Seahawks GM talks QBs, breaks coach news on John Schneider Show

The Seahawks general manager brought a little news with him to the debut edition of The John Schneider Show on Seattle Sports, although it’s bittersweet for his team.

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Joining Wyman and Bob live at Seahawks headquarters in Renton, Schneider shared that departing quarterbacks coach Dave Canales will be taking another member of Seattle’s coaching staff with him when he starts his new gig as Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator.

“It’s cool for Dave, and Brad Idzik is going to go with him to be the wide receiver coach down there,” Schneider said. “It’s a cool deal for those for these guys and we’re really happy for them.”

Idzik has been on Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll’s staff since 2019, spending the last two seasons as assistant wide receivers coach. Going to Tampa Bay is a homecoming for him of sorts – his father John Idzik Jr. (himself a former Seahawks vice president of football administration and later Jets GM) was with the Buccaneers in both coaching and front office roles from 1993 to 2004.

News of Canales going to the Bucs was first reported Wednesday, and he confirmed the move in a tweet Thursday morning.

Schneider is happy for the duo but knows it means Seattle now has work to do to fill their spots.

“Now we’re in a position… ‘OK, now we gotta move this way, we gotta pivot this way,'” Schneider said.

Seahawks’ status with Geno

As you might expect, quarterback Geno Smith was an important topic on the show. Smith is coming off a surprising Pro Bowl season that won him NFL Comeback Player of the Year honors in his first chance to be a full-time starter since 2014, but he’s set to be a free agent and is in line for a big payday whether that’s from the Seahawks (including as a franchise tag candidate) or another team.

Where do things currently stand between Seattle and Smith?

“Good talks so far,” Schneider said. “We’re in it. We’re just trying to figure out what’s best, and we’ll do what’s right.”

There’s a big question now following the news of Canales’ departure, which is whether Smith – or his backup in 2022, fellow pending free agent Drew Lock – will look to follow their QB coach to Tampa Bay.

Related: Does losing QB coach Canales mean Seahawks will also lose Geno?

Schneider understands that speculation but pointed out that with free agency not starting until March 15, the Seahawks have plenty of time where only they are allowed to negotiate with Smith and Lock.

“Obviously, Dave has a great relationship with Drew and Geno,” he said. “Shoot, he did a great job working with Geno (and) staying after practice with Drew… Those guys would work their tails off for a good hour, hour and a half after practice. They’d be out there in the dark throwing the ball, working on footwork and ball carriage and everything. … (But) free agency doesn’t start until the middle of March so there’s a huge period here where we have time to work through things.”

The first John Schneider Show also featured plenty of insight into the inner workings of the Seahawks front office, especially as it pertains to the upcoming NFL Draft. You can hear the full interview in the podcast player below or video near the top of this post. There will be nine more weekly editions of The John Schneider Show leading up the draft – including April 27, the day of the first round of the draft – airing live at 4 p.m. each Thursday during Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob.

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