Bump & Stacy: Which Seahawks coach is under the most pressure?

In addition to a fairly new-look roster, the Seahawks will also have a slightly different-looking coaching staff in place for 2022.

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Seattle not only has a new defensive coordinator, but the team has added a few new assistants and also shifted responsibilities around for some coaches who were already on staff.

So when looking at the Seahawks’ coaching staff, who faces the most pressure in 2022? Former NFL receiver Michael Bumpus shared his thoughts on the topic during Wednesday’s Bump and Stacy on Seattle Sports 710 AM.

Bumpus mentioned that offensive line coach Andy Dickerson, who was promoted to the position after serving as run game coordinator in 2021, is under a lot of pressure. That’s because the Seahawks will likely start two rookie tackles as well as a center who wasn’t on the roster last season. He also mentioned that second-year offensive coordinator Shane Waldron has his work cut out for him because the Seahawks face a lot of question marks when it comes to the quarterback position.

All that being said, Bumpus’ pick is on the defensive side of the football.

“You can go to the secondary and you’ve got Karl Scott, who’s dealing with a team that gave up 265 passing yards a game (last season),” Bumpus said. “That was the second-most in the NFL, and (the Seahawks) only had seven interceptions – that was the third-least in NFL.”

Scott is a new addition to the Seahawks, entering his first season as the team’s defensive pass game coordinator and secondary coach. He comes to Seattle after coaching defensive backs for the Minnesota Vikings in 2021. Before that, Scott coached the secondary at college powerhouse Alabama.

Scott comes to a Seahawks team that, simply put, has struggled against the pass for the last few seasons.

“He has to get these guys to defend the pass. If you can defend the pass, you force a team to run the ball, you (make the opposition) become one-dimensional,” Bumpus said.

In addition to joining a team that’s been poor in pass defense of late, Scott also will be coaching a secondary with a number of new players, mainly at cornerback.

“You’ve got (fourth-round pick) Coby Bryant over there. What are you going to do with (free-agent addition) Arie Burns? You’ve got (fifth-round pick) Tariq Woolen over there,” Bumpus said. “There’s some things that need to be done. I think they can lock down that back end because I really believe in the box right now. I believe in Al Woods, I believe in (Bryan) Mone, I believe in Jordyn Brooks, I believe in Darrell Taylor. I think that back-end has to get it done. Typically, the box helps the back-end by putting pressure on the quarterback. This year, I’m going to say that back-end is gonna help the box by blanketing these receivers and making it tough for the quarterback to see these lanes. I’m going with Karl Scott. He’s got a lot to do.”

Clint Hurtt

Scott is joining a defensive coaching staff led by first-year defensive coordinator Clint Hurtt, who was promoted to that role after serving as Seattle’s defensive line coach from 2017-21. Bumpus’ co-host, Stacy Rost, wanted to hear what kind of pressure Bumpus thinks Hurtt is facing.

“He is in such a fascinating position where if he doesn’t make them a No. 1 defense, you look at the personnel and you look at where they started and (you’d) say, ‘Yeah, that makes sense. I get it,'” she said. “But you also consider that without (quarterback) Russell Wilson, and judging from (head coach) Pete Carroll’s identity of who he wants to be as a team, that job to turn them into a top-five defense is also hugely important, and it’s important that they get it done soon. What kind of pressure is he facing?”

Bumpus’ response: “You think that you have to lean on the defense to get the offense going. The defense has to keep this offense in a game because if Drew Lock is the guy (at quarterback), you don’t know what you’re gonna get out of him. Can you put up 25-30 points a game? Can you make that throw in the fourth quarter on a drive to win it down the sideline with DK Metcalf, who you’re gonna pay $27 million to apparently? So yes, Clint Hurtt is in a precarious position also because people have been coming after (former Seahawks defensive coordinator) Ken Norton for years now. Like, ‘Get rid of him, get rid of him.’ And Pete Carroll’s loyal. He’s held on to him. So now you have a new defensive coordinator. It’s gonna be interesting. I think you’re right. I think there’s a lot of pressure on Clint Hurtt.”

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