Seahawks Thinking Outside Box With Offensive Coordinator Hiring?

After officially introducing Mike Macdonald as their ninth head coach in franchise history, the Seattle Seahawks have already started assembling a coaching staff and all signs point towards the team taking a unique approach pursuing an offensive coordinator.

Shortly after Macdonald spoke with local media for the first time on Thursday, reports surfaced with former Washington offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb emerging as a possible candidate to take on offensive play caller duties. The 47-year old has never coached in the NFL previously, but he has found consistent success at the college level with multiple schools as an offensive line coach, quarterback coach, run game coordinator, and offensive coordinator, helping turn the Huskies into an offensive juggernaut the past two seasons.

Aside from Grubb, Albert Breer of SI.com also reported Seattle had interest in interviewing Detroit pass game coordinator Tanner Engstrand. Like Grubb, he never has been an offensive coordinator in the NFL, but he did call plays for the XFL's DC Defenders back in 2019, so he does have the advantage of prior experience coordinating an offense at the pro level.

On Thursday, Macdonald didn't delve into many specifics about what he will be seeking from an offensive coordinator, but he did indicate that previous play calling experience wouldn't be "near the top of the list" for consideration.

"We're looking for the right person to come in here and build this thing," Macdonald said. "So we want somebody that's open-minded, that has a growth mindset, that can connect with their players, and build a system that's unique to the Seattle Seahawks that's going to live here for a long time and who's going to be the one spearheading it."

Hosts Corbin Smith and Nick Lee discuss how Seattle's first wave of coordinator candidates transcends usual trends, why general manager John Schneider may favor an outside the box hire rather than an experienced play caller to team with Macdonald, and play "Buy or Sell" debating which of the Seahawks own free agents will be prioritized to re-sign this offseason and which ones will likely be playing elsewhere.

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