On Thursday, we told you that Syracuse football alum Justin Outten was interviewing to become the offensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks.

Now, he's caught in the middle of a battle between the Seahawks and the Las Vegas Raiders.

Per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN:

The Raiders requested Seahawks assistant Justin Outten for run-game coordinator but Seattle blocked the request, per sources.

Outten, the Seahawks’ run-game specialist/assistant OL, is one of four in-house candidates for the Seattle OC job.

There's a few things at play here. First, former Seattle offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak just left Seattle to take the Raiders' head coaching job. It's clear he wants to take some people with him. However, because Outten is under contract and the position Vegas wants him for is not a promotion, the Seahawks have the power to block the request.

Outten spent four years with the Orange on the offensive line, playing from 2003-06. In that time, the Orange posted two .500 records, going 6-6 twice. A Pennsylvania native, he was a full-time starter in both his junior and senior years.

As a coach, he began with Syracuse (2007) before moving onto a high school head coaching job in the Houston area (2008-15). Then, he joined the Atlanta Falcons (2016-18), Green Bay Packers (2019-21), Denver Broncos (2022), and Tennessee Titans (2023-24). He got to Seattle in 2025 and clearly helped make a difference in a much improved run game.

The Seahawks were a throw-happy team under previous offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, who also spent one season with the team (2024). However, in the offseason, Macdonald made a change. He hired Kubiak and traded away quarterback Geno Smith to the Raiders. They also dealt wide receiver DK Metcalf and cut Tyler Lockett. While some perceived it as a rebuild, the Seahawks just re-tooled and re-committed to Macdonald's philosophy.

Under Kubiak's system, with Outten's help, both Zack Charbonnet and Kenneth Walker flourished. Walker was named MVP of the Super Bowl, further solidifying the work and belief of Macdonald. 

--The No. 2 ranked Syracuse men's lacrosse team will host No. 1 Maryland on Friday night (6 p.m. ET) in one of the most anticipated matchups of the entire college lacrosse season.

--Head men's basketball coach Adrian Autry spoke this week about outgoing athletic director John Wildhack, who is retiring at the end of June. 

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