Pundits warn of an inescapable decline following offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak's departure, but Seattle’s revamped staff aims to prove that championship DNA transcends a single coaching change.
The Seattle Seahawks are about to be a case study in whether coaches matter more than players.
There are a handful of obvious obstacles on the path to Seattle repeating as Super Bowl champions. Fans probably know them all by heart.
The NFC West rival Los Angeles Rams are loaded.
Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker III is gone to Kansas City via free agency.
QB Sam Darnold can't be as good as he was last year.
The "Super Bowl Hangover'' is a real phenomenon.
Right? You know the list.
But here's a new one: A change to the coaching staff is going to be the death of the Seahawks because they lost their "Whiz Kid” on the way to an “inescapable decline.''
That’s the negative prediction offered by ESPN’s Benjamin Solak regarding the Seahawks' decision to hire Brian Fleury to replace former offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak.
The departure of Kubiak is nobody's fault; he earned his way to getting the job as the new head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.
But the idea that he's irreplaceable?
In our view, that's really not how coaching works.
ESPN touts Kubiak as the reason Jaxon Smith-Njigba was so productive with “a stunning 44-percent of the team’s receiving yards'' and as the reason Darnold was able to put on display “his arm talent and springy movement skills while hiding his shaky decision-making and play under pressure.”
But ...
If "Whiz Kid'' Kubiak could help those players succeed, why can't replacement Brian Fleury do the same?
Solak believes that “inescapable decline is awaiting Seattle under Fleury.” That might be true, but the reason might be more about the opponents and the roster and that "Super Bowl Hangover'' than about the departure of Kubiak.
Darold experienced the best year of his life. Would a performance "decline'' really be at all shocking?
Smith-Njigba experienced the best year of his life. If he falls short of the same stats, representing a "decline,'' will that mean Fleury didn't get the job done?
If the Seattle running game dips because of the depature of the stellar Walker, will that be the fault of the coordinator?
Consider what Fleury did during his time as a top aide under Niners coach Kyle Shanahan. He spent four seasons as seven-time Pro Bowler George Kittle’s position coach; if he can help Kittle (and other Niners) stay on top, why can't he do the same here?
Predicting success for Kubiak while also believing that his replacement Fleury are not diametrically opposed concepts. They really have nothing to do with one another, and both can be true.
The smart bet is that the Seahawks will remain a contender in 2026 because even with a coaching change, there remains plenty of winning "whiz'' in Seattle.
