The Seahawks are expected to hire 49ers tight ends coach/run game coordinator Brian Fleury as their next offensive coordinator, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Fleury would replace Klint Kubiak, who left Seattle to become the Raiders’ head coach, a move the team announced earlier this week.
The hire isn’t official yet, but it immediately raises the same fan questions Seattle always has when it turns to a less-famous assistant: Who is he? What does he coach? And what does it mean for the Seahawks’ identity under Mike Macdonald?
Or, in the case of the Seattle Seahawks, the question becomes, who is taking over their Super Bowl-winning offense?
Seahawks News: Who is Brian Fleury? (And why the 49ers valued him)
Fleury’s resume is a bit different than the typical “hot play-caller” profile. He’s been with the 49ers since 2019 and has worked on both sides of the ball in San Francisco, starting in defensive quality control, then moving to offensive quality control, before taking over as tight ends coach (2022-24) and then adding the run game coordinator title.
That path matters because it suggests two things teams like: (1) he’s adaptable, and (2) he’s trusted internally enough to keep getting bigger responsibilities on a staff that has been consistently productive.
On the field, Fleury has been closely tied to George Kittle’s continued elite production. The 49ers’ own staff bio credits Fleury with helping coach Kittle through multiple high-end seasons, including a 2024 year in which San Francisco ranked near the top of the league in efficiency categories and Kittle hit major receiving benchmarks. (If you’re a Seahawks fan wondering why this matters: the NFL is telling you, without saying it, that Seattle may be prioritizing run-game structure + tight end usage in this next offensive iteration.)
Brian Fleury coaching history: defense, research, then Shanahan offense
A phenomenal pickup for Seattle 🔥👀
Before his 49ers run, Fleury spent time with the Bills (quality control) and Browns (assistant linebackers/outside linebackers coach), then moved into an analytics/research-heavy role with the Dolphins as a football research analyst and director of football research.
That research background is worth flagging because it’s often where you see modern coordinators separate themselves: self-scout tendencies, opponent study, situational decision-making, and building weekly answers (not just a play sheet).
Then came San Francisco, where Fleury’s titles point toward a core competency: the mechanics of a Shanahan-style run game (formations, motion, angles, blocking rules) and how that ties into play-action and middle-of-the-field passing off tight end looks.
The biggest question: has Fleury called plays?
This is the one Seahawks fans will ask first, and it’s fair. Fleury’s public bios emphasize his coaching roles — tight ends, quality control, run game coordinator — more than any long track record as an NFL play-caller.
That doesn’t mean he can’t call plays, but it does mean Seattle would be betting on process: game planning, run-game design, sequencing, and teaching, then either (a) giving him full play-calling duties or (b) building a structure where the head coach and offensive staff share parts of weekly decision-making.
Why the timing matters for Seattle
Schefter’s report lands at the exact moment Seattle needs clarity: free agency planning, draft fits, and offseason installs all flow from the coordinator. With Kubiak now in Las Vegas, Seattle’s next OC decision effectively sets the next phase of the Macdonald era, especially in how the Seahawks build the run game, feature tight ends, and marry protection with quarterback-friendly answers.
Seahawks Get Major Hiring News After Klint Kubiak Exit