RENTON — The coaching staff that Jim Mora has assembled with the Seattle Seahawks includes several familiar faces for the team’s new head coach.
It won’t include a few from the Seahawks’ recent past.
Mora said Tuesday that he has retained 12 assistants from the staff Mike Holmgren had last season. The four coaches who were not retained are offensive coordinator Gil Haskell, defensive coordinator John Marshall, defensive line coach Dwaine Board and receivers coach Keith Gilbertson. All but Gilbertson were hired by Holmgren before team president Tim Ruskell arrived in 2005.
Two others — tight ends coach Jim Lind and special teams assistant John Jamison — opted for retirement.
Among the coaches on the current staff are 12 returning assistants and recently-hired Greg Knapp (offensive coordinator), Casey “Gus” Bradley (defensive coordinator), Dan Quinn (defensive line) and Robert Prince (wide receivers). Knapp and Prince were on Mora’s staff in Atlanta, while Quinn worked with him when Mora was defensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers.
Mora said that Bradley came highly recommended from longtime defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, with whom Bradley worked in Tampa Bay last year. Mora brought in Bradley for a one-day interview and decided to hire him after spending 15 hours with the Buccaneers’ former linebackers coach.
“Through the course of the day, I realized, boy, Monte is dead-on. This guy is special,” Mora said Tuesday. “He’s grounded in fundamentals. He’s got great energy, (and) he’s got a passion for the game.”
Former offensive line assistant Mike DeBord is moving into Lind’s spot as tight ends coach, while 11 other coaches will ke ep their positions.
The only position that has yet to be filled is the one that Mora vacated: defensive backs coach.
Other Seahawks news
Peterson to Pro Bowl: Linebacker Julian Peterson was added to the list of Pro Bowl participants on Tuesday, serving as an injury replacement for Tampa Bay veteran Derrick Brooks.
This marks the fifth invitation for Peterson, a nine-year veteran.
Peterson is likely to be the only Seahawks player participating in the Pro Bowl next month. The only other Seattle invitee, tackle Walter Jones, is recovering from knee surgery and probably won’t be active until training camp.
Hasselbeck the man: Echoing statements made by Ruskell last week, Mora said that Matt Hasselbeck is the Seahawks’ quarterback of the present and future.
“Certainly, Matt Hasselbeck is the point man,” Mora said. “He’s our point guard; he’s the trigger man. He’s our quarterback. I’m very excited about that.
“Matt is a special player. He’s a special man, and he gives us a ton of flexibility. The most important thing for us right now is that Matt gets, and stays, healthy.”
Hasselbeck is recovering from a back injury that forced him to miss most of the 2008 regular season. The veteran quarterback said last month that, with rest, the injury should be fully healed by mid-February.
Mora said he’s eager to get the 33-year-old Hasselbeck back in action.
“We’re going to give Matt a chance to really finish out the twilight years of his career — whether those be five or another ten — with great style, great class, and great success,” Mora said.
Road-trip blues: Mora said that one of his main tasks is to find a way to make the Seahawks more productive in road games.
He already has started looking into that by contacting some track coaches who train athletes to compete in international events.
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