ESPN insider details what Seahawks have asked head coaching candidates

Jan 19, 2024, 9:09 AM | Updated: 12:11 pm

Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll hugs safety Julian Love prior to a Dec. 10, 2023 game. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

(Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

BY BRANDON GUSTAFSON

Seattle Sports

The Seattle Seahawks are one of seven teams looking for a new head coach after the organization parted ways with Pete Carroll last week.

The Seahawks have been tied to 10 coaches for their vacancy, and general manager John Schneider made it clear when talking to reporters on Tuesday that the team plans to cast a very wide net in its search.

Someone who knows the ins and outs of the NFL and the coaching carousel is ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler, who joined Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy on Thursday to discuss where things stand with the Seahawks and their search for Carroll’s replacement.

“There’ll be a ton of great fits,” Fowler said. “I really think they’re looking for leadership and culture. That’s going to be big, similar to what Pete Carroll gave them for so long. I do think that will be high on their list. They won’t just go for an offensive or defensive guy per se. They’ll look for leadership qualities, maybe more than some teams. All teams look for that, but especially this one, I think.”

That all has been made clear in interviews the Seahawks have already done, Fowler said.

“I know some of the interviews that have happened already, those are some of the questions that have been asked,” he said. “The line of questioning is philosophy and leadership. So whoever shines out of that process. And that’s looking at everyone from some of the hot offensive and defensive coordinator candidates out there like Ben Johnson, they haven’t requested Mike Macdonald out of Baltimore yet, but they could. And then you have the likes of Mike Vrabel that might meet with them. I don’t think Bill Belichick or Jim Harbaugh will be involved in this job, but just about everybody else could be in the mix.”

The Seahawks haven’t looked for a new head coach since after the 2009 season, so how does this year’s group of candidates compare to other years?

“It’s kind of a mixed bag, to be honest,” Fowler said. “But that’s why I think (the Seahawks will) look for the right fit more than the hottest name.”

There’s plenty of intrigue in this year’s coaching cycle, and Fowler thinks the Seahawks are definitely one of the top storylines to follow.

“Seattle’s interesting in its own right because of just the success they’ve had there and sort of the infrastructure they built there,” he said. “Do they go with somebody they’re familiar with like Dan Quinn – I mean, he would be the obvious candidate – or do they try to kind of create a new identity? And you also have John Schneider the GM heavily involved and he’s got final say over the coaching staff and personnel power. So because of that, you’ve got to kind of have the right fit that works well with him in collaboration.”

Listen to the full conversation with Jeremy Fowler at this link or in the player near the top of this story.