The Seattle Seahawks are heading into the 2026 NFL season as reigning Super Bowl champs — but they’ll do it without offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, who was officially introduced Monday as the Las Vegas Raiders’ new head coach on a five-year deal.
Now, Seattle coach Mike Macdonald appears poised to move quickly. Tacoma News Tribune reporter Gregg Bell said the Seahawks are “closing in on hiring” a replacement from within the current coaching staff, and an announcement could come as soon as this week. Bell’s wording suggests this won’t be a wide search — and it could be decided this week.
What Seahawks fans want to know (and what we know right now)
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Most likely: Seattle promotes from within (per Gregg Bell).
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Timing: could move quickly this week.
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Why it matters: Seahawks were top-tier offensively under Kubiak (No. 3 scoring, No. 8 total offense, per Reuters).
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What to watch next: Raiders staff hires, Seattle title changes and who is suddenly quiet publicly.
Kubiak is now, as of today, the new head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders @thenewstribune
Seahawks ‘Closing In’ on Internal Offensive Coordinator Hire
The key detail for Seahawks fans trying to read the tea leaves: Bell’s wording points to an internal promotion, not a months-long external search.
That matters because Macdonald would be hiring his third offensive coordinator in three seasons, after Kubiak replaced Ryan Grubb and helped Seattle push to elite production in 2025. According to Reuters, the Seahawks finished third in scoring and eighth in total offense under Kubiak.
So the job isn’t just “fill a vacancy.” It’s “keep the machine running” — and an in-house hire can preserve terminology, weekly processes, and player comfort going into an offseason where every opponent is building a Super Bowl rematch plan.
The Top Internal Candidates (and the clue Seahawks fans noticed)
If the Seahawks are promoting from within, there are three logical names that keep surfacing:
QB coach Andrew Janocko
Janocko has prior overlap with Kubiak across multiple stops, which cuts both ways: continuity for Seattle, but also a possible pull to Las Vegas if Kubiak wants a trusted lieutenant with him.
Pass game coordinator Jake Peetz
Peetz has been mentioned as a potential in-house option in national league “buzz” reporting, which is often a sign teams view a coach as ready for a bigger call sheet role.
Run game specialist/assistant OL coach Justin Outten
Outten is the name Seahawks fans have been circling because of a small but notable detail: he was not on the media availability interview list last week, which some have read as a possible hint that Seattle was keeping him buttoned up while talks progressed.
Outten’s resume also comes with a strange Seahawks-specific twist. He was the Broncos’ OC in 2022, and that season included a moment where Nathaniel Hackett eventually handed play-calling duties over to… Klint Kubiak.
If Seattle does go in-house, it also keeps Macdonald from having to install a brand-new system in a Super Bowl defense/offense “repeat” offseason. Continuity matters when the schedule tightens, the offseason calendar compresses, and opponents have a full season of Seahawks tape to copy, study, and counter from Week 1 on.
What Happens Next (timing and what to watch for)
Bell’s report sets the expectation: this could move fast, potentially within days.
Until Seattle announces it, the cleanest “watch list” items are:
- whether any internal assistant is formally elevated in title (or quietly removed from other offseason obligations),
- whether Kubiak begins building a Raiders offensive staff that pulls any Seahawks assistants with him, and
- whether Macdonald frames the decision as “continuity” or “new voice” when he speaks publicly again.
For Seahawks fans looking for an answer right now, the biggest detail is also the simplest: Seattle is expected to hire its next OC from within, and the shortlist is already visible.
Seahawks ‘Closing In’ on Next OC — 3 Names to Watch and the Tell That Matters