T
he Seattle Seahawks officially announced all the coaching changes to their staff on Feb. 15. The organization will feature fresh voices in several key positions, including Clint Hurtt, who received a promotion from defensive line coach to defensive coordinator.
“It’s great to get everybody in the building for the first time together with our new staff and the new outlook that we have for the season,” head coach Pete Carroll said to Seahawks.com. “The fresh start feels exciting, and we’re looking forward to guys stepping up into their roles.”
But with so many new coaches, former NFL quarterback and analyst Brock Huard stressed how important it is for not only the coaches to get to the facility but also the players.
“I think they’d better get to work. I think much like a new system was brought in last year, with now new assistants in a lot of different places and empowering a voice in Clint Hurtt to be D-coordinator, you know what you need to do? Practice,” Huard said while appearing The Mike Salk Show on 710 ESPN Seattle.
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Seahawks Coaching Staff Going Younger
At 70 years old, Pete Carroll is the oldest head coach in the NFL. But his coaching staff around him will be filled with youth in 2022.
That youth movement arguably sticks out most for NFL analyst Brock Huard. On Brock and Salk Podcast from 710 ESPN Seattle on Feb. 17, Huard brought up the youth of the Seahawks new staff first when beginning a discussion around Seattle’s 2022 coaches.
“I don’t think there is any question that when Pete [Carroll] and John [Schneider] met with Jody Allen after the season that there was gonna have to be change made, and I don’t know if it was her directive,” Huard said. “I think Pete had a lot to say in this — that they needed to get younger.
“And when you look, and when they finally put out the entire list of all the movement, and it wasn’t tweaks, it was significant change on both sides of the ball, you have gotten a much younger mindset.”
The newly-hired Sean Desai (associate head coach) and Karl Scott (passing game coordinator/defensive backs coach) are both younger than 40. Hurtt, who is 43, has never served as a defensive coordinator at any level in his career.
Average age of Seattle’s defensive staff with that group? 38 years old.
‘Significant Shakeup’ on Seahawks Coaching Staff
But while making a different appearance on 710 ESPN Seattle — on The Mike Salk Show — on Feb. 16, Huard stressed what will now be the most important thing for the young staff and the Seahawks going forward — practice.
“You know what needs to happen here in mid to late April? Everybody get on that campus and get to work within the program,” said Huard.
Huard also noted that the changes on the Seahawks coaching staff were not minor but rather “a shakeup.”
And with significant shakeups, even veteran players need work to adjust.
“I hope that with this, you know, pretty significant shakeup with new voices and new leadership, I hope the leadership, Russell [Wagner], Bobby [Wagner], the players, the veteran guys say … ‘Get our butts back in that facility, get our butts back on the practice field, get our butts spending time together because we’re going to need to do that amid some new voices in some new places.’”
The first opportunity the Seahawks players will receive to practice with their new coaching staff will be during OTAs in April.
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Seahawks ‘Better Get to Work’ With New Coaching Staff, Says Analyst