If you walked into a bar during a Seahawks football game this season, and shouted, “They gotta fire Ryan Grubb!” — it’s possible many different responses and perhaps a few objects would have been hurled in your direction.
Some would nod in agreement. Others would blame a young, and sometimes porous, offensive line. A third group might say that no one’s ever going to win a championship with Geno Smith at quarterback.
So, which is it?
Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald made it clear that the blame lies at least partially with Grubb when he announced his firing on Monday. It’s easy to fire a coach. We’ll ultimately find out what he thinks of the offensive line and Smith in the coming months.
The fire Grubb club would point out that the first-year NFL coach had spent his entire coaching career at the college level. Macdonald, a rookie 37-year-old head coach with an all-defense background brings in someone who’d never called a single NFL play to essentially serve as the head coach of the offense?
Macdonald took a big swing, and he missed. The Seahawks offense ranked in the bottom five in rushing attempts and didn’t improve during the season. The low point came in a win — a 6-3 win — over Chicago on Dec. 26.
Grubb’s firing won’t fix everything, though. It might not fix anything at all. It will be interesting to see who they land. Popular thought is a long-tenured offensive coordinator or previous head coach is the target. Instead of swinging for the fences, perhaps a standup double will be the goal. Though when asked if previous playcalling experience was required, Macdonald said Tuesday, “I wouldn’t say it’s a prerequisite.”
Macdonald did not discuss potential candidates. Names circulating the league include, among others: Frank Reich, Doug Pedersen, Mike Kafka, Adam Stenavich, Frank Smith, Mike LaFleur, Josh McCown and Tee Martin.
If the Seahawks poach from another team or are in competition with other franchises for an experienced coach’s services, he’ll have a couple of questions.
How can the offensive line be fixed? What is the long-term plan at quarterback? A coordinator with choices is going to want to call plays for an offense that won’t lead to his Grubb-like exit. He may also want to understand what went wrong with Grubb, and how much Macdonald plans to be in his headset with suggestions.
As for the quarterback, Smith’s future could be ended or lengthened. Macdonald did not commit to Smith in full on Tuesday but has spoken highly of the 34-year-old quarterback in recent weeks.
“I want Geno (Smith) to be here — I think he’s a heck of a player,” Macdonald said. “The first thing it always comes back to is what’s best for the team. I feel like Geno is the best for the team right now. I’ll be involved with it, ultimately it’s not my decision. It’s a Seahawks decision. But, Geno knows how we feel about him and we love him as our starting quarterback for sure.”
Macdonald acknowledged that the offensive line needs to grow, either with improvement by the young group or through potential additions.
“We believe in the guys we’ve got,” Macdonald said. “Players are allowed to get better — our guys are going to get better, they’re going to develop. I think we’ve got the right type of guys.
“And of course, you could ask me at any position ‘Are you guys going to look to try to find other players at that position?’ Yes. Yes, we are. Of course. … You know the cadence of it, but that’s the mentality of ‘Hey, we’re going to develop the heck out of our guys, but we’re never going to take ourselves out of the running of possibly adding a great player that fits us.’”
General manager John Schneider has not held a press conference since the preseason and likely won’t be asked questions about Smith and the line until the NFL Combine begins in late February. Smith is likely to be either cut or extended by March 16 when a $16 million roster bonus will be activated.
For whatever reason — philosophy, personality or experience — Grubb wasn’t Mcdonald’s guy. It would be overly simplistic, though, to be a guy in that bar putting the full blame on Grubb for offensive failures. Macdonald must find the right fit to make the most of Smith (if he’s still in Seattle), DK Metcalf, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Kenneth Walker III.
To become a strength of the team, the offensive line requires a couple of interior additions and steep improvement at other spots. Perhaps Smith can get this team a playoff win or two with an improved line and some better play calls, but a long-term answer is a must for the Seahawks at the most important position in team sports.
Without improvement from the line and the quarterback position, the next offensive coordinator will quickly become the next former offensive coordinator.
This story originally appeared in seattlesportsnow.com, of which Aaron Coe is a co-founder.
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