One of their leading candidates is out of the picture to be the Seahawks’ new offensive coordinator.
For some reason they suspected, they could have been happening all along.
Highly regarded Hank Fraley earned a promotion Friday from offensive line coach to additional title and game coordinator pay to stay with his Detroit Lions, NFL Network and others have reported. Fraley’s decision came three days after the 47-year-old offensive line coach became the third candidate to have a second in-person interview with the Seahawks for Seattle’s offensive coordinator job.
The OC position has been open since Jan. 6, the day after the Seahawks ended the season without making the playoffs for the second straight year. That day, coach Mike Macdonald Fired former University of Washington offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb After his lone season, call the Seahawks offensive plays.
MacDonald and general manager John Schneider knew when they interviewed Fraley this week that the Lions wanted him back and that a promotion was possible, if not likely. His linemen were vocal last week vowing to keep him in Detroit.
“No, you refuse to let Hank go,” the four-time Pro Bowl Lions said at Michigan on Sunday. “I haven’t played in this league without Hank, and I don’t plan to.
“I’m going to sabotage it. I’m going to run from stories no matter what,” Ragnow joked.
Fraley, a 10-year former NFL center, became Detroit’s assistant offensive line coach in 2018. That was the year the Lions made Ragnow a first-round draft pick.
Detroit Lions offensive tackle Dan Skipper (70) talks to offensive line coach Hank Fraley in the second half against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Monday, December 30, 2024. Seahawks offensive coordinators job Tuesday, January 21, 2025.
MacDonald and Schneider also knew that Fraley was under consideration by the Chicago Bears to join their staff as their new offensive coordinator. This week, the Bears hired their new head coach Ben Johnson. He spent the last five seasons with Fraley on the same Lions staff.
Fraley’s wife Published on his social media account A message to Lions fans on Friday that mentioned the Bears’ interest in her husband, but not the Seahawks’
“Did you really think we would move to Chicago?!?!? Our hearts are in Detroit!!! “
Fraley’s decision leaves the Seahawks in Week 3 of their OC search with 37-year-old New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and 28-year-old Minnesota Vikings assistant offensive coordinator Grant Udinski. apparent leading candidates as apparent leading candidates, Grant Udinski, apparent apparent candidates Empty. This is based on the fact that Kubiak and Udinksi are the others known to have interviewed twice with the Seahawks last week.
The Seahawks have reportedly asked the Vikings for permission to interview Grant Udinski, Minnesota’s 28-year-old assistant offensive coordinator, about Seattle’s open offensive coordinator position. NFL Network reported that on January 14, 2025.
That doesn’t mean Kubiak and Udinski are the only candidates MacDonald has in mind.
He is also interviewed Byron LeftwichTom Brady’s former Super Bowl-winning offensive coordinator with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Thomas Brown. Brown was an offensive position coach, offensive coordinator and then interim head coach for the Bears last season.
In interviewing Leftwich and Brown, the Seahawks respected The reigns Rooney. It’s the NFL’s requirement that teams hire new head coaches and coordinators interview at least two ethnic minority candidates for those jobs before hiring anyone.
The ongoing NFL playoffs in the conference championships on Sunday, along with a slew of new head coaching hires this week, have changed the coaching assistant landscape across the league. Former Seahawks leader Pete Carroll becomes coach of the Las Vegas Raiders Friday and Liam Coen hired by Jacksonville leaves only two vacancies. These are with Dallas and New Orleans.
Carroll and Coen will now be expected to build their new offensive and defensive staffs with the Raiders and Jaguars. The same goes for Johnson with the Bears and Mike Vrabel as the new coach of the New England Patriots.
Movement on those fronts could present both competition and opportunities for MacDonald and the Seahawks to talk to more offensive-minded coaches around the league.
As the search for a new play-caller for quarterback Geno Smith moves into its fourth week, Seattle’s 37-year-old head coach is showing how methodical and variable that process already is.
Just like he promised.
“I’m sure you want to ask what we’re looking for, the new coordinator and all that,” MacDonald said 2 1/2 years ago. “It’s not just, ‘Hey, I have to have a, B and C. We want to have an open mind.
“We want to try to find the best fit for our football team and the guys we have on offense right now.”
Asked by the News Tribune on January 7 if he was willing to wait until after the Super Bowl which will be played on February 9 and the coaches of those reigning teams had their seasons that day, he decides on a new OC, MacDonald said: “Right now, I can’t give you a yes or no on that one.”
Seventeen days later, it seems he still can’t.
Sep 8, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, United States; New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak reacts against the Carolina Panthers during pregame at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
