The Seahawks’ offensive coordinator search is the first priority of the offseason

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  • Brady HendersonJanuary 22, 2025, 6:00 AM ET

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      Brady Henderson is a reporter for ESPN’s NFL Nation. Henderson covers the Seattle Seahawks. He joined ESPN in 2017 and covered the team for Seattle Sports 710-AM. You can follow him on Twitter @BradyHenderson.

Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald is known as a careful decision maker, which is why his search for a new offensive coordinator is now well into its third week.

But things seem to be heating up.

Fifteen days after Seattle fired Ryan Grubb, ESPN’s Dan Graziano reported Tuesday that Detroit Lions offensive line coach Hank Fraley was scheduled for another in-person interview with the team later that day. Fraley’s initial interview was held almost during the Lions’ first-round bye, but with their playoff run, the two sides can now come face-to-face.

Fraley, 47, joins New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and Minnesota Vikings assistant OC/assistant quarterbacks coach Grant Udinski as candidates who have advanced to a second round of interviews with Seattle. The team also interviewed Chicago Bears interim head coach Thomas Brown and former NFL quarterback and OC Byron Leftwich, and is in compliance with the Rooney Rule.

Those are the known candidates, although it is possible that there are more names that have not been reported.

Kubiak, 37, has the most experience of the trio to land other interviews, not to mention some famous NFL bloodlines. He served as OC for Minnesota in 2021 and New Orleans last season, calling games for the second half of 2022 for the Denver Broncos after head coach Nathaniel Hackett relinquished those duties. He is the son of Gary Kubiak, former coach of the Houston Texans and Broncos.

Kubiak’s resume as a playcaller raises a significant question – how committed to the run will he be? It was, after all, perhaps the biggest reason why the defensive-minded Macdonald fired the pass-happy Grubb after just one season.

That probably wouldn’t be the big question with Fraley, even though he’s never been a coordinator. Offensive linemen generally love to run the ball, and Fraley played center for 11 seasons in the NFL and has coached the position since 2012. He has spent the last seven seasons with the Lions, who have the league’s fifth-highest rushing rate over the past two years.

Udinski has made a rapid rise through the coaching ranks, going from assistant to Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell in 2022 to interviewing for Seattle’s OC job as a 28-year-old. But after the failed experiment with Grubb, would Macdonald want to take a big swing at the young and inexperienced?

Udinski has never been a full-time position coach, let alone a playcaller, which makes it hard to see how a defensive coach like Macdonald would be comfortable handing him the keys to Seattle’s offense — especially given the pass-heavy scheme in which he spent his formative years years as a coach. In three seasons under O’Connell, Minnesota ranks 28th in designed rush rate.

If the Seahawks see Udinski as a rising star, it would make more sense to have him on their offensive staff as a senior assistant under a more experienced coordinator like Kubiak or Fraley.

Whenever the Seahawks hire a coordinator, the next big question they’ll have to tackle is the future of quarterback Geno Smith, who enters another offseason of uncertainty as he seeks an extension.

Here’s a guide to the Seahawks’ offseason, including pending free agents, key dates and cap space concerns.

Free agents

After helping transform Seattle’s defense when he arrived in a midseason trade, linebacker Ernest Jones IV will be the most important of the team’s 10 unrestricted free agents to re-sign. To hear him tell it, he might also be the most likely to do so.

After the Seahawks’ season finale, Jones said negotiations were “going in the right direction, for sure,” despite a report that the two sides had put them on hold.

“We’ll make it,” he said. “I want to be a Seahawk — I’m convinced that … My agents and the front office, we’re going to figure it out.”

Jones said he “definitely” believes a deal will be completed before free agency, which begins with the March 10 opening of the negotiating window. The franchise brand should not come into play here. Because inside linebackers and pass-rushing outside linebackers are all lumped together for franchise-tag purposes, the cost of spending it on Jones would be prohibitively expensive — more than $27 million per pick. OverTheCap.com (OTC).

None of the Seahawks’ other UFAs are tag candidates.

Jarran Reed is the biggest name among them. The veteran defensive tackle volunteered late in the season that he would re-sign with the Seahawks. That makes sense given that Reed returned to Seattle two years ago despite an acrimonious departure in 2021, citing his appreciation for the organization. The last remaining link to the “Legion of Boom”-era defense had a strong season, recording 4.5 sacks while averaging 40 snaps a game and playing in all 17.

Seattle’s other UFAs: defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins, safety K’Von Wallace, cornerback Artie Burns, cornerback Tre Brown, outside linebacker Trevis Gipson, tight end Pharaoh Brown, guard Laken Tomlinson and tackle Stone Forsythe.

Early offseason dates to know

March 16: Smith because of the $16 million roster bonus

That figure includes the $6 million in contract escalators the quarterback hit last season. If Smith is on Seattle’s roster through March 16 — the fifth day of free agency — he will get that $16 million bonus.

This wouldn’t necessarily be a tough deadline to determine if he’ll stay with the Seahawks in 2025, but March roster bonuses exist for a reason. Agents are pushing for teams to include them in contracts because if their player’s status on the team can be in limbo, they want clarity as early in the offseason as possible.

If the Seahawks must move on from Smith this offseason — whether it’s because they can’t agree to an extension and/or another quarterback-needy team makes them a strong trade offer — they have a $16 million incentive to do so before 16 March.

April 21: Likely to start the Seahawks’ offseason workout program

Teams with new head coaches get a two-week head start, which was the case with Macdonald and the Seahawks last season. But teams with returning head coaches can’t start until April 21 — three days before the start of the NFL draft.

May 1st: Deadline to exercise Charles Cross’ fifth year option

Because Seattle’s left tackle hit certain playing time thresholds during his first three seasons but didn’t make a Pro Bowl, OTC.com projects his option will cost $18.427 million for 2026. Exercising those options essentially states, that the five-year cost is the floor in terms of an annual average when negotiating a long-term deal, which is likely one of the reasons the Seahawks have largely refrained to do so under Schneider.

Cross has been a solid player since the Seahawks drafted him ninth overall in 2022, and for as bad as Seattle’s offensive line was as a whole last year, Cross had his best season. He ranked 16th among all tackles in pass block win rate while playing virtually every snap.

Cap space

Per OTC, the Seahawks are about $27 million over the projected 2025 spending cap, with only two teams deeper in the red than Seattle. Extensions for Smith ($44.5 million cap number) and/or receiver DK Metcalf ($31.9 million) could create cap space by lowering their 2025 cap numbers, but Macdonald, general manager John Schneider and cap guru Joey Laine will also have to cut some big salaries. .

Tyler Lockett, the second-most productive receiver in franchise history, is an obvious cut candidate with the $30.9 million he’s set to count toward the cap. If the two sides are unable to agree on another pay cut like they did last year, cutting Lockett would free up the $17 million he is set to make.

Defensive lineman Dre’Mont Jones ($25.6 million cap charge, $11.6 million savings), safety Rayshawn Jenkins ($7.8 million, $5.3 million) and swing tackle George Fant ($5.7 million, $3.8 million ) are three other players who are almost certain not to be. back on their current contracts.

The Seahawks don’t just need to free up cap space for free agency, the draft and their in-season fund. They also have several key players eligible for extensions on their rookie contracts such as Cross, outside linebacker Boye Mafe, running back Kenneth Walker III and cornerback Riq Woollen. Extensions for these players would significantly increase their cap numbers and/or cash earnings in 2025.

Draft capital

The Seahawks will have the 18th pick in the draft after finishing 10-7 and missing the playoffs. The OTC projects they have three compensatory picks – a fourth, a fifth and a sixth. That would give them eight picks in total – one in each round plus an extra sixth.