffalo Bills quarterbacks coach Ken Dorsey.
Follow Brandon Gustafson on Twitter.
