Getty Former Seahawks QB Austin Davis is the new quarterbacks coach.
The Seattle Seahawks are making a few changes to their offensive coaching staff. Seahawks quarterbacks coach Dave Canales was promoted to passing game coordinator, per MMQB’s Albert Breer. The move also means that the Seahawks former backup quarterback Austin Davis was named the new quarterbacks’ coach, making him the youngest QB’s coach in the NFL.
“Sources: The Seahawks are promoting QBs coach Dave Canales to pass-game coordinator, and making Austin Davis the NFL’s youngest QBs coach. Davis had some outside interest, so Seattle made the call to move 2 guys they like a lot up. Obviously, Pete Carroll likes what he’s got,” Breer noted on Twitter.
It is a noteworthy move given Russell Wilson has been outspoken about his desire to open up the offense next season. It will be worth watching how these coaching changes impact the direction of the offense. Brian Schottenheimer will remain as the Seahawks offensive coordinator. Canales was an assistant strength coach at USC under Pete Carroll and joined him in his move to the Seahawks in 2010.
Canales has previously held a variety of roles on the Seahawks staff including quality control, wide receivers coach and, most recently, working with the quarterbacks.
Pete Carroll Does Not Believe the Seahawks’ Offense Limits Russell Wilson
During an interview with Fox Seattle’s Q13, Carroll dismissed the idea that the team’s commitment to the run has negatively impacted Wilson. Carroll emphasized that the key is for the team to be able to build a lead in order to run the ball in the fourth quarter.
“I don’t think it puts any limits on the way (Wilson) likes to play,” Carroll noted, per SeattlePI.com. “We just got to do it at the right time. We’d like to run the ball in the fourth quarter when we’re killing people. We weren’t able to do that as much as we’d like to because the games were so close this year…The whole idea is to put it together to give him the best opportunities to strike you dead in the passing game. There’s nobody over the last handful of years better throwing the ball down the field than Russell and more effective than Russell. We just want to find more ways for him to take advantage of that.”
The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar joked about the continuous debate on the split between the run versus the pass.
Wilson Has Voiced His Desire to Use More Tempo in the Offense
Wilson has been vocal this offseason about his desire to see the offense tweaked as well as for the need to add “superstars” in free agency. Wilson discussed the Seahawks’ success with their two-minute offense during an interview with Pro Football Talk.
“I mean we’ve always been really good at two-minute [offense],” Wilson told Pro Football Talk prior to the Super Bowl. “We’ve always been really good in those end of the half, those not always hurry-up situations, but those up-tempo situations [and] moments. And the reality is this: I think the defense gets tired, first thing. And I think the second thing is that, you know, I really know kind of what I want to get after them, how we want to get after them, especially in those moments. And guys just make plays in those moments. I think the freedom of just going after it and just scoring as many points, you know?”