Seahawks Poach Rival Coach Amid Staff Shake-up: Report

Pete Carroll

Getty Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll.

The Seattle Seahawks are once again looking to a division rival for their next quarterbacks coach as the team is hiring Los Angeles Rams assistant Greg Olson, per CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones. Olson will replace Dave Canales who bolted Seattle to become the Buccaneers offensive coordinator.

“The Seahawks are expected to hire Rams senior offensive assistant Greg Olson as their next quarterbacks coach, sources say,” Jones said in a series of February 20, 2023 tweets. “Olson had previously interviewed for the Chargers OC job. He and Seahawks assistant QBs coach Kerry Joseph interviewed for the Broncos QB coach job that remains vacant.”

Olson will presumably work with Pro Bowl quarterback Geno Smith with growing buzz that the two sides will eventually secure a long-term deal. The longtime coach spent last season as a Rams offensive assistant. Olson also has experience as an offensive coordinator during previous stints with the Raiders, Jaguars, Buccaneers, Lions and Rams. The move brings Olson back to the Pacific Northwest where he began his coaching career at Washington State and Central Washington.


The Seahawks Have Hired 3 Key Former Rams Offensive Assistants in Recent Years

The Seahawks have been slowly picking off members of Sean McVay’s staff from the Rams beginning with offensive coordinator Shane Waldron which led to the hiring of offensive line coach Andy Dickerson. During Waldron’s second season as offensive coordinator, the Seahawks made a jump to a top-10 offense averaging 23.9 points per game in 2022.

Olson joins the Seahawks at the start of an interesting offseason as the franchise determines their future at quarterback. The Seahawks have already begun contract talks with Smith but also hold the No. 5 and No. 20 selections in the upcoming draft. Seattle Sports’ Brock Huard believes Smith now has even more leverage in negotiations with the Bucs emerging as a potential landing spot giving the hiring of Canales.

“How much does Dave Canales want Geno?” Huard explained during a February 16 edition of “Brock and Salk.” “How much is he going to go to bat for him? How much is he going to say, ‘Listen, (head coach Todd Bowles), I’ll do this and I’ve got a relationship with Geno and this is a package deal. You want me? He’s coming.’? I think he’s gonna push pretty darn hard to bring Geno to Tampa.”


Geno Smith on Future With Seahawks: ‘It’s Looking Very Good’

Head coach Pete Carroll emphasized the team’s desire to keep their staff intact going into the offseason but the departure of assistants are beginning to mount. The Seahawks also lost assistant wide receivers coach Brad Idzik to the Buccaneers. Defensive assistant Sean Desai has interviewed for defensive coordinator vacancies with the Eagles emerging as the latest contender to poach him away from Seattle.

Despite the losses, it is expected to be business as usual for the Seahawks with both coordinators returning for 2023. Smith continues to express his desire to remain in Seattle despite his free-agent status.

“It’s looking very good,” Smith told SirusXM NFL Radio during a February 3 interview when discussing his negotiations with the Seahawks. “We think we can get some things done.”