Seahawks Offseason Primer: OC Search, Key Dates, Free Agents, and More

Seahawks Offseason Primer: OC Search, Key Dates, Free Agents, and More

The Seattle Seahawks are in the second round of interviews for offensive coordinator. What else does the offseason have in store?

15 days after Seattle fired Ryan Grubb, ESPN's Dan Graziano reported Tuesday that Detroit Lions offensive line coach Hank Fraley was scheduled for a second, in-person interview with the team later that day. Fraley's initial interview was held virtually during the Lions' first-round bye, but with their playoff run over, the two sides can now meet face-to-face.

Fraley, 47, joins New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and Minnesota Vikings assistant OC/assistant quarterbacks coach Grant Udinski as candidates who have advanced to a second round of interviews with Seattle. The team also interviewed Chicago Bears interim head coach Thomas Brown and former NFL quarterback and OC Byron Leftwich, and is compliant with the Rooney Rule.

Those are the known candidates, though it's possible there are more names that haven't been reported. Kubiak, 37, has the most experience of the trio to get second interviews, not to mention some famous NFL bloodlines. He served as OC for Minnesota in 2021 and New Orleans last season, and called plays for the second half of 2022 for the Denver Broncos after head coach Nathaniel Hackett relinquished those duties. He is the son of Gary Kubiak, former coach of the Houston Texans and Broncos.

Kubiak's resume as a playcaller begs a significant question -- how committed to the run will he be? After all, that was perhaps the biggest reason why the defensive-minded Macdonald fired the pass-happy Grubb after just one season.

That likely wouldn't be much of a question with Fraley, even though he's never been a coordinator. Offensive linemen generally love to run the ball, and Fraley played center for 11 seasons in the NFL and has been coaching the position since 2012. He's spent the last seven seasons with the Lions, who have the league's fifth-highest designed rush rate over the last two years.

Udinski has made a fast rise through the coaching ranks, going from an assistant to Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell in 2022 to interviews for Seattle's OC vacancy at 28 years old. But after the failed experiment with Grubb, would Macdonald want to take a big swing on someone young and inexperienced?

Udinski has never been a full-time position coach, let alone a playcaller, which makes it hard to fathom how a defensive coach like Macdonald would be comfortable handing him the keys to Seattle's offense -- especially considering the pass-heavy scheme in which he's spent his formative years as a coach. In three seasons under O'Connell, Minnesota ranks 28th in designed rush rate.

If the Seahawks view Udinski as a rising star, it would make more sense to get him on their offensive staff as a high-ranking assistant under a more experienced coordinator like Kubiak or Fraley.

Whenever the Seahawks hire a coordinator, the next big question they'll have to tackle is the future of quarterback Geno Smith, who enters another offseason of uncertainty as he seeks an extension.

Here's a guide to the Seahawks' offseason that includes pending free agents, important dates and cap space concerns.